Oil spewing from wellhead in Bayou Perot

The oil spill is the result of a damaged sweet medium crude oil wellhead near mile marker 20 of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which was discovered shortly after midnight Saturday.

The owner of the well, ExPert Oil & Gas LLC of Covington, is working with Environmental Safety and Health Consulting and Training Group (ES&H) and Wild Well Control to locate and secure the source of the spill and to conduct cleanup operations.

More than 3,200 feet of oil containment boom has been deployed to prevent the oil from spreading, although it has not yet been determined how much oil has entered the water. 

HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans conducted two overflights Sunday to monitor and assess the situation.

The captain of the port for the Port of New Orleans has closed the GICW between mile markers 16 and 35.