MMS Press Release-POSVEM and Pocket Guide: Two New Tools for Calculating a Discharge from a Pipeline Spill

U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Public Affairs

FOR RELEASE:

April 3, 2003

CONTACT:

Nicolette Humphries
On-site at cell (202) 320-4405

Rebecca Phipps (202) 208-3985

POSVEM and Pocket Guide: Two New Tools for Calculating a Discharge from a Pipeline Spill

A computer model, known as the Pipeline Oil Spill Volume Estimation Model (POSVEM), is available to calculate any discharge from a pipeline spill. For a quick estimate of the worst case discharge from a pipeline spill that can be made on site without the use of a computer a Pocket Guide is also available. Both POSVEM and the Pocket Guide were developed by SINTEF Applied Chemistry with funding from the Minerals Management Service.

POSVEM and the Pocket Guide will be showcased at the International Oil Spill Conference, April 6 –10, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.

POSVEM can calculate the amount of oil that could leak from an underwater pipeline following a break, crack or other damage. It can also calculate the evolution of the release rate over time, the total mass of oil released, and the mean thickness of any eventual surface slick being formed.

The Pocket Guide, the POSVEM, and the user’s manuals are available free of charge on the MMS web page at: http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/390.htm. More than 1000 hard copies of the pocket guide have already been distributed.

Dr. Mark Reed of SINTEF will describe the MMS’ POSVEM and the Pocket Guide in a session at the International Oil Spill Conference on Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at 3:45 p.m. in room 12 of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.

More than 1,800 people from 50 countries are expected to attend the International Oil Spill Conference, which will include many technical sessions and more than 280 exhibits. The conference theme is: Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Restoration - Perspectives for a Cleaner Environment. It is the preeminent gathering of oil spill response experts from around the world.

For more information on the International Oil Spill Conference, go to www.iosc.org.

The Minerals Management Service manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters. MMS also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and Indian leases. These revenues totaled more than $6 billion in 2002 and more than $127 billion since the agency was created in 1982.