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02 September 2010
The fire on the Mariner Energy oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been extinguished, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard backtracked from earlier statements that an oil sheen was spotted in the Gulf, saying in a televised news conference that none of the boats or aircraft responding to the Vermilion 380 platform fire had seen such a sheen.
Coast Guard Captain Peter Troedsson added that there was no evidence of any oil leaks from the platform, but that officials would continue to investigate.
Troedsson said the report of a 1-mile by 100-foot sheen came from Mariner Energy officials, but that on-scene Coast Guard responders could not find it.
The fire occurred about 9:00 hours Louisiana time (14:00 GMT), forcing all 13 people aboard the rig into the water, the Coast Guard said. All were rescued.
Houston-based Mariner said in a statement that it was beginning an investigation into the incident and would work with US officials.
The Vermilion 380 was operating in 340 feet of water, 102 miles offshore from the Louisiana coast, according to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The Associated Press said the platform was in production at the time of the fire, despite earlier talk to the contrary.
The AP reported that the platform was producing about 58,000 gal/day of oil and 900,000 cubic feet/day of natural gas, with a capacity to store 4,200 gallons of oil.
Mariner did not respond to requests for comment on that report.
Mariner had sent three fire-fighting vessels to the site to extinguish the fire, which Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said resulted from flammable material in storage.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were also sent to the scene, according to the AP.
The Vermilion 380 was about 200 miles to the west of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon offshore rig, which exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers and leading to the largest oil leak in Gulf history.
That explosion also led to stringent regulations by the US government on deepwater offshore drilling. US environmental group Sierra Club said Thursday's incident was more evidence of the need for US officials to invest in clean energy.
“This latest explosion shows that we need to make sure all these rigs in the Gulf are safe to operate before we put personnel back to work on them,” said Gary Beevers, international vice president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union.
“We need to give the government adequate time to do its inspections and ensure adequate health and safety provisions are in place,” he added.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs indicated on Thursday that the explosion and fire on the oil platform would not have any impact on President Barack Obama's ongoing moratorium on deepwater drilling in Gulf waters.
The Financial Times reported that Mariner officials had attended a Wednesday rally in Houston to protest the Obama administration’s moratorium.
The Vermilion 380 was not affected by the deepwater drilling ban, however, because it was not drilling in deepwater.
NYMEX light sweet crude futures moved higher by $1.11 to $75.02/bbl in the aftermath of the Thursday morning incident.
Shares of Mariner and energy giant Apache, which earlier this year agreed to buy Mariner, closed down by 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: www.icis.com
The fire on the Mariner Energy oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been extinguished, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard backtracked from earlier statements that an oil sheen was spotted in the Gulf, saying in a televised news conference that none of the boats or aircraft responding to the Vermilion 380 platform fire had seen such a sheen.
Coast Guard Captain Peter Troedsson added that there was no evidence of any oil leaks from the platform, but that officials would continue to investigate.
Troedsson said the report of a 1-mile by 100-foot sheen came from Mariner Energy officials, but that on-scene Coast Guard responders could not find it.
The fire occurred about 9:00 hours Louisiana time (14:00 GMT), forcing all 13 people aboard the rig into the water, the Coast Guard said. All were rescued.
Houston-based Mariner said in a statement that it was beginning an investigation into the incident and would work with US officials.
The Vermilion 380 was operating in 340 feet of water, 102 miles offshore from the Louisiana coast, according to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The Associated Press said the platform was in production at the time of the fire, despite earlier talk to the contrary.
The AP reported that the platform was producing about 58,000 gal/day of oil and 900,000 cubic feet/day of natural gas, with a capacity to store 4,200 gallons of oil.
Mariner did not respond to requests for comment on that report.
Mariner had sent three fire-fighting vessels to the site to extinguish the fire, which Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said resulted from flammable material in storage.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were also sent to the scene, according to the AP.
The Vermilion 380 was about 200 miles to the west of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon offshore rig, which exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers and leading to the largest oil leak in Gulf history.
That explosion also led to stringent regulations by the US government on deepwater offshore drilling. US environmental group Sierra Club said Thursday's incident was more evidence of the need for US officials to invest in clean energy.
“This latest explosion shows that we need to make sure all these rigs in the Gulf are safe to operate before we put personnel back to work on them,” said Gary Beevers, international vice president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union.
“We need to give the government adequate time to do its inspections and ensure adequate health and safety provisions are in place,” he added.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs indicated on Thursday that the explosion and fire on the oil platform would not have any impact on President Barack Obama's ongoing moratorium on deepwater drilling in Gulf waters.
The Financial Times reported that Mariner officials had attended a Wednesday rally in Houston to protest the Obama administration’s moratorium.
The Vermilion 380 was not affected by the deepwater drilling ban, however, because it was not drilling in deepwater.
NYMEX light sweet crude futures moved higher by $1.11 to $75.02/bbl in the aftermath of the Thursday morning incident.
Shares of Mariner and energy giant Apache, which earlier this year agreed to buy Mariner, closed down by 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: www.icis.com
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