Chevron Pipe Line Co. crews were working Friday to clean up about 59,000 gallons of crude oil that leaked from a ruptured pipeline south of Vernal late Wednesday and early Thursday.
A Chevron official said a 3-inch feeder pipeline ruptured near Bonanza, 30 miles south of Vernal, allowing about 1,400 barrels of crude to leak onto the frozen ground, which is BLM land.
The event may have been related to the cold temperatures in the Uinta Basin.
Fortunately, the cold air jells the oil and keeps it from flowing far, said Houston-based Chevron spokesman Mickey Driver. "It's not free-flowing, so it's not going anywhere."
The 3-inch line -- which connects to the major pipeline that travels from the Uinta Basin to Chevron's Salt Lake City refinery -- was shut down when the leak was detected early Thursday.
Driver said the company is confident it can recover all of the spilled oil. The BLM will oversee the reclamation after the spill is cleaned up, said Jerry Kenczka, assistant field manager for the agency's Vernal office. Chevron has 30 days to remove the leaked oil, he said. But it likely will take only about one week.
