Tar turns up on beach

Eron Ben-Yehuda

An unusually high number of tar “patties” washed onto Huntington Beach’s

shore last week, officials said, possibly caused by a leaking pipeline

from an oil platform complex nine miles off the coast.

While on routine patrol Nov. 10, lifeguards noticed a large number of the

flat gooey globs, Marine Safety Lt. Kyle Lindo said.

The globs can be as big as three inches across, and look “almost like a

pancake,” he said.

Aera Energy LLC, owner of a pipeline that leaked more than 300 gallons of

oil since late last month, sent four people to walk 3 1/2 miles of beach

and picked up the sticky tar, he said.

Although the patties must be analyzed to determine their source, Aera

decided as a “good neighbor” to take responsibility for the cleanup,

spokeswoman Susan Hersberger said. Tar naturally seeps from the ocean

bottom and some also comes from passing ships, officials said.

No beaches were closed and the number of patties has remained steady

since, Lindo said.

By the evening of Nov. 10, oil had stopped leaking from the pipeline

connecting two of the three Aera oil platforms, Hersberger said.

First detected by a private vessel Oct. 27, the leak resulted from the

company’s effort to clean out oil left inside the line, which will be

converted to carry water, she said. The same pipeline reportedly leaked

as much as 420 gallons of oil in June.

At its worst, the recent leak created an oil slick a mile long and 100

feet wide that drifted within three miles of the coast, officials said.

But the cleanup operation has contained the “very light” sheen to an area

around the pipeline, Hersberger said.