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Ear to the Ground

And Now for Another Offshore Rig Explosion

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Posted on Sep 2, 2010
Wikimedia Commons

Embattled zone: The Gulf of Mexico has had a rough time of it in recent months, but it’s unclear whether the latest rig explosion will add to the pollution problem.

Just when we all had heard quite enough about man-made problems in the Gulf of Mexico, here comes another: On Thursday, an explosion occurred on an offshore platform called the Vermilion 380, but this time natural gas is the rig’s target resource.  —KA

The Miami Herald:

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that it accounted for all 13 people aboard the rig, which is west of BP’s blown-out well but operates in much shallower water than the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon was drilling.

Quoting a Coast Guard officer, the New Orleans Times-Picayune identified the rig as Vermilion 380, a platform owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy. The company had not yet issued a statement on the accident and an employee reached at its headquarters referred questions to an executive.

According to a 2010 company financial statement, the rig has five wells and produced about 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and liquid natural gas last year but was not currently pumping any oil—though Mariner estimates the field does have petroleum reserves.

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Peetawonkus's avatar

By Peetawonkus, September 3, 2010 at 8:59 am Link to this comment

After the BP disaster, all sorts of people tried to warn that this would keep happening. Under the Republican regime safety rules, regulations and laws were changed or ignored so their beloved oil & gas companies could continue reaping record profits without the burden of oversight. Sadly, the Obama Administration has been sluggish to provide the leadership necessary to move safety enforcement, capping procedures and clean up procedures forward. And it will happen again.

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By Dieter Heymann, September 3, 2010 at 5:56 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Truthdig: why do you repeat the Miami Herald’s error that the explosion occurred on an oil rig when it occurred on an oil platform? Words have a meaning, don’t they?

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By ofersince72, September 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm Link to this comment

Dear Geologists, University Professors and other
    Scientists…..,,,,

  This is close to the Horizen disaster

and if you were one of the ones that questions the
 
  pressures and the capping PLEASE, PLEASE

  either stay away from the media or stay away

  from your BATHTUBS.

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By Paul Gont, September 2, 2010 at 7:56 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Follow the exposure of oil as the root cause of cancer
on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/doctorlee445/status/22820554491

Help get the message out and RePost and reTweet this.

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By ofersince72, September 2, 2010 at 6:26 pm Link to this comment

The TarSands, the Fracking, the Drilling, the Resourse
Wars, The economic depression, the Ecological Disasters,
The Military Employment Complex, The Education Scam,
The Industrial Petro-Chemical Dependent agri-business,
The AirTraffic, Lack of Mass Transit, Lack of Preperation
for Petro-Dependancy, The Facist Control by the Oligarchs
owners of the Plutocracy, oh my, my….$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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knobcreekfarmer's avatar

By knobcreekfarmer, September 2, 2010 at 6:19 pm Link to this comment

“There is no feast which does not come to an end.” - Chinese proverb

(read: modern capitalist society)

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