September 2, 2010 in Nation/World

Oil sheen spotted after Gulf rig explosion

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Another oil rig exploded and caught fire today off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico west of the site of BP’s massive spill. All 13 crew members were rescued.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform. Firefighting vessels were battling the flames.

The company that owns the rig, Houston-based Mariner Energy, did not know what caused the blast, which was reported by a helicopter flying over the area.

Crew members were found floating in the water, huddled together in survival outfits called “gumby suits.”

“These guys had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits before they entered the water. It speaks volumes to safety training and the importance of it because, beyond getting off the rig, there’s all the hazards of the water such as hypothermia,” Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.

The crew was being flown to a hospital in Houma. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said one person was injured, but the company said there were no injuries.

Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene.

The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Louisiana’s Vermilion Bay. It’s location is considered shallow water, much less than the approximately 5,000 feet where BP’s well spewed oil and gas for three months after the April rig explosion.

Responding to any oil spill in shallow water would be much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles access equipment on the sea floor.

The rig is a fixed platform that was in production at the time of the fire, according to a homeland security operational update obtained by The Associated Press.

The update said the platform was producing 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The platform can store 4,200 gallons of oil.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Mariner Energy officials told him there were seven active production wells on the platform, and they were shut down shortly after the fire broke out.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting at the time of the accident.

“We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water,” Gibbs said.

The platform is about 200 miles west of BP’s blown-out well. A company report said the well was drilled in the third quarter of 2008.

Federal authorities have cited Mariner Energy and related entities for 10 accidents in the Gulf of Mexico over the last four years, according to safety records from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

The accidents range from platform fires to pollution spills and a blowout, according to accident-investigation reports from the agency formerly known as the Minerals Management Service.

In 2007, welding sparks falling onto an oil storage tank caused a flash fire that slightly burned a contract worker. The Minerals Management Service issued a $35,000 fine.

Mariner Energy Inc. focuses on oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf. In April, Apache Corp., another independent oil company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner’s debt. That deal is pending.

On Friday, BP was expected to begin the process of removing the cap and failed blowout preventer, another step toward completion of a relief well that would put a final seal on the well. The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and setting off a three-month leak that totaled 206 million gallons of oil.

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14 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

misjustice on September 02 at 9:04 a.m.
Sounds to me as if we are having another terrorist attack. You never hear, or rarely hear, of oil explosions and now we’ve had two in the same area within a few months of each other?
Hum. Where’s homeland security now???
misjustice on September 02 at 9:21 a.m.
Oh, great; here we go again!
Gramma, are you for real? “Terrists”? Really?
soccermomsusie on September 02 at 9:28 a.m.
I sure hope this doesn’t make people want to regulate the oil industry. Yes, other countries don’t have these problems, but that’s because they put all sorts of regulatory demands on the oil companies and then take a bunch of their money for their government - in other words - SOCIALISM!!!
God has made us a free country. Let’s stay that way. It doesn’t matter how much this costs the poor people in New Orleans or my tax dollars - HANDS OFF THE OIL COMPANIES!
The free market will sort this out.
This also points to the wisdom of intelligent design. How many years have we wondered why God made waterfowl so water repellant, yet oil absorbent. Now we know. Don’t mess with the divine plan!
HEAR OUR VOICE!!!
PhiltheBibliophil on September 02 at 9:34 a.m.
And Saint Sarah says, “Drill, baby, Drill”! Soccermomsusie, your rationale is totally WRONG! A lack of regulation across America by the Robber Barons from Oil, to mining, to oil, to the environment is what has gotten us into this mess! Capitalism is one thing, Greed is another. Whether you realize it or not, this country has been a Fascist country since the 30’s. “The perfect marriage between Corporations and Government!” And thats a direct quote from Benito Mussollini. Socialism would be a welcome change!
soccermomsusie on September 02 at 9:41 a.m.
Phil, What you just wrote makes me feel sick.
I am going to wash my eyes now. Thank you very much. I have found that a one to one mix of Holy Water and Dawn works well to remove stubborn, stinky socialist progressive irritants from the windows to my soul!
HEAR OUR VOICE!!!
misjustice on September 02 at 11:19 a.m.
Spill, baby, spill!
Or in soccermom’s parlance, shill, baby shill! ; )
spokanecommunistparty on September 02 at 12:00 p.m.
They will not be able to hide all this oil underwater because its too close to shore.
misjustice on September 02 at 12:11 p.m.
What planet are you from? Do you really think it couldn’t happen?
SpokaneLiberal on September 02 at 12:34 p.m.
This kind of makes the judge who struck down the drilling moratorium look foolish. Mix in his heavily oil invested portfolio and we have a decent chance at a charge of misconduct.
misjustice on September 02 at 12:57 p.m.
gramms prefers to see a “terrist” behind every oil platform explosion/fire; instead of corrupt judges, a captured regulatory agency, and corporate greed.
misjustice on September 02 at 1:08 p.m.
“Federal authorities have cited Mariner Energy and related entities for 10 accidents in the Gulf of Mexico over the last four years, according to safety records from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.”
Seems as if the only “terrists” that are involved are the CEOs of Mariner Energy!
Scoutster on September 02 at 1:39 p.m.
Obama’s done it again!
misjustice on September 02 at 2:25 p.m.
Yep! It’s all Barack Hussein Obama’s fault; for not halting off shore drillin’ & spillin’.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 02 at 10:00 p.m.
Not to worry. Obama’s crew will show it due attention and fix it all up…in 90 days or so……he’s such a stickler for environmental concerns. Moreso if it’ll get him re-elected………