REPORT DATE: 09-02-2026
REPORT TIME: 0109 UTC
REGION: GULF OF AMERICA
SUB REGION: N/A
AREA/BLOCK: GALVESTON A158
IMAGE DATE: 09-02-2026
IMAGE TIME: 0015 UTC
DATA SOURCE: RADARSAT2 
MODE: ScanSAR Narrow VV
RESOLUTION: 50 meter
LOCATION: 28°10'25" N/94°36'50" W
AREA: 26.33 square kilometers
CONFIDENCE: Medium
REPORT MAP/GIS FILES: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/products/ocean/marinepollution/
REMARKS: Possible oil was observed in satellite imagery. This anomaly is unconfirmed as oil. It anomaly was located approximately 79 NM south of Galveston, Texas, near the boundary of the Galveston and High Island lease blocks. The anomaly was believed to be associated with NOAA NESDIS NRC#1472389 from 9/02, which reported an anomaly in the same location. The feature exhibited a strong dark contrast against the ocean background in SAR imagery, and was not co-located with a natural seep. It consisted of two main areas, with the larger portion measuring 7.82 NM in length and 1.96 NM at its widest. The smaller portion measured 2.81 NM in length and 1 NM in width. Winds near the time of the image were out of the southwest at 5 kts.

UNCERTAINTIES: A point source could not be determined. Multiple pipelines were in the vicinity of the anomaly, and an oil facility was present to the southwest, but it could not be definitively associated with any of these features.

If you would like to share any feedback about this report or have questions, please contact the operational analyst at (301) 683-1403 or send to oceanmap@noaa.gov. Email alerts are available only for federal and state government officials involved in response efforts. Requests to be added to the email alerts should also be sent to oceanmap@noaa.gov. Please allow up to 2 business days to process the request.

ERMA: https://erma.noaa.gov/gulfofamerica/erma.html#/layers=1+58915&x=-94.629069&y=28.202336&z=11&panel=layer

For further information on oil spill response and assessment go to:https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills 

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