Two additional spills related to Colorado’s record flooding in September were reported Monday by the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) as part of its ongoing monitoring of the oil and natural gas industry’s recovery (see Daily GPI, Sept. 26).

OGCC inspectors reported a 120-bbl (5,040 gallon) “notable release” from a PDC Energy Inc. well east of Greeley and the South Platte River, along with a smaller, 32-bbl (1,344 gallon) release at another PDC site in the same area, but north of Highway 34.

Notable releases of fuel now add up to more than 1,000 bbl, or 43,764 gallons, OGCC said in its latest accounting. The overall volume equates to more than three tanks of fuel, given that the typical storage tanks have a 300 bbl capacity.

There were also two additional sites with evidence of minor releases, such as a sheen in water, bringing to 16 the total of that category of release. In addition, OGCC has said there are 60 sites with visible damage to storage tanks but no known releases at this time.

OGCC also released its latest estimates on produced water releases, involving water containing small amounts of dissolved hydrocarbons that exist in the same formations as the oil and gas. The produced water is separated at the surface and stored in tanks onsite for eventual proper disposal or recycling.

“The agency is tracking 12 produced water releases with a cumulative amount of 413 barrels, or 17,350 gallons,” said an OGCC spokesperson.

On Monday, several teams of inspectors continued operations in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin and have now covered most of the flood-impacted areas, according to a spokesperson.

Toppled tanks have been the source of numerous spills and road access continued to be a problem in many areas at the start of a new week, hindering the speed at which the industry can bring back to production the more than 1,900 wells shut in by the record-breaking floods, said a Colorado Oil & Gas Association spokesman.