Three wells were producing at the time of the incident.
Posted on 01/25/2015 8:10:39 AM PST by thackney
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Coast Guard are preparing to investigate an unmanned platform off the coast of Louisiana that has been damaged, BSEE said in a statement.
The platform is operated by Energy XXI, GOM, LLC, and is located in 50 feet of water in South Timbalier (ST) Block 27 in the Gulf of Mexico, about 5 miles south of port Fourchon, Louisiana.
Energy XXI reported to BSEE at approximately 4:30 a.m. that the ST 27 IA platform had been damaged, and that the damage was possibly caused by a vessel. There was a fire on the platform that was put out by firefighting efforts from vessels in the area, BSEE said. Energy XXI told BSEE that gas bubbles were rising intermittently to the surface, and that no other pollution had been observed, BSEE said. There were no injuries.
At the time that the vessel was damaged, there were three wells in production. An Emergency Shut Down (ESD) was performed, and production at the site was shut-in. BSEE and Energy XXI are sending personnel to the platform to determine the extent of the damage.
BSEE is providing oversight to response efforts by Energy XXI.
BSEE could not be reached for further details.
Hit and run?
How did the whale manage to swim all the way to Puget Sound before expiring under the Washington state ferry terminal in downtown Seattle?
Three wells were producing at the time of the incident.
Port Fourchon is Louisiana’s southernmost port, located on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, on the Gulf of Mexico.
According to gCaptain, a maritime and offshore website, the incident occurred this morning at 5 am local time.
The vessel has reportedly returned to the Port of Fourchon where a damage assessment will be made.
A spokesperson for U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer Jonathan Lally, was quoted as saying that as a result of the incident “the vessel was taking on water and hydrocarbons were burning on the surface of the water next to the fixed platform”.
At the time of the incident, there were 20 personnel on board the vessel, but no injuries were reported.
Offshore Energy Today contacted the owner of the vessel, Bordelon Marine, inquiring about the details of the incident, but we have not received a reply thus far.
Shouldn’t an unmanned platform have all kinds of sensors (video, radar) watching everything within a radius around it?
This is a really basic, simple platform, which is why it is unmanned.
It does have the warning lights. But video and radar would not help on the platform, it cannot move out of the way.
That is why the moving ships use radar and a watchful eye, usually.
No, but surely it might have helped to identify the cause of the damage, and to fend off what could be billions of dollars worth of claims from the government for pollution that results from damage to equipment on the platform or underwater.
The cause is known.
It would not have changed the event or the spill.
I was responding to this sentence in the original article:
Energy XXI reported to BSEE at approximately 4:30 a.m. that the ST 27 IA platform had been damaged, and that the damage was possibly caused by a vessel.
On the basis of that sentence, I concluded that the cause was not known.
I had not yet read the later post that identified the cause.
Understood. I posted the article when I found it then started searching for follow up and more info.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.