and that is why there is a such a history of this type of disaster happening ... right
Not as uncommon as you think if you research instead of relying on the media for your information. Since 2001, there have been 69 offshore deaths, 1,349 injuries and 858 fires and explosions in the Gulf, according to the federal Minerals Management Service. This one was bigger, yep, but these type of events happen.
Were you trying to be sarcastic?
I was stating a fact. I remember several of these platforms catching fire. Specifically the Piper Alpha off the coast of Scotland that was one of the worst disaster in British history. There was also the West Atlas rig that caught fire in the Timor Sea, the Oseberg A platform fire, there was a fire on an Indian platform in 2007 that killed 12 people, there was a fire on a Mexican platform that killed 21 people in 2007.
I've worked on POL equipment (Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants). The danger of explosion was great enough that we had to have special tools - like brass wrenches that didn't spark if you hit a piece of steel. We had to purge tanks for an hour before breaking seals. The safety precautions are taken very seriously on one of these rigs because there is always a risk of a leak or fire.
Considering that there are relatively few of these rigs around, the statistics show that they are very dangerous.