Blowouts 



Environmental impact due to accidental blowout is predominately a problem 

 only on the surface, where the impact would depend on timing and presence of 

 fish eggs and larvae. 



Gas Blowouts 



There are few studies of gas blowouts reported. There has been one 

 report for a gas blowout in the North Sea, and perhaps two studies of gas 

 blowouts in Canadian waters--one in the Arctic and the other in the Canadian 

 Atlantic. 



Most of the gas blowouts occur on the platform itself, so there is a 

 combination of sand, rocks, gas, and water blown into the air. Very few of 

 the situations actually happen subsurface, so high volumes of gas are not 

 generally injected directly into the water. The exception may be with 

 shallow-water gas blowouts, where there are ruptures outside the casing. The 

 gas is volatile and would disappear quickly. 



Hydrocarbons 



Increased particulates scavenge hydrocarbons from the water column during 

 spring bloom conditions. The settlement of this material to the bottom could 

 produce impacts. From this source, a gradual increase in hydrocarbon 

 accumulations in surficial sediments from produced water are likely to be 

 undetected, and because the rate is low, it may be substantially offset by 

 breakdown processes. However, net hydrocarbon accumulations, if they occur, 

 would likely be due mostly to other sources, such as accidental spills from 

 ships, etc. 



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