Another Gulf Well On Fire

At 9:20 AM CDT another well lit up the Gulf about 100 miles [160 km] South of Vermillion, Louisiana. CNN has the story : Oil platform fire reported in Gulf of Mexico

(CNN) — A well connected to an oil and gas production platform caught on fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, engulfing the vessel in flames about 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana and forcing 13 people overboard, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. They were found floating on a raft, officials said. Mariner Energy, which owns the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, said none of the crew members was hurt in the incident, despite earlier reports of a single injured worker.

Also, Mariner indicated that the fire — which was first reported to the Coast Guard by workers on a nearby rig around 9:20 a.m. (10:20 a.m. ET) — was not sparked by an explosion. It started at one of the platform’s seven active wells, the company said, though its cause is under investigation.

The company said an initial flyover of the site indicated “no hydrocarbon spill.” However, Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site of the platform, measuring about 100-feet wide and stretching for one mile.
…

During the last week of August, production from the platform averaged approximately 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas a day and 1,400 barrels (58,800 gallons) of oil, the company said.

Yep, no oil spill, the sheen must be from someone spilling salad dressing or fumes from a fish fry, couldn’t be an discharge… no way… not going to happen [/snark].

Fortunately everyone is safely ashore. The well is in relatively shallow water on a stationary platform and production controls generally work and will shut down in the event of a problem, so it could be a whole lot worse. The thing is that these type of accidents are part of the drilling and production process. They are much more common than people realize, and while they can generally be contained on land, they can’t be contained in the open water.

Oh, the fire still isn’t out. [Update: Nola has continuing coverage.]