Top Stories

DNR Advises Louisiana Oil and Natural Gas Operators on Wildfires

Office of Conservation calls on operators to be vigilant for threat of fire near sites

Tuesday, September 6, 2011—The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) Office of Conservation today released a fire threat advisory for oil and natural gas operations throughout the state in response to a recent series of wildfires in North Louisiana, as well as ongoing drought conditions in much of the state and continuing wildfire outbreaks in eastern Texas.

Commissioner of Conservation Jim Welsh has issued the advisory calling on operators of all oil and natural gas exploration, production, transportation, waste and storage facilities regulated by the Office of Conservation to keep advised of the latest reports on the location and status of active fires in relation to active sites and to take all appropriate steps to prevent fires from coming into contact with active wells, flowlines, gathering lines, pipelines or storage tanks.

Welsh also reminds operators that state regulations require that combustible vegetation, trash and debris should always be kept at least 100 feet away from wellheads, production equipment, storage tanks and other exploration and production site structures.

He notes that operators whose facilities are directly threatened by wildfires should be prepared to take steps that include removing crude oil or condensate from storage tanks or shutting in wells, production facilities, flowlines or pipelines, if necessary.

"As drought conditions persist in many areas of our state, so does the risk of wildfire and the potential for wildfires to grow quickly out of control once they start," Welsh said. "I am asking our oil and natural gas operators to be proactive in ensuring their sites are as fire-safe as possible and to be informed and ready to take action if wildfires are burning near their facilities."

The U.S. Forest Service, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, maintains a fire danger rating map at www.wfas.net/maps/  and maps of fire conditions and ongoing major wildfires at http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us.

The Office of Conservation advisory can be viewed at http://dnr.louisiana.gov/assets/OC/latest_news/20110906_wildfireadvisory0001.pdf