2021 Orange County oil spill
The Orange County oil spill on October 1, 2021, is an oil spill that deposited crude oil onto popular Southern California beaches on the West Coast of the United States. While residents reported smelling fumes, a ship noticed an oil slick that evening and reported it to federal authorities. When oil from an underwater pipeline in the waters of coastal Orange County began washing ashore, officials in Huntington Beach closed the typically crowded beach in the evening of October 2. The U.S. Coast Guard estimated that spill covered 8,320 acres (3,370 ha) of the ocean's surface as they monitored it several times daily from the air. Investigations found a 17.7-mile (28.5 km) pipeline connecting offshore oil platforms with the shore had been displaced by being dragged by a ship's anchor.
| Orange County oil spill | |
|---|---|
Ellen and Elly oil platforms | |
| Location | Southern California |
| Coordinates | 33°38′0″N 118°3′0″W |
| Date | October 1, 2021 |
| Cause | |
| Cause | Leaking pipeline on ocean floor |
| Operator | Amplify Energy |
| Spill characteristics | |
| Volume | 25,000 U.S. gallons (600 barrels) |
| Area | 8,320 acres (3,370 ha) |
| Shoreline impacted | estimated 16 mi (26 km) damaged with tar balls dispersed much far south along the coast |
Commercial divers found the pipeline had been displaced by about 105 ft (32 m) with a 13-inch (33 cm) split along the length of the pipe. Investigators suspect that two large container ships possibly dragged their anchors in this area during heavy winds on Jan. 25, 2021. An Orange County official compared the event to the 2015 Refugio oil spill in Santa Barbara County, which took months to clean up. Platform Elly pumps oil and gas to shore at the Port of Long Beach through this pipeline. The pipeline is operated by Beta Offshore, a Long Beach unit of Houston's Amplify Energy. The pipeline was repaired and returned to service in April 2023.