The damaged Doyon 26 rig rests on the tundra next to the Kuukpik Pad, which is part of ConocoPhillips’ Alpine operations. The massive rig toppled over on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Photo provided by Doyon Drilling in Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation situation report)
Work has started to remove the wreckage and remediate damage after a massive oil rig tipped over and crashed to the tundra near the North Slope village of Nuiqsut last month.
The unique rig, known as “The Beast,” was part of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s ongoing exploration program in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. It toppled about 6 1/2 miles from the Iñupiaq village as Doyon Drilling Inc. crews transported it on a frozen gravel road.
The rig fell about 50 feet from ConocoPhillips’ Kuukpik Pad and an associated camp. It came down about 200 feet from a pipeline, according to a situation report released Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The collapse caused a spill estimated at roughly 4,000 gallons of diesel and 600 gallons of hydraulic oil.
Just 111 gallons of product had been recovered from the snow as of Wednesday, officials say.
The cause of the accident is unknown, and an investigation will start when “safe to do so,” the report said. Doyon Drilling has engaged a third-party firm to conduct the investigation.
Temperatures rose into the 30s the day of the incident but returned to subzero conditions in the aftermath as a series of storms moved through.
Work responding to the spill and starting to remove the rig resumed this week after multiple delays due to “unsafe weather conditions,” according to the state’s report.
Efforts to contain the spill as of Wednesday include a “snow fence” around the site to minimize migration of contaminated snow and an ice trail “to support snow removal operations and safe access around the delineated area while mitigating damage to the tundra,” the report said. “An ice road and pad are being constructed in preparation for rig deconstruction and removal.”
The site is less than 500 feet from a tributary to the Nechelik (Nigliq) Channel of the Colville River, according to the update. Wildlife observers have reported one Arctic fox and a collared musk ox in the area but “no impacts to wildlife have been observed or reported,” it said.