After Laura, Southwest Louisiana Gleams With The Rainbow Shades Of Oil Slicks

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Almost a week after Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana's coast, which is studded with oil and gas industry pipes, tanks, wells, and rigs, I photographed from the sky oil sheen along at least 20 miles of marsh and bayous that absorbed the full strength of the storm. Scientists say warmer ocean waters due to human-caused climate change is making hurricanes like Laura stronger and causing them to intensify more rapidly; Hurricane Laura spun up to a Category 4 storm in just 24 hours.

For miles along the western Louisiana coastline near the Texas border, I spotted large swathes of land and water that appeared coated with oil, visible as the floodwaters receded between the small communities of Grand Chenier and Cameron. On September 2 and 3, I also documented oil sheen in waterways along the bayous from Cameron north to the city of Lake Charles and as far east as New Iberia, roughly 130 miles west of New Orleans.


Oil sheen near an oil and gas production site in New Iberia Parish following Hurricane Laura.


Oil sheen in the wetlands inland from the Gulf of Mexico in Creole, Louisiana on September 2, 2020.


Oil sheen in floodwaters around homes in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on September 3.

Given the more than 1,400 oil wells in Hurricane Laura's path, I was not surprised to find slicks of oil along the coast after the storm. However, the vast area of coastline now shimmering with oil and crumpled metal was a reminder of what any strong storm can do when it collides with the area of the Gulf Coast dotted with oil and gas production sites. Louisiana has to worry not only about its active oil and gas wells, but also its thousands of orphaned wells, which are no longer in production and have been abandoned by their former owners.

”[DNR’s] Office of Conservation decided to address orphaned well sites first, as the state would be the only entity likely to check on the conditions at those sites,” Courreges said by email. “Staff determined that approximately 480 orphaned well sites were located in the main path of Hurricane Laura and assigned inspectors to begin checking those sites the weekend after the storm passed. Though dealing with limitations such as remote site locations and road closures, through the first week following the storm, approximately 160 site visits have been made by inspectors.” Additionally, DNR is responding to reports of spills and damage from other agencies, oil and gas operators, and the general public, according to Courreges.

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Oil sheen among homes, marshes, and Hurricane Laura floodwaters in Cameron Parish.


Oil sheen in Cameron Parish wetlands following Hurricane Laura.

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https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/09/09/hurricane-laura-aftermath-miles-oil-sheen-louisiana-wetlands