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02 September 2010
Mariner Energy’s Vermillion 380 offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on Thursday morning, the US Coast Guard said, but a separate report indicated that the rig was not leaking oil into the Gulf.
Financial news service Streetinsider.com reported on its Twitter page that all of the rig’s wells were shut-in, and no spills or sheen had been seen in the Gulf.
“Remember, just because the [Mariner Energy] rig exploded doesn’t mean it’s leaking,” the page said. “Isn’t that what the blowout preventer is for?”
Shares of Mariner dipped as much as 16% in the immediate aftermath of the Thursday morning explosion. But by 12:40 New York time (16:40 GMT), Mariner had rebounded to trade down 64 cents, or 2.7%, at $22.71/share on the New York Stock Exchange.
A Coast Guard spokesman told CNN that the platform “was not actively producing any product”.
Bloomberg reported that the Vermillion 380 platform - about 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana - was also operated by Mariner Energy.
In a third-quarter 2009 conference call, Mariner said the Vermillion 380 rig - which was damaged in 2008 by Hurricane Ike - was expected to produce 3,000-4,000 bbl/day of oil.
The platform was authorised to produce oil and gas, but had not been in recent production due to ongoing maintenance issues, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said on Thursday.
The Vermillion 380 is an oil and gas production platform operating in 340 feet of water, 102 miles offshore from the Louisiana coast, the bureau said.
The explosion occurred around 9:00 hours local time, according to New Orleans television station WDSU. Reports were unclear as to whether the rig was still burning as of 12:00 hours Houston time (17:00 hours GMT).
According to CNN, all 13 workers on the rig had been accounted for on Thursday, but one was injured.
The rig was to the west of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon offshore rig, which exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers and resulting in the largest oil leak in Gulf history.
That explosion also led to stringent regulations by the US government on deepwater offshore drilling.
The Financial Times reported that Mariner officials attended a Wednesday rally in Houston to protest the Obama administration’s moratorium.
The Vermillion 380 rig was not affected by the deepwater drilling ban, however, because it was not drilling in deepwater.
Source: www.icis.com
Mariner Energy’s Vermillion 380 offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on Thursday morning, the US Coast Guard said, but a separate report indicated that the rig was not leaking oil into the Gulf.
Financial news service Streetinsider.com reported on its Twitter page that all of the rig’s wells were shut-in, and no spills or sheen had been seen in the Gulf.
“Remember, just because the [Mariner Energy] rig exploded doesn’t mean it’s leaking,” the page said. “Isn’t that what the blowout preventer is for?”
Shares of Mariner dipped as much as 16% in the immediate aftermath of the Thursday morning explosion. But by 12:40 New York time (16:40 GMT), Mariner had rebounded to trade down 64 cents, or 2.7%, at $22.71/share on the New York Stock Exchange.
A Coast Guard spokesman told CNN that the platform “was not actively producing any product”.
Bloomberg reported that the Vermillion 380 platform - about 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana - was also operated by Mariner Energy.
In a third-quarter 2009 conference call, Mariner said the Vermillion 380 rig - which was damaged in 2008 by Hurricane Ike - was expected to produce 3,000-4,000 bbl/day of oil.
The platform was authorised to produce oil and gas, but had not been in recent production due to ongoing maintenance issues, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said on Thursday.
The Vermillion 380 is an oil and gas production platform operating in 340 feet of water, 102 miles offshore from the Louisiana coast, the bureau said.
The explosion occurred around 9:00 hours local time, according to New Orleans television station WDSU. Reports were unclear as to whether the rig was still burning as of 12:00 hours Houston time (17:00 hours GMT).
According to CNN, all 13 workers on the rig had been accounted for on Thursday, but one was injured.
The rig was to the west of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon offshore rig, which exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers and resulting in the largest oil leak in Gulf history.
That explosion also led to stringent regulations by the US government on deepwater offshore drilling.
The Financial Times reported that Mariner officials attended a Wednesday rally in Houston to protest the Obama administration’s moratorium.
The Vermillion 380 rig was not affected by the deepwater drilling ban, however, because it was not drilling in deepwater.
Source: www.icis.com
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