Title: BREAKING: MARINER SAYS EXPLOSION ON OIL, GAS PRODUCTION PLATFORM IN GULF OF MEXICO Source:
BBG URL Source:http://www.bloomberg.com Published:Sep 2, 2010 Author:None Post Date:2010-09-02 11:32:57 by war Keywords:None Views:16496 Comments:29
GRAND ISLE, La. — The Coast Guard is responding to an explosion involving an offshore petroleum structure in the Gulf of Mexico.
Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
Ranel says it hasn't been determined whether the structure is a production platform or a drilling rig or whether workers were aboard. Ranel says smoke was reported but it is unclear whether the rig is still burning.
It's a darn good thing that Republicans opposed any sort of moratorium to make sure adequate safety standards were in place and that they were being followed, because as BP has taught us, we can always trust and rely on oil rig owners to properly manage their own rigs.
It's about 80 degrees outside, but it does look like Pittsburgh will be OK when Rothlesburger returns though I hear that Chilean wines are spectacular this time of year.
An oil platform has exploded in the Gulf of Louisiana, injuring at least one person. The Coast Guard tells MSNBC that the platform is still burning, but says it is not a drilling rig.
Update at 12:14 p.m. ET: The New Orleans Tiems-Picayune descrbies the facility, called Vermillion 380, as a "fixed, manned production platform." The newspaper says the platform is not involved in drilling and, unlike the ill-fated BP rig, is not a floating rig, but rather is a fixed platform.
Update at 12:11 p.m. ET: The Coast Guard tells MSNBC that the facility is not a rig, but is a platform that does not do any drilling.
Update at 12:04 p.m. ET: The rig, owned by Mariner Energy, is located west of the BP spill site, the Associated Press reports. The incident was first reported by a commercial helicopter company around 10:30 a.m. ET, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel. The Coast Guard confirmes there is one injury, but no deaths. The platform is in about 2,500 feet of water, the Coast Guard said, but is not currently producing, the AP reports.
Update at 11:48 a.m. ET: Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says a helicopter was sent to the site after a report that the rig was on fire "and that there was smoke and there were people in the water,'' The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reports.
Update at 11:41 a.m. ET: The Coast Guard says the oil rig is located 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, Louisiana.
Update at 11:38 a.m. ET: MSNBC quotes Coast Guard Petty Officer John Edwards as saying one worker has been injured, but he did not know the extent of the injuries. Edwards says 9 helicopters and some fixed-wing aircraft as well as four Coast Guard cutters have been sent to the site.
Update at 11:35 a.m. ET: MSNBC quotes a Coast Guard spokesman as saying all of the workers were wearing protective gear.
