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Mariner Energy Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, Vermilion Bay

02 September 2010 20:51 (UTC +04:00)

Coast Guard helicopters were in the process of flying them to a hospital, one of the workers suffered a minor injury.
In order to float better, and to be more visible, the crew had donned brightly colord survival gear knows as â€œGumby suits.â€
The explosion at this rig is reminiscent of the April 20, 2010 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig. This explosion caused a huge three month oil spill which became the nationâ€™s worst off-shore environmental disaster in history. Eleven workers died in that incident, and clean up efforts are still in place.
With todayâ€™s explosion, itâ€™s not clear whether it was the result of a blowout or whether it had caused any leaks of crude oil. As well, no one died or was injured seriously. The rig belonged to Mariner Energy, which describes itself as â€œone of the leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Gulf of Mexico.â€
However, I donâ€™t think that this incident will help their reputation, as they have had several incidents in the past year. Its safety record is not what we would call excellent. Last year, it was fined $55,000 for two incidents that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, this was indicated by records from the former Minerals Management Service.
The explosion was reported at 9:19 AM by a nearby rig. A helicopter that was also flying nearby confirmed the disaster as well. The platform was very different from BPâ€™s, it was not a deep water one, the water around it is about 340 feet deep whereas the water around the Deepwater Horizon was about 5,000 feet deep.
Today, White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, said that the federal government has â€œassets readyâ€ if they must respond to any environmental problems resulting from the explosion of the oil platform off the coast of Louisiana.