Oil and gas sites reported over 6,000 spills last year

More than 6,000 spills and other mishaps were reported at onshore oil and gas sites in 2012, an average of 16 each day. That was a 17 percent increase since 2010, a period in which drilling rose 40 percent. However, the actual number of spills could be higher, because many states exclude spill amounts, and other states don't require all spills to be recorded, Mike Soraghan reports for Environment & Energy News. Overall, 15.6 million gallons of oil, fracking fluid, wastewater and other liquids were reported spilled at production sites last year. About 33 percent of the spill volume from well sites was reported to be recovered.

"North Dakota had the highest number of spills last year, 1,129, and one of its dominant producers, Continental Resources Inc., had more reported spills than any other company," Soraghan reports. "But industry officials say that's likely because companies in North Dakota have to report more spills than in other states. In North Dakota, they have to report any spill of more than 1 barrel (42 gallons). In Texas, the threshold is five barrels. And in Oklahoma and Montana, it's 10 barrels." States such as Colorado, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania often exclude spill amounts in reports.

North Dakota officials said nearly 80 percent of the state's spills were contained to the well site, while Utah companies reported that 78 percent were contained, and only 38 percent were contained in Colorado, Soraghan reports. Continental had the most reported spills, 233, with 90 of those being less than five barrels. Occidental Petroleum had the second-highest with 207, followed by BP PLC with 190, XTO and Exxon Mobil with a combined 172, and COG Operating at 122. (Read more)