Houston, 24 July (Argus) — An evacuated drilling rig in the US Gulf of Mexico caught fire last night after workers lost control of a natural gas well, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said today.
The agency reported the fire broke out at 10:50 pm CT aboard the Hercules Offshore-owned rig about 55 miles (89km) off the Louisiana coast. Workers were completing a well in 155ft (47m) of water when the blowout occurred. The rig was working on behalf of Walter Oil & Gas.
No one has been injured in the incident. The 44 workers aboard the rig fled on two life rafts yesterday and were picked up by a nearby vessel.
Federal inspectors said a cloud of natural gas could be seen emanating from the rig during a flyover of the site today, and a light, dissipating sheen was covering an area of a half mile by 50ft.
“Offshore oil and gas operators need to re-affirm their aggressive approach to the safety of well operations in light of this event and other recent well control events,” Lars Herbst, BSEE Gulf of Mexico regional director, said.
This is the second incident at a Gulf natural gas well this month. Workers were evacuated from another shallow water rig on 7 July about 4 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, in about 146ft of water. That well, owned by Talos Energy, was temporarily plugged on 13 July.
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