HPCL's diesel leak at Mundra: Oil spill feared off Kutch coast

A leakage in an on-ground oil pipeline in the Mundra Port has sparked fears of an oil spill off the coast of Kutch in Gujarat.

The leakage occurred a couple of days ago in the pipeline transferring High-Speed Diesel (HSD), imported by public sector oil marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), at the Mundra Port during evacuation.

‘Minor leak'

The State Government has directed the port regulator Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to monitor the situation, sources said.

Confirming the incident, a Mundra Port spokesman said the leakage occurred when on-ground pipeline carrying the HSD of HPCL, which connects its tank farm at Mundra to the Mundra Port, had developed a “minor leak”.

The pipeline passes through tranches and the leaked diesel contained in the trench has already been cleared.

VARIATION IN PRESSSURE

HPCL had chartered a vessel from Great Eastern Shipping Company, which was unloading HSD when it leaked due to variation in pressure, the spokesman said.

An HPCL official, who did not wish to be named, added that pigging operations are still on to assess the quantity of the spill.

Pigging is a method of cleaning pipelines in between transmission of different types of fuel.

Pipeline rupture

“There was a rupture in the pipeline but it was brought under control immediately. The quantity of losses will only be to the order of what the vessel can carry,” said the official adding that it is a “minor” leak only to the tune of 10,000 to 20,000 litres.

The official, however, did not confirm an oil “spill”.

The quantity of HSD leaked into the Gulf of Kutch could not be immediately confirmed.

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