UPDATES BELOW
Another oil rig, the Vermilion 380, owned by Mariner Energy, has exploded in the Gulf Of Mexico, west of the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.
According to CNN:
An oil rig has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, with 12 people overboard and one missing, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning.
Rescue attempts are underway for at least 12 people, Coast Guard spokesman John Edwards told CNN. 13 people were on board the rig total, Edwards said, noting 12 have been accounted for, but one person was missing.
The accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion Oil rig 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy.
The Coast Guard has multiple helicopters, an airplane and several Coast Guard cutters en route. It’s unknown if there are any injuries.
Mariner Energy owns nearly 350 Federal offshore leases, 110 of which are already in development, according to their website, as seen here.
UPDATE I
The explosion comes on the SAME day that the U.S. drilling ban has been overturned AGAIN.
UPDATE II
The Coast Guard is saying that a mile-long oil sheen is spreading from the site off an offshore petroleum platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana.
Also, from AP:
The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion and fire, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig were rescued as they floated in the nearby water in survival outfits called gumby suits.
The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay on the central Louisiana coast. Its 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 an April rig explosion.
All 13 people aboard the rig were found floating in the water, sticking close together, Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.
The platform is a fixed petroleum 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 about 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The platform can store 4,200 gallons of oil.
More here.
what’s the worst thing that could happen if a windmill caught on fire? . . . . Could it even catch on fire? . . . . hmmm, Okay, what would happen if we spent all the money from the cleanup efforts on R & D for renewable alternatives? I feel like we are making reckless decisions w/ policies and regulations that we won’t be able to recover from.
I couldn’t agree more. Even during discussions on this explosion today there are people STILL complaining about the moratorium. I think they’ve been overexposed to dispersant fumes. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking….