North Slope crews begin cleanup of toppled Doyon drilling rig near Nuiqsut

Crews have moved into Phase Two of the cleanup after Doyon Drilling Rig 26 — the self-propelled land rig known as The Beast — left a frozen gravel road and toppled roughly 6.5 miles north of Nuiqsut near the Alpine Field at about 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 23. Spill response teams have recovered an estimated 1,132 gallons of spilled oil and diesel, and those recovered materials will be disposed, incident leaders say.

The rig involved is described in federal notifications as weighing nearly 10 million pounds and among the largest mobile land drilling rigs in North America. Doyon Drilling, Inc., a subsidiary of Alaska Native regional corporation Doyon Ltd., said the rig was in transit to support ConocoPhillips’ exploration season in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska when it tipped over at approximately 70° 18.22′ N, 151° 8.72′ W.

Local and company statements reconcile injuries and personnel status: the North Slope Borough issued a Jan. 23 statement saying, “All personnel have been accounted for, and no serious injuries were reported.” Other reporting includes a more specific count that eight people sustained minor injuries, including two who were on the structure at the time of the topple.

Initial response documents estimated a potential release of roughly 4,000 gallons of diesel and about 600 gallons of hydraulic oil, with a possible release of ethylene glycol; that combined initial estimate totaled roughly 4,600 gallons. The amount recovered to date — about 1,132 gallons — has been publicly reported, and sources explicitly note both the larger initial estimates and the recovered figure without reconciling the difference.

Doyon is leading operations under a Unified Command and set out a three-phase response. Phase One focused on “Containment, cleanup, and mitigation of the impacted area, as well as ongoing safety evaluations for working around the rig.” Phase Two — described in the company release as underway — includes “Further inspection of the structure, removal of any remaining fluids or debris, and transportation of the rig to another location.” Crews have begun deconstruction steps such as removing the crown of the rig; deconstructed sections are to be cleaned and transported to a recycling facility. Responders have worked through periods of unsafe weather on the North Slope.

Federal agencies are engaged in assessments: the EPA contacted NOAA’s Scientific Support Coordinator to help determine the topple’s proximity to waters of the United States. Doyon spokesperson Sarah Obed declined to provide immediate answers on cause or estimated monetary loss, saying, “We are focused on the spill response and cleanup efforts, and it may take us some time to pull together the answer for your inquiry.”

ConocoPhillips said its exploration season will continue using a substitute drill rig. Doyon and North Slope Borough officials continue to stress that “there remains no immediate risk to the community, infrastructure, air quality, drinking water sources, nearby waterways, traffic, or wildlife,” and Unified Command has pledged regular updates and engagement with Nuiqsut leaders as the investigation and full remediation continue.