Offshore oil drilling on rigs like Deepwater Horizon can be very dangerous. Image from Flickr.
Forty-one miles offshore of Louisiana at 10 p.m. central time April 20, an oil rig explosion rocked Deepwater Horizon, the Transocean oil drilling rig. The U.S. Coast Guard, Transocean Family and Emergency Response Teams, and BP Exploration and Production Inc. are all responding to the oil rig explosion on Deepwater Horizon. Transocean is withholding the names and hometowns of effected employees until no credit check payday loans can be arranged and families can be notified. Currently, 11 employees on Deepwater Horizon are listed as missing.
Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion
The oil rig explosion on Deepwater Horizon is currently listed as having an unknown cause. The fire on Deepwater Horizon is still burning, though it is being addressed by all responding agencies. Of the 126 crew members on the rig, seven were critically injured and 11 are still missing.
Transocean Deepwater Horizon
The oil-drilling rig known as Deepwater Horizon is owned and operated by Transocean. An offshore drilling contractor that owns 140 drilling units, Transocean was contracting with BP Exploration and Production Inc. to run Deepwater Horizon. The “semi-submersible” oil drilling rig was operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil exploration on Deepwater Horizon
At the time of the oil rig explosion, Deepwater Horizon was on contract to do exploratory drilling. BP, the company that used to be British Petroleum, was providing payroll loans and other funding to Transocean. When Deepwater Horizon was rocked by the oil rig explosion, they had been drilling the Macondo prospect.
Dangers of oil drilling
Deep-sea oil prospecting, like all oil drilling, carries many risks. Natural gas often accompanies oil, and accidents on oil rigs are fairly common. The safety record of Transocean has been very good, with less than one “safety incident” per 200,000 hours worked. Offshore oil drilling is expected to ramp up under U.S. energy independence initiatives. Currently, about 1/3 of all oil consumed by the United States is produced domestically.
Sources:
Wall Street Journal
Marketwatch
TransOcean website
A number of investigations have begun, or will begin soon. The Coast Guard is conducting its own investigation, and the Interior Department through the Minerals and Management Service will also conduct an in-depth probe. Meanwhile, a Houston-based firm that manufactured the blowout preventer used on the rig, is also working together with Transocean and BP to determine what caused the explosion. Besides, insurance companies and Texas offshore injury attorneys will also begin their investigations to find out the cause of the explosion.
i hope they find everyone