Crews Remove Half of Toppled Doyon 26 Rig From Tundra Near Nuiqsut

Crews working from ice roads have removed about 47% of the fallen Doyon 26 drilling rig, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on-scene coordinator Kimberley Maher said the afternoon of Feb. 27. "Right now, there's ice roads that have been constructed in place that heavy equipment can work from, and so as of this afternoon, they've removed about 47% of the rig," Maher said, placing the salvage operation roughly halfway complete on the tundra near Nuiqsut.

Doyon 26, nicknamed "The Beast," was described in incident communications as as tall as a 15-story building and was said to be the largest land-based rig in North America. ConocoPhillips expected to use the rig in exploration work in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The rig toppled while in transit over a month ago, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished; no one was seriously injured and the structure was damaged beyond repair, according to Unified Command reports.

A Joint Incident Unified Command including ADEC, Doyon Drilling Inc., ConocoPhillips and federal, state and local partners is coordinating the response and salvage. Maher noted the advantage of frozen conditions: "Fortunately, this happened while everything is very frozen. We will be continuing to monitor the site, delineate the contamination, and put tactics in place to minimize any potential of contamination hitting any waterways." Heavy equipment is operating from the constructed ice roads to remove sections of the rig and manage any contamination risks.

Maher said the salvage operation is on track to be finished by spring breakup, with crews prioritizing delineation of contamination and tactics to protect nearby waterways. ConocoPhillips told incident coordinators that the accident will not disrupt its work program, a company position reported by Unified Command communications. A drone image taken in early February and credited to the Joint Information Center / Unified Command Response Team shows the toppled mast and the surrounding ice work area.

The exploration project tied to Doyon 26 is also the subject of an environmental lawsuit alleging the Bureau of Land Management granted permits without adequate consideration for the tundra, the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd and subsistence resources. Unified Command has not published detailed sampling results or a full chronology attributing cause, and public statements to date have not offered the exact date of the topple or quantified volumes of any contamination released.

Salvage crews continue phased removal from the ice roads, with Maher and the Joint Incident Unified Command overseeing monitoring and containment tactics as work proceeds toward spring breakup.