Plan in the works for alternate route around slide

A slide on Thursday afternoon closed a portion of the Black Mountain Oil and Gas Field on public land on the Washakie/Hot Springs county line.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates the landslide to be approximately 10 acres with a depth of 20-30 feet. It destroyed the road to nine wells at the eastern end of the oilfield in Section 31. Approximately the last mile of the Black Mountain Road, from the landslide to the top of Black Mountain, is signed and closed until further notice.

Due to the quick thinking of Breitburn Operating employees who witnessed the beginning of the slide, the wells were shut-in immediately to avoid oil spilling from any broken pipelines.

Sarah Beckwith, who works in public affairs for the BLM, said the exact cause of the slide isn't known because a geologist hasn't looked at it yet, though it's safe to say to tremendous amount of precipitation in the area is a likely culprit.

The BLM will work with Breitburn Operating to determine a path forward. Beckwith said the company will submit a plan to the BLM on how to get to the wells, and the BLM will help in any way it can.

Tom Faulkner, a petroleum engineer with Breitburn, said they are in the middle of making plans. A civil engineer has visited the site and will draw up a plan for providing road access to the site, though nothing is available yet.

Faulkner noted they have 150 barrels of oil a day shut in due to the slide.