SERVING MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL / MINNESOTA
Donate Now Sustaining Member


Our major sponsors




Sponsor of
Second Opinion



Our major advertisers


Our in-kind partners


MinnPost thanks these generous donors:

INDIVIDUALS AND FOUNDATI0NS
Blandin Foundation
Otto Bremer Foundation
Bush Foundation
Sage & John Cowles
David & Vicki Cox
Toby & Mae Dayton
Jack & Claire Dempsey
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
Sam & Stacey Heins
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Joel & Laurie Kramer
Lee Lynch & Terry Saario
Martin & Brown Foundation
The McKnight Foundation
The Minneapolis Foundation
The Saint Paul Foundation
Rebecca & Mark Shavlik

(See all donors here.)

From the Christian Science Monitor News Service
  • Switch to Small Text Size
  • Switch to Medium Text Size
  • Switch to Large Text Size
Email Print Submit a Comment

    Mariner Energy oil rig fire extinguished, no sign of oil spill in Gulf

    By Warren Richey | Published Fri, Sep 3 2010 9:15 am

    A fire on an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been extinguished, and officials say oil does not appear to be leaking from the facility.

    The U.S. Coast Guard is at the platform roughly 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay in Louisiana, and will continue to monitor the facility for signs of a leak, a Coast Guard official said on Thursday.

    The announcement was welcome news along the beleaguered Gulf coast - a region that is still working to overcome the effects of the summer-long oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig.

    US Coast Guard Capt. Peter Troedsson told reporters in New Orleans that officials near the rig have not been able to confirm an earlier report of a mile-long sheen of oil. No oil has been spotted in the water by Coast Guard officials, he said.

    “The boats and aircraft on scene cannot see a sheen,” he said. “We remain ready to respond if any sheen becomes visible.”

    The fire broke out Thursday morning, forcing all 13 crew members off the rig and into the water. They were later picked up by an oil services boat. No injuries were reported.

    The offshore oil production facility, known as Vermillion Block 380, is in 340 feet of water. In contrast, the sea at the Deepwater Horizon rig is a mile deep.

    If a leak is detected at the Vermillion rig, the relative shallow water would make response and repair efforts significantly easier than were experienced at the Deepwater Horizon rig.

    The facility is owned by Mariner Energy Inc., an independent oil and gas exploration and production company based in Houston.

    The platform collected production from seven wells producing about 1,400 barrels of oil per day and 9 million cubic feet of gas. Production was shut down, the company said, before the crew evacuated.

    "Automated shutoff equipment on the platform safely turned off the flow of oil and gas from the platform's seven producing wells before the fire occurred and the crew evacuated," a statement from Mariner said.

    There is no indication how the fire started. Officials say there will be an investigation.

    Like what you just read? Support high-quality journalism in Minnesota by becoming a member of MinnPost.

    Advertisement:

    0 Comments:

    E-mail address

    Password

     

    Forgot Password? | Register to Comment

    MinnPost does not permit the use of foul language, personal attacks or the use of language that may be libelous or interpreted as inciting hate or sexual harassment. User comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure that comments meet these standards and adhere to MinnPost's terms of use and privacy policy.

    We intend for this area to be used by our readers as a place for civil, thought-provoking and high-quality public discussion. In order to achieve this, MinnPost requires that all commenters register and post comments with their actual names and place of residence. Register here to comment.





    The Christian Science Monitor is an award-winning international news organization that covers news and feature stories from every corner of the globe. Founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the Monitor publishes news around-the-clock on the Web at CSMonitor.com.

    Recent stories from the Christian Science Monitor