Written by Tobin Howes,Four Green Steps

For the second time this summer, an oil rig has experienced an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

The explosion occurred at 10:30 AM Eastern Time.  The rig is located approximately 90 Miles South of Vermillion Bay, which is 137 miles west of New Orleans.  That positions this oil spill about 250 Miles west of the deepwater Horizon Spill which continues to devastate the gulf.

All 13 people who were on board have been accounted for.  1 has been confirmed injured.  The other 12 have just been rescued from the gulf off of the rig while it continues to burn.  Their status is unknown and will be taken to Terrebonne General Medical Center once they are rescued.

The rig in question is known as Vermillion Oil Rig 380.  It regularly drills at a depth of 2500 ft. but there are reports that it was not currently in operation.

The rig itself is owned by Mariner Energy who recently mergered with another Houston based company-Apache Corporation.  In 2005, Apache completed a series of agreements with ExxonMobile that provided for transfers and joint ventures across a broad range of properties in a variety of locations including Gulf of Mexico Shelf.  It is unclear right now if this rig had been incorporated in that agreement since the merger of Mariner and Apache.

Apache recently purchased several major assets from BP for $7 Billion when they were selling properties to help pay off the Horizon spill

There are two major wild life refuges in the Vermillion Bay area, the Island State Refuge and the Rockefeller State Refuge.  It can only be hoped that the platform was not currently producing oil and the Louisiana shoreline will be spared from even further damage.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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