CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Upward of 14,000 gallons of light crude oil poured into the Corpus Christi Bay during the oil spill late Christmas Eve night near Ingleside. That's 10,000 more gallons than first reported.
The revised estimate Friday from Flint Hills Resources came after the U.S. Coast Guard found more oil Thursday in an area of North Beach.
"Flint Hills has mobilized resources, assessed the area, and is taking steps to recover material from the impacted areas. Crews also remain on site at Ingleside, where those cleanup efforts continue," the company said in a statement.
Wildlife found dead near Ingleside spill
At least two dead birds were pulled from the oil spill in the Ingleside area, Flint Hills Resources said. A turtle is also being treated for potential exposure.
Flint Hills is asking Corpus Christi residents to report any oil sheens or other material they see in the Corpus Christi Bay to the authorities.
So far, Flint Hills has deployed more than 17,000 feet of boom and 3,000 absorbent pads and says it will deploy more as necessary.
Why did the new estimate come in so much higher?
The U.S. Coast Guard and Flint Hills Resources initially estimated 90 barrels of light crude oil had spilled into the La Quinta Channel of the Corpus Christi Bay. It provided those estimates on Dec. 26. Every barrel holds 42 gallons of oil, so that initial estimate was for 3,780 gallons, which officials rounded to 3,800.
The original estimate was "based on an initial surface area assessment of the material that was discovered near the docks on Ingleside Bay," Flint Hills said.
Then Friday, it revised that estimate to 335 barrels spilled, or 14,070 gallons.
"The revised estimate reflects results of additional analysis of data from the terminal’s operations and data control center."
In layman's terms, crews eyeballed the initial estimate but got the larger number from computers that showed more precisely how much oil was lost.
So far Flint Hills has not determined the cause of the spill, saying that it's still under investigation. The dock where the spill occurred remains offline.
You can find the original story by clicking here.
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