CNN reported that it was undetermined if the latest oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by an explosion, but smoke from the fire was detected by a commercial helicopter flying near the area.
The owner of the platform, Mariner Energy, Inc, dispatched three fire fighting boats to combat the blaze.
There were 13 people aboard the rig and they all managed to put on “gumby” suits, before entering the water to wait for rescue.
"These guys had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits before they entered the water,” said Coast Guard spokesman, CPO John Edwards. “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 and things of that nature."
The crew was in the water for over an hour before helicopters arrived to rescue them.
The Coast Guard reported an oil-sheen approximately 1 mile wide near the burning platform, which was located 200 miles from the site where BP’s Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing 11 people.
The Mariner platform was just 102 miles from Vermillion Bay, Louisiana, in approximately 340 feet of water. It was reported to be producing 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas every day. Its storage capacity was 4,200 gallons of oil.
President Obama was involved with Israel/Palestinian peace talks, but he has been monitoring the situation. According to White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, there have been “response assets ready for deployment if needed.”
The Obama administration has been under pressure by the oil industry to lift a moratorium on deepwater drilling less than five months after the Deepwater Horizon explosion that launched the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Cause of the Mariner Energy fire is unknown, but environmentalists have been cautioning against lifting the moratorium too soon.
“Sadly, today’s news comes as no surprise. Offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is like playing Russian roulette. It’s not a matter of if something will go wrong, it’s a matter of when,” said Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s time the government put all offshore oil and gas operations — whether they’re exploratory wells or production operations — on hold until we know they’re safe. The price we’ve already paid for BP’s Deepwater Horizon is too high. We cannot risk any more disasters.”
According to Patrick Cassidy of Mariner Energy, all seven wells near the burning platform have been “shut in”, which means all valves were closed. CNN’s experts estimated 1000 gallons may have spread out causing the mile long sheen, but additional spillage was not expected.
“Clearly, this is not the time to let this industry return to business as usual. BP’s catastrophe certainly made the case for that, and this morning’s explosion only drives the point home,” said Suckling.
***Jean Williams 2010
Comments
It goes to show that shallow wells can be just as dangerous as deepwater wells. Instead of rescinding the deepwater moratorium, they should extend it to include shallow water wells for safety inspection.
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