The Daily Glob

"Fire Damage To Gulf Production Rig Called Minimal"

"Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement investigators boarded Mariner Energy Resources' Vermilion Block 380 platform off the Louisiana coast on Friday to begin an investigation into the cause of a fire that caused 13 workers to abandon the platform on Thursday.

Gulf Oil Platform Explodes of La. Coast

 

"GRAND ISLE, La. -- An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion.

The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said some of those from the rig were spotted in emergency flotation devices."

By the Associated Press.

SEE ALSO:

"Rescue Boat Captain: Platform Crew Jumped in Water" (AP)

"Coast Guard Now Says No Immediate Signs of Oil Spill From Explosion" (AP)

"Owner of Oil Platform That Exploded Thursday Has Been Cited for 10 Accidents in the Gulf in Past 4 Years" (AP)

"Latest Offshore Oil Fire Touches off New Moratorium Battle, Even Though Drilling Wasn't Involved This Time" (Times-Picayune)

"10 Oil Platform Workers Being Treated at Houma Hospital" (Times-Picayune)

See Photos of Mariner Rig Fire and Rescue (Times-Picayune)

"Oil Sheen Spreading From Gulf Platform Explosion" (AP - 2:15 pm EDT)

"Oil Sheen Seen Near Damaged Platform in Gulf of Mexico" Campbell Robertson and Jack Healy report for the New York Times.

"Coast Guard: Platform Explodes in Gulf; 13 Workers Rescued -- This Just In," reported for CNN News Blogs by Mallory Simon.

"One Day Before Its Gulf Oil Rig Exploded, Mariner Energy Said Obama ‘Is Trying To Break Us’ With Moratorium" (Think Progress)

"Gulf Platform Owner Says No Oil Leaking From Burning Rig and No Injuries Have Been Reported" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Production Rig in Gulf of Mexico Explodes; Coast Guard Rescuing Workers" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Coast Guard Responding To Rig Fire Gulf of Mexico; People Reported in Water" (Times-Picayune)

"Update [12:04 pm CDT]: Crew Accounted For, No one Killed as Gulf Oil Platform Explodes" (AP)

Jindal Says Sheen Reported (CNN -- 2:03 pm EDT)

Oil Sheen Seen Near Damaged Platform in Gulf of Mexico

Top BP Official Aboard Oil Rig Might Refuse To Speak at Hearing

"A top BP official aboard the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April was expected to refuse to speak at a federal hearing Tuesday.

"Blast at BP Texas Refinery in ‘05 Foreshadowed Gulf Disaster"

"TEXAS CITY, TEXAS -- Ever since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, David Senko has been tallying the similarities between what he calls 'my blast' in 2005 and this new BP disaster.

"BP Texas Refinery Had Huge Toxic Release Just Before Gulf Blowout"

"TEXAS CITY, TEXAS -- Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery in this coastal town spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies. The release from the BP facility here began April 6 and lasted 40 days. It stemmed from the company's decision to keep producing and selling gasoline while it attempted repairs on a key piece of equipment, according to BP officials and Texas regulators." Ryan Knutson reports for ProPublica and PBS FRONTLINE July 2, 2010.

"BP: Ship Fire Halts Oil Capture From Well in Gulf"

"NEW ORLEANS – A bolt of lightning struck the ship capturing oil from a blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, igniting a fire that halted containment efforts in another setback for the embattled company in its nearly two-month struggle to stop the spill, the company said.

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