Another Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico Explodes

[Referee]

Another oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

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[humanalien]

Perfect timing. It's being reported that people are just
now getting sick and dying from the last oil disaster.

[Sidney]

Heres another report of the details. (my first thought was perhaps retaliation"?????for the 6 billion dollar fine)
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The fire, begun while workers were using a torch to cut an oil line, critically injured at least four workers who had burns over much of their bodies.

The images were eerily similar to the massive oil spill that killed 11 workers and took months to bring under control. It came a day after BP agreed to plead guilty to a raft of charges in the 2010 spill and pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties.

There were a few important differences with the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and launched one of the nation's biggest environmental disasters: Friday's fire was put out within hours, rather than burning for more than a day and causing the rig to collapse and sink. It's a production platform in shallow water, rather than an exploratory drilling rig looking for new oil on the seafloor almost a mile deep.

Still, the accident was a vivid reminder of the dangers involved in offshore drilling and the risk it poses to the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem and shoreline.

A sheen of oil about a half-mile long and 200 yards wide was reported on the Gulf surface, but officials believe it came from residual oil on the platform.

"It's not going to be an uncontrolled discharge from everything we're getting right now," Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski said.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Bobby Nash said late Friday that monitoring continues to show no oil is coming from the well. He said a Coast Guard cutter was continuing its search into the night, and that a broader rescue effort would resume after daybreak Saturday.

Eleven people were taken by helicopter to area hospitals or for treatment on shore by emergency medical workers.

Taslin Alfonzo, spokeswoman for West Jefferson Medical Center in suburban New Orleans, said four injured workers arrived in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies.

Two were sent by ambulance to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Medical Center. Two others were sent later.

A spokeswoman for Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma said the hospital was treating two workers who were in good condition. Several other workers were taken to Lady of the Sea General Hospital in Cut Off. None was listed in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman, who wouldn't specify how many patients the hospital was treating.

The production platform owned by Houston-based Black Elk Energy is about 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, on the western side of the Mississippi River delta. The Coast Guard said 24 people were aboard the platform at the time of the fire.

Cubanski said the platform appeared to be structurally sound. He said only about 28 gallons of oil were in the broken line on the platform.

After the April 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, that rig burned for about 36 hours before collapsing and sinking to the Gulf floor. The depth of the well blow-out _ a mile below the Gulf surface _ proved to be a major challenge in bringing the disaster under control.

The Black Elk platform is in 56 feet of water _ a depth much easier for engineers to manage if a spill had happened.

A federal official in Washington said a team of environmental enforcement inspectors was flying to the scene.

David Smith, a spokesman for the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said the team was dispatched from a Gulf Coast base by helicopter soon after the Coast Guard was notified of the emergency. Smith said the team would scan for any evidence of oil spilling and investigate the cause of the explosion.

"This is yet another reminder that our work on oil drilling safety is not complete," said U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.

Black Elk is an independent oil and gas company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company's website says it holds interests in properties in Texas and Louisiana waters, including 854 wells on 155 platforms.

The company said on its website that "our thoughts and prayers are with those who are impacted." The company said it was still collecting information and would issue a statement later.

The spill from BP's Macondo well, about 50 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River on the east side of the river delta, dumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. It fouled beaches, marshes and rich seafood grounds.

[ghostrider]

BP should be put out off business today, How many more people are going to be injured, killed or become sick from the irresponsilbe actions of BP .. BP has proven they can't operate in a safe manner on land or sea, the texas city refinery explosion, the gulf oil spill and now this, who the hell is in charge of the go or no go of these oil rigs ?? They also should be removed from power. In the words of Donal J Trump, YOUR FIRED . all involved , especially upper management, investors, all of them , fired . I guess our government is just going to look the other way and let this sort of thing happen. Folks they are killing our environment and killing people for energy. We should be off oil yesterday , they have the technology, but the greater greed, we cant' have free energy, who's gonna make the fries ?? British Petrolium should change their name to British Petrolium Explosion Incorporated. their mission statement BP polluting the world , one gulf at a time , it's a dirty job but somebodys got to do it, you can count on us .

[Sidney]

BP should be put out off business today, How many more people are going to be injured, killed or become sick from the irresponsilbe actions of BP .. BP has proven they can't operate in a safe manner on land or sea, the texas city refinery explosion, the gulf oil spill and now this, who the hell is in charge of the go or no go of these oil rigs ?? They also should be removed from power. In the words of Donal J Trump, YOUR FIRED . all involved , especially upper management, investors, all of them , fired . I guess our government is just going to look the other way and let this sort of thing happen. Folks they are killing our environment and killing people for energy. We should be off oil yesterday , they have the technology, but the greater greed, we cant' have free energy, who's gonna make the fries ?? British Petrolium should change their name to British Petrolium Explosion Incorporated. their mission statement BP polluting the world , one gulf at a time , it's a dirty job but somebodys got to do it, you can count on us .

