SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — At approximately 9:19 a.m. PST on Monday, February 16, 2009, ExxonMobil notified California’s Office of Emergency Services of a discharge of oil lubricant from the company’s Platform Harmony, located 6.4 miles offshore Santa Barbara County, California. Reports from the platform to the National Response Center indicate approximately 17 ounces of lubricant was released into the marine environment from a decking drainage unit on the facility.
The U.S. Coast Guard and inspectors from the Minerals Management Service are onboard the facility and have initiated a full investigation into the cause of the incident.
ExxonMobil, the operator of Platform Harmony, has dispatched a diver into the water to survey the equipment in question. Clean Seas, the oil spill response organization, has a response boat off the Platform standing by.
There are no reports of injuries or impacts to wildlife and release is not expected to hit shore.
The MMS, the U.S. Coast Guard, California’s Department of Fish and Game, and the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services are working together to monitor the situation.
