An offshore oil platform has exploded and is burning in the Gulf of Mexico, about 80 miles south of Louisiana’s Vermilion Bay. This is about 200 miles west of the site of the April 20 Deepwater Horizon blast that caused a massive oil spill.
The US Coast Guard says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes, and four boats are en route to the site, according to the USCG spokesman.
The helicopter pilot saw smoke coming from the drilling rig and reported it to authorities.
The Coast Guard said no one was killed in the explosion. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The injured worker was taken to Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, Louisiana. His condition is unknown at this time.
The workers, who were spotted in emergency flotation devices, were rescued from the water by an offshore service vessel, the Crystal Clear, said the Coast Guard. They were initially taken to a nearby platform. All were being flown to the Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma to be checked over.
The platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston, according to a US Department of Homeland Security operations update obtained by The Associated Press.
Patrick Cassidy, a Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME) spokesman who confirmed the fire, said an initial flyover by the company would indicate that there does not appear to be any oil spill related to the accident.
Cassidy told CNBC, "The fire occurred away from the well...it wasn't involved in the area where they had oil producing wells.”
The platform, located in 2,500 feet of water, appears to be fairly small, producing about 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas production per day and 1,400 barrels of oil and condensate as of August, according to the company. It is 100% owned and operated by Mariner.
Houston-based Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is in the process of closing on a $2.7 billion acquisition of Mariner. Completion of the transaction is expected in the third quarter of 2010.