I have made a point to never step foot in a BP station. EVER It should be the boycot of the century.

[Flash]

This is British Petroleum isn't it. Under which name are they operating gaz stations in different countries? Anyone knows?

[Cidersomerset]

I missed this story !!


7T8Iwxt0moQ

Two missing after fire on Gulf of Mexico oil rig
An oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and operated by Houston-based Black Elk Energy burst into flames on Friday, leaving at least two people missing and badly injuring several others, US and Louisiana officials said.


Two missing after fire on Gulf of Mexico oil rig
An oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and operated by Houston-based Black Elk Energy burst into flames on Friday, leaving at least two people missing and badly injuring several others, US and Louisiana officials said.

http://cdn.sourcefednews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/oilrig1-e1353091953191.jpg

The US Coast Guard said 11 people were airlifted to hospitals after the fire Photo: Reuters
9:45PM GMT 16 Nov 2012
36 Comments
The fire has been extinguished, Black Elk spokeswoman Leslie Hoffman said. She added that an emergency response is under way, but declined further comment, Reuters reported.

The US Coast Guard said 11 people were airlifted to hospitals while nine others were evacuated to other nearby energy facilities. Search and rescue helicopters were scouring the area, located around 17 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana.
No fatalities have been confirmed but two workers are missing. The 11 hurt included four who suffered burns and were in critical condition at Louisiana's West Jefferson Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. When it caught fire, 22 workers were aboard the shallow-water platform, which was not actively drilling or producing oil and gas, the Coast Guard said. An oil sheen is being monitored in waters nearby. The Coast Guard said there appeared to be little risk of a major oil spill because production was shut off before the fire, and Black Elk told authorities that any spill could be as little as 28 gallons.

The latest potentially deadly offshore incident comes a day after oil giant BP reached an agreement to pay record penalties of $4.5bn for its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which spewed 4.9m barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers. The Black Elk platform sits in 56 feet of water and its production apparatus was shut off before the fire. In contrast, the BP disaster happened during a drilling operation in waters nearly a mile deep. Federal data and SEC filings show that Black Elk, a minor producer in the Gulf, has a recent history of close calls, platform incidents and fines, including a $300,000 federal penalty it paid in September. Friday's incident could reignite a national debate over safety standards for offshore drilling. After the Horizon spill, the government overhauled offshore drilling regulations and imposed a ban on drilling that lasted for several months.

"BP and the government may have settled criminal matters yesterday, but today's incident shows that increasing safety of offshore drilling and for hard-working men and women is still not a settled matter," said Massachusetts congressman Ed Markey, the ranking Democrat on the House National Resources Committee, in a statement. "This incident raises a number of questions about the nature and adequacy of safety measures on this offshore rig," Markey added.
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said it was sending safety inspectors to the Black Elk platform. "They were not actively drilling," said Coast Guard spokesman Glenn Sanchez. "They were cutting a pipe or doing some type of maintenance that may have resulted in the explosion and fire." Offshore producer Black Elk was founded in 2007 by CEO John Hoffman, a former BP Amoco executive, according to an interview with him published in the Houston Business Journal in April. The firm holds at least 88 oil and gas leases, according to US government data. Its SEC filings show Black Elk pumped some 14,000 barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent per day last quarter. It recently announced a major expansion, with plans to drill 23 new wells in the Gulf of Mexico starting this month, according to a company website. In a company filing, Black Elk lists New York hedge fund Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund as its majority equity owner. Platinum declined comment.

Government data and company filings show that Black Elk has a recent history of fines and safety issues on offshore rigs. The firm was investigated by BSEE as recently as August for an incident in which two employees were dropped 60 feet into Gulf of Mexico waters due to a crane malfunction. No injuries were reported. In September, while repairing a leak at another well on a platform in the High Island area of the Gulf of Mexico in September, workers were forced to activate a blowout preventer to control the well. Regulators ordered the well to be plugged and abandoned last month. SEC filings also show that Black Elk paid a $300,000 civil fine in September, related to a site inspection in 2011 of one of its facilities, which revealed compliance issues. A small fire occurred at a Black Elk platform in February of 2011 in the Gulf of Mexico, but was quickly contained, according to a report filed with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, a predecessor of BSEE. Black Elk specializes in acquiring mature oil and gas properties from other companies, according to a July report in the magazine Hedge Funds Review, which says it has spent $600m on wells since 2009.









http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9684623/Two-missing-after-fire-on-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-rig.html