Fire breaks out on evacuated Gulf of Mexico oil rig after natural gas blowout

A fire has broken out on a blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil rig, the feds have confirmed. 44 workers had been evacuated from the rig and no injuries were reported.

An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast caught fire late Tuesday, hours after 44 workers were safely evacuated from the drilling rig following a mid-morning blowout, a federal agency confirmed.No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, told The Associated Press.

She said it wasn’t known what caused the gas to ignite. It also wasn’t clear early Wednesday how and when crews would attempt to extinguish the blaze. BSEE said earlier Tuesday that a firefighting vessel with water and foam capabilities had been dispatched to the scene.

Wild Well Control Inc. was hired to try to bring the well under control. Angelico said Wild Well personnel approached the well earlier Tuesday night, before the fire, but they determined it was unsafe to get closer when they were about 200 feet away from it.

Officials have said that Tuesday’s blowout wouldn’t do anywhere near the damage of the 2010 BP oil spill (pictured), which saw millions of gallons of oil spew into the Gulf.

The gas blowout was reported Tuesday morning.

Officials stressed that Tuesday’s blowout wouldn’t be close to as damaging as the BP oil spill of 2010, in which an oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers and eventually spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. It was the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Chris Roberts, a member of the Jefferson Parish Council in south Louisiana, said the travel restrictions might pose an inconvenience for participants in an upcoming deep sea fishing tournament.

“It could change some plans as to where some people plan to fish,” he said.

Ny Daily News

4 Comments on "Fire breaks out on evacuated Gulf of Mexico oil rig after natural gas blowout"

BillT on Thu, 25th Jul 2013 12:51 am

“It could change some plans as to where some people plan to fish,” he said.

What fish? The oil covered ones from the BP Oops or this one or the ones from the past or…

And some believe that cheap energy is going to come back … lol.

GregT on Thu, 25th Jul 2013 3:08 am

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

Monica - Drill Rigs on Thu, 25th Jul 2013 9:21 pm

You hate to hear when this happens. I hope everyone will be okay. Rigs are so dangerous and you have to be very careful when dealing with them. I’m sorry to anyone who got hurt.

Connections NYT on Fri, 19th Jul 2024 2:05 am

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Connections NYT

Fire breaks out on evacuated Gulf of Mexico oil rig after natural gas blowout

A fire has broken out on a blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil rig, the feds have confirmed. 44 workers had been evacuated from the rig and no injuries were reported.

Officials have said that Tuesday’s blowout wouldn’t do anywhere near the damage of the 2010 BP oil spill (pictured), which saw millions of gallons of oil spew into the Gulf.

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