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By Kathy Finn
Feb 27 (Reuters) - A boat collided with an inactive oil andgas well near New Orleans on Tuesday night, causing a small oilspill, the U.S. Coast Guard and the operator of the well said onWednesday.
The accident occurred at about 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday,when a 42-foot (13-meter) offshore oil service boat, the SeaRaider, struck a wellhead owned by Swift Energy ininland water off Plaquemines Parish.
The Coast Guard said the oily water discharge coming off thewellhead amounted to less than 840 gallons (3,180 liters) of oilbeing spilled per day.
Swift said the collision had damaged the wellhead but thatit "appears to be primarily releasing water and a small amountof oil."
The company said containment booms and skimming equipmenthad been deployed around the well to protect nearby shorelines.
The Coast Guard deployed 40 people to oversee clean-upoperations and was working with federal, state and localagencies plus Swift Energy.
The incident occurred about 9 miles (15 km) southwest ofPort Sulphur, a small town along the lower Mississippi Riversome 50 miles (80 km) south of New Orleans.
There has been a heightened awareness of spills of anymagnitude since the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11rig workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulfof Mexico in 2010.
Oil company BP is currently on trial in a civil casein New Orleans over the spill.
Potential liabilities stretch into the tens of billions ofdollars if the judge determines BP or the other defendants weregrossly negligent. Oil came ashore from Texas to Florida,threatening livelihoods and state economies dependent on seafoodand tourism.
Swift Energy is an independent oil and gas driller based inHouston. The company pumps oil and gas in Texas and Louisianaand reported total production of around 35,000 barrels per dayof oil and gas equivalent during the last quarter of 2012.
