PORT ARTHUR, Texas, Jan 25 - About half of the crude oil spilled in a ship collision on Saturday on the Sabine-Neches Waterway was contained on Monday, and the key shipping waterway will likely reopen on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Texas officials said about 11,000 barrels of oil spilled into the water when the double-hulled Eagle Otome tanker collided with a barge.
State officials evacuated some residents after the oil slick soiled about 9 miles (14.5 km) of shoreline around Port Arthur.
It was the worst Texas spill since 1994, but much smaller than the 258,000 barrels spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
The tanker was carrying a load of high-sulfur Mexican crude, which gave off a heavy odor of rotten eggs as it evaporated and sickened some area residents.
The waterway, which supplies oil to four Texas refineries representing 6.5 percent of U.S. capacity, will probably reopen to vessel traffic on Thursday after ships skim oil from the water, said Captain J.J. Plunkett, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Port Arthur. The four area refineries have a combined refining capacity of 1.15 million barrels.
Both of the vessels involved in what officials called a "major inland oil spill" were chartered by subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N).
Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said it was "very concerned about this unfortunate incident," and that its chartered vessels "meet rigorous safety standards."
The waterway shutdown contributed to an uptick in crude oil futures prices on Monday, traders said. Energy analysts said area refiners have enough crude oil supplies to weather a brief disruption.
"Crude inventory levels in the region are sufficient that refinery operations are not expected to be impacted if the waterway is reopened as planned," energy research firm Simmons & Company International said in a note to clients.
The Energy Department said it had received no requests for U.S. refiners for emergency oil loans from the U.S. stockpile.
"We're continuing to monitor the waterway closure situation and the effect on refineries' supplies," said Energy Department spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller.
At least one area refinery -- the 290,000 barrel-per-day facility operated by Motiva Enterprises LLC (RDSa.L) -- cut rates after the spill closed a waterway used by crude tankers to supply the plant, traders said.
In a case stemming from the 1989 Valdez spill, a federal court in June ordered Exxon Mobil to pay about $500 million in punitive damages, a fraction of the $5 billion awarded by a separate jury in 1996 to fishermen, Alaska natives, and other litigants.
In the wake of the Valdez spill, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, mandating that all tank vessels meet double hull specifications by 2015.
The tanker involved in Saturday's Port Arthur collision -- the 807-foot (246-meter) Eagle Otome -- was double-hulled, which enabled it to capture about 9,000 barrels of oil that would have otherwise seeped into the water, Plunkett said.
"I'll bet that spill would have been a lot worse without the double hull," said Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, which represents the ocean vessel industry. "With the Valdez, virtually the entire bottom was torn out of two-thirds of the ship."
The Eagle Otome is owned by AET Tanker Holdings, which is paying for the cleanup.
Texas officials said about 11,000 barrels of oil spilled into the water when the double-hulled Eagle Otome tanker collided with a barge.
State officials evacuated some residents after the oil slick soiled about 9 miles (14.5 km) of shoreline around Port Arthur.
It was the worst Texas spill since 1994, but much smaller than the 258,000 barrels spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
The tanker was carrying a load of high-sulfur Mexican crude, which gave off a heavy odor of rotten eggs as it evaporated and sickened some area residents.
The waterway, which supplies oil to four Texas refineries representing 6.5 percent of U.S. capacity, will probably reopen to vessel traffic on Thursday after ships skim oil from the water, said Captain J.J. Plunkett, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Port Arthur. The four area refineries have a combined refining capacity of 1.15 million barrels.
Both of the vessels involved in what officials called a "major inland oil spill" were chartered by subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N).
Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said it was "very concerned about this unfortunate incident," and that its chartered vessels "meet rigorous safety standards."
The waterway shutdown contributed to an uptick in crude oil futures prices on Monday, traders said. Energy analysts said area refiners have enough crude oil supplies to weather a brief disruption.
"Crude inventory levels in the region are sufficient that refinery operations are not expected to be impacted if the waterway is reopened as planned," energy research firm Simmons & Company International said in a note to clients.
The Energy Department said it had received no requests for U.S. refiners for emergency oil loans from the U.S. stockpile.
"We're continuing to monitor the waterway closure situation and the effect on refineries' supplies," said Energy Department spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller.
At least one area refinery -- the 290,000 barrel-per-day facility operated by Motiva Enterprises LLC (RDSa.L) -- cut rates after the spill closed a waterway used by crude tankers to supply the plant, traders said.
In a case stemming from the 1989 Valdez spill, a federal court in June ordered Exxon Mobil to pay about $500 million in punitive damages, a fraction of the $5 billion awarded by a separate jury in 1996 to fishermen, Alaska natives, and other litigants.
In the wake of the Valdez spill, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, mandating that all tank vessels meet double hull specifications by 2015.
The tanker involved in Saturday's Port Arthur collision -- the 807-foot (246-meter) Eagle Otome -- was double-hulled, which enabled it to capture about 9,000 barrels of oil that would have otherwise seeped into the water, Plunkett said.
"I'll bet that spill would have been a lot worse without the double hull," said Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, which represents the ocean vessel industry. "With the Valdez, virtually the entire bottom was torn out of two-thirds of the ship."
The Eagle Otome is owned by AET Tanker Holdings, which is paying for the cleanup.
