Pipe leak in Gulf of Mexico leaves half-mile slick

NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) A ruptured crude oil pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico spilled more than 20,000 gallons of crude oil over the weekend, leaving a half-mile-long oil slick in the water, the US Coast Guard said today.

''A medium crude oil pipeline ruptured 30 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, and leaked approximately 21,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, December 24,'' the Coast Guard said in a release.

Plains All American Pipeline LP, operator of the High Island Pipeline, said it shut the line down on Sunday after the leak was detected and that it was working with state and federal agencies to minimize the impact of the spill.

The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.

''There's a 60-yard-wide oil sheen that extends for about half a mile,'' said a Coast Guard spokesman. ''It is still leaking slowly, about 80 to 400 gallons a day.'' The High Island Pipeline System (HIPS) connects offshore oil platforms in the High Island and East Breaks areas of the Gulf of Mexico with Texas, City, Texas.

The pipeline pumped more than 50,000 barrels per day of crude oil in the late 1990s but output from the oil fields served by the pipeline has declined since then.

Oil fields operated by Apache Corp, Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Newfield Exploration Co are among those served by the High Island Pipeline, according to a map prepared by oil industry consultants Purvin and Gertz Inc.

An Apache spokesman said the company had shut-in about 4,000 barrels per day of oil output from fields served by the HIPS pipeline.

Reuters SBA VP0215