You might have missed this, what with all the chatter about Anthony Weiner's proclivities and that cute baby born to folks dependent on government handouts. In fact, were it not for NPR (which the Republicans have promised to defund) I wouldn't have heard about it either. But we have another drilling rig explosion, burning out of control and creating an enormous fireball in the Gulf of Mexico, just south of the Louisiana coast.
The explosion happened Tuesday and continues to burn out of control, as you doubtless recall from the overwhelming media coverage. 44 rig workers were evacuated. But you knew that already...
Not to worry, though. According to the Wall Street Journal, the rig has now begun to collapse.
The rig, owned by Houston-based Hercules Offshore, HERO -7.80% was evacuated Tuesday morning after the well it was drilling blew out. All 44 crew members evacuated safely from the rig, which was located in 154 feet of water about 55 miles off Grand Isle, La. The gas ignited about 10:50 Tuesday night, regulators said.
The rig, drilling 8000 feet down, was equipped with "blowout preventers"... which didn't work. Sorry if this sounds familiar (it really is a breaking story, I swear).
Analysts said the rig was equipped with blowout preventers, the safety equipment that is meant to shut off out-of-control oil and gas wells. A spokesman for Walter Oil & Gas initially said the blowout preventer appeared to have failed....
But wait! This is a
natural gas rig. So
no big deal:
"A gas well's not going to result in any kind of major pollution – perhaps not even significant pollution if it's burning," said Ted Bourgoyne, the former chair of Louisiana State University's petroleum engineering department. He now runs the consultancy Bourgoyne Enterprises Inc.
In fact, in addition to the Chair of Louisiana State's Petroleum Engineering Department, it seems that
everyone is falling over themselves to tell us this is
no big deal:
Federal inspectors saw no sheens near the well during flyovers Wednesday morning, which indicates the gas is burning off without releasing oil or other hydrocarbons – which are sometimes found in gas wells – into the water. While it's not clear if the well in Tuesday's blowout contained any crude oil, officials and scientists agree that the latest mishap shouldn't be nearly as damaging as the BP oil spill that famously sent crude oil oozing ashore in 2010.
That's kinda reassuring, huh? "Shouldn't be nearly as damaging." And don't worry, the company has everything under control:
Rig owner Hercules Offshore Inc. said the plan to stop the flow of gas may include drilling a relief well to divert the gas from the accident site, which could take weeks.
A
relief well. Remember that? Ah, memories!
Oh, damn this Internet! While early reports took great pains to emphasize that "no sheen was visible," well the WaPO just scooped them:
Because it is a natural gas well, the Coast Guard said there would be no impact on shorelines and that a one-mile by 200 foot sheen from gas condensates was “dissipating.”
OK. OK, there's a sheen. But it's dissipating! Just dissipating into nothingness!
This is the second blowout off the Louisiana Coast this month, according to the Huffpo article linked above.
Note--The explosion was covered earlier today in a Diary by jamess.
Anyway, it's back to Anthony Weiner and the welfare baby for me. Sorry for the interruption!