Small amounts of diesel hydrocarbons were found in swamp water where an acre of swampland liquefied over the weekend while experts try to determine whether the occurrence was natural or manmade, officials said Monday.
The sinkhole in Assumption Parish appeared Friday night and grew quickly, toppling cypress trees and bending a 36-inch natural gas pipeline buried 16 feet in the ground as the muck expanded. About 150 homes and several businesses were ordered to evacuate after Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency for the parish when the sinkhole appeared to be expanding....MORE
From Reuters:
Chevron Corp's subsidiary Bridgeline Holdings has declared a force majeure on its natural gas storage cavern near Napoleonville, Louisiana, due to seismic events and a sinkhole that has formed near one of its storage areas, the company said.
The force majeure is in place until December 31, 2012, and was declared on Tuesday after a sinkhole forced the evacuation of local residents on Friday, according to company filings and local media.
"Chevron Pipeline Co (CPL) has elected to take the step of drawing down the NS1 cavern as a precaution to ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect public safety and the environment," said Gareth Johnstone, a Chevron spokesman....MORE
