Oil sheen spreading from another Gulf platform explosion

[appsyscons]

Here we go again!

another oil rig blows


NEW ORLEANS, La. – A mile-long oil sheen spread Thursday from an offshore petroleum platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico off Lousiana, west of the site of BP's massive spill.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc.

He said Mariner had deployed three firefighting vessels to the site and one already was in place fighting the blaze.

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. It's 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.

"These guys had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits before they entered the water. 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," Edwards said.

All were being flown to a hospital in Houma to be checked over. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said one person was injured, but the platform's owner, Houston-based Mariner Energy, Inc., said there were no injuries.

"Mariner has notified and is working with regulatory authorities in response to this incident. The cause is not known, and an investigation will be undertaken," the company said in a statement. It said the platform was located on Vermilion Block 380, approximately 100 miles off the Louisiana coast.

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.

Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala., Ben-Iesau said. She said authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting and did not know whether Obama had been informed of the explosion.

"We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water," Gibbs said.

Mariner Energy focuses on oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico. In April, Apache Corp., another independent petroleum company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner's debt. That deal is pending.

Apache spokesman Bob Dye said the platform is in shallow water. Responding to any oil spill in shallow water would be much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles access equipment on the sea floor. Mariner said in initial flyover for no hydrocarbon spill.

A company report said the well was drilled in the third quarter of 2008.

The platform is about 200 miles west of BP's blown-out well. On Friday, BP was expected to begin the process of removing the cap and failed blowout preventer, another step toward completion of a relief well that would put a finals eal on the well. The BP-leased rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and setting off a three-month leak that totaled 206 million gallons of oil .

[endeavor1]

Great, just in time for winter.....

[Bobcat]

No oil sheen yet, that was a rumor (probably started by BP)

[fund razor]

The only Sheen spreading is Charlie.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38973757/ns/us_news-life

Coast Guard backs off its earlier false rumor.
If only some of our "fellow" boaters had the same capability.

[appsyscons]

Alan Sayre, Associated Press Writer – 30 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Coast Guard is saying there are no immediate signs of a spill from an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

All 13 crew members were rescued from the water in the second such disaster in the Gulf in less than five months.

The Coast Guard initially reported an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the fire, about 200 miles west of the site of BP's massive spill. But officials said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that boats at the platform have not seen any oil sheen.

Can you say cover up

[fund razor]

Alan Sayre, Associated Press Writer – 30 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Coast Guard is saying there are no immediate signs of a spill from an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

All 13 crew members were rescued from the water in the second such disaster in the Gulf in less than five months.

The Coast Guard initially reported an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the fire, about 200 miles west of the site of BP's massive spill. But officials said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that boats at the platform have not seen any oil sheen.

Can you say cover up

Who knows. I only know what I read on the internet. Way too early to throw around accusations one way or the other. Maybe you saw a sheen first hand?

[fund razor]

Just for the record, appsyscons.... no offense or anything.

Just thinking out loud here.

[appsyscons]

Who knows. I only know what I read on the internet. Way too early to throw around accusations one way or the other. Maybe you saw a sheen first hand?

That's where I get my news, and the story I posted

Just for the record, appsyscons.... no offense or anything.

Just thinking out loud here.

None taken


If it was not so tragic, it would be funny

Directly quoted from the AP"

"Alan Sayre, Associated Press Writer – 28 mins ago
NEW ORLEANS – An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday, the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. This time, the Coast Guard said there was no leak, and no one was killed.

The Coast Guard initially reported that an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the blast, about 200 miles west of the source of BP's massive spill. But hours later, Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said crews were unable to find any spill."

What did they mis-place a mile long oil sheen?

All jokes, aside, I am glad no one was hurt, and it is not a serious as first reported.

[fund razor]

I guess I believe in bad reporting more than I believe in a cover up.
Early reports usually suck, but in a 24-hour news cycle... everybody wants to be first.

Also glad no one was hurt and it wasn't a repeat of the last one.