Platform blast rocks GoM

Thirteen people have been plucked from the Gulf of Mexico following an explosion onboard an offshore oil platform.

Eight USCG helicopters are at the scene.

The US Coast Guard (USCG) says it launched a frantic rescue operation after receiving an early morning report of a blast at Vermilion Block 380, located roughly 90 miles south of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana.

At 10:00 am, a helicopter spotted the fire and 13 crew members floating in the water adjacent to the offshore facility.

All the workers were wearing immersion suits when the offshore support vessel (OSV) Clear Crystal rushed to the rescue.

The 13 people were transported to a neighbouring platform where they were picked up and air-lifted to Terrebonne General Hospital in Louisiana.

A spokesman for the USCG tells TradeWinds that no deaths have been reported, but he refused to say if the victims suffered any injuries.

According to local media reports, the platform is still on fire and a one-mile oil sheen can be seen in the water surrounding the facility.

The incident remains under investigation, and authorities say the operation will not disrupt the Deepwater Horizon clean-up effort, which is located west of the Vermilion site.

Little is known about the mysterious OSV involved in the rescue operation, as the vessel's name is not listed in ship identification databases.

But according to TradeWinds' sister publication, Upstream, the fixed platform and oil block are controlled by Houston-based oil and gas player Mariner Energy.

The facility does not have a traditional blow-out preventer like the type found on most semisubmersible drilling units, but if oil is spewing from the platform, industry experts say it is "probably very little" because the unit is not floating.

The wells connected to the platform are active, and current production averages 1,400 barrels of oil a day and 9.2. million cubic feet of natural gas. The maximum production of the platform is 1,800 barrels per day, according to statement from Mariner Energy.

Printable version Newsletter sign up