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NEWS ABOUT: oil rig

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53 Feared Dead in Russian Oil Rig Disaster

Huge wave sank platform as it was being towed

(Newser) - Up to 53 people are believed to have perished in icy waters north of Russia's Sakhalin Island after an oil rig sank while it was being towed. Seven of the 67 people who were on board have been confirmed dead. Fourteen others were plucked from the water alive immediately... More »

Coast Guard Slams Transocean in Gulf Report

Shoddy equipment, poor safety training to blame in BP oil spill: probe

(Newser) - A wide array of Transocean safety failings were to blame in the Deepwater Horizon disaster last year, a Coast Guard report says. The official probe “revealed numerous systems deficiencies, and acts and omissions by Transocean and its Deepwater Horizon crew” that hampered “the ability to prevent or limit... More »

Gulf's Real Threat: Aging Oil Platforms

Old pipes, platforms raise the risk of failure, experts say

(Newser) - The massive Gulf oil spill raised the alarm about huge, state-of-the-art deep-water drilling rigs. But greater danger may actually come from the region's aging oil infrastructure, say experts. Older structures face increased risk of accidents, particularly fires—more than 50% of the 3,000 oil platforms in the Gulf are... More »

BP to Gulf Residents: Here's a Bonus ... Now Don't Sue Us!

Feinberg offering $5K to individuals who agree not to sue

(Newser) - The administrator of BP's $20 billion compensation fund is offering Gulf residents cash bonuses to speed up the process, reports the New York Times. But there's a catch: Anyone who takes the money ($5,000 for individuals, $25,000 for businesses) has to agree not to sue BP or any... More »

Post-Overhaul, Oil Rig Inspection Still Lacking

Investigation: Oversight remains outdated, underfunded

(Newser) - Following the BP oil spill, the government agency tasked with supervising offshore drilling is trying to turn itself around—but the Wall Street Journal finds those efforts lacking. Though it has renamed itself—the Minerals Management Service is now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement—and gotten... More »

BP's Other Rig May Be Primed for Disaster

Whistleblowers have said the Atlantis isn't safe, but nothing's been done

(Newser) - Oil companies are once again happily drilling in the Gulf of Mexico—including a BP rig that watchdog groups have called a “ticking time bomb.” Well before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, a whistleblowing ex-BP contractor told the government about a host of safety and legal issues aboard the... More »

BP Workers Almost Saved Rig

Blowout preventer worked; crew made 2 bad calls

(Newser) - In the moments before the Deepwater Horizon blew skyward, rig workers came extraordinarily close to averting disaster, reports the Wall Street Journal in a closer look at BP's internal report on the Gulf oil spill. Contrary to popular belief, as the well failed, the blowout preventer was both deployed and... More »

Gulf Blaze Rattles Oil Industry

Latest accident adds to calls for more regulation

(Newser) - The latest fire on an oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday may not have spilled more oil into the Gulf , but it has further polluted the industry's image. The accident is going to make it harder for the industry to argue that the Deepwater Horizon disaster... More »

13 Workers Rescued From Oil Platform Blast

One person injured; no oil leaks seen

(AP) - An offshore oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast today, but this one appears headed toward a better ending than BP's explosion. All 13 people aboard have been rescued—though one is reportedly injured. Earlier reports that the platform was inactive have... More »

BP Well Almost Blew Up Months Earlier

Good thing they learned from their mistakes

(Newser) - BP knew its Macondo well was in trouble long before it exploded—because it was dealing with cracks in its seal way back in February. The company spent 10 days trying to seal up the holes, experiencing repeated difficulties that suggest it was using the wrong kind of cement. Cracks... More »

BP Emails: 'Who Cares? It's Done'

Engineers discussed, dismissed safety risks

(Newser) - BP engineers were well aware of all the risks they were taking with the Deepwater Horizon well, but essentially chose to ignore them because they were under pressure to finish the job quickly, emails obtained by Congress reveal. “We have flipped design parameters around to the point I got... More »

BP Oil Rig Had Months of Safety Worries

Well was fraught with problems going back to June 2009

(Newser) - Most of us just woke up one April day to the news that an oil rig had exploded in the Gulf, but BP knew of safety concerns at least 10 months before that, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The highlights:
  • In June 2009, BP engineers worried
... More »

Oil Rig Crew: We All Were Sure We'd Die

Workers recount fateful night Deepwater Horizon blew

(Newser) - It was a pristine day on the Gulf of Mexico, and the crew of the Deepwater Horizon had much to celebrate—they were nearing completion of a difficult oil well ahead of schedule, and a crew of BP execs had landed that morning to laud their safety record. Then at... More »

La. Oil Spill Now the Size of Rhode Island

Crews won't know until today if they're able to stop the leak

(Newser) - The oil spilling from a sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico has grown to more than 1,800 square miles—an area larger than Rhode Island—but crews using a robot sub have yet to be able to stop the two leaks, which sit 5,000 feet below the... More »

Robot Sub Racing to Stop Oil Leak at Sunken Rig

It could take hours or months to stop the 1K-barrel-a-day spill

(AP) - Crews have been using a robot submarine to try to stop an oil leak nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, but officials said late yesterday it would take at least another day before they knew whether the job was completed. It could take hours or... More »

La. Oil Rig Sinks; 11 Still Missing

Family of missing worker files negligence suit

(AP) - The Coast Guard is saying that an oil platform that suffered a massive explosion two days ago has sunk in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers are still missing. A Coast Guard helicopter and rescue plane resumed the search earlier today as the rig, off the Louisiana coast, continued to... More »

11 Oil Rig Workers Still Missing in Gulf

Rescuers will search through the night

(Newser) - The Coast Guard says it will search through the night for 11 missing oil rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico. One hopeful note: the men were spotted in a lifeboat shortly after the nighttime explosion on the rig, about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Seventeen workers were... More »

11 Missing After US Oil Rig Blows

No deaths reported in explosion off Gulf Coast

(AP) - Authorities were searching early today for up to 11 missing workers who evacuated after an explosion on an oil drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana. The explosion happened around 10pm last night, while 126 workers were aboard the platform, a Coast Guard spokesman said. No deaths were reported, though... More »

Ida Churns Toward Gulf Coast

Oil companies shutting down rigs, evacuating workers

(Newser) - Hurricane Ida is surging toward the Gulf Coast, triggering emergency warnings in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. Ida "threatens the safety and security" of citizens along the state's southeast coastline, said an emergency declaration by Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Forecasters are hoping Ida will lose force as it heads... More »

Blaze Erupts on Aussie Oil Rig

Leak spewing 400 barrels of oil daily

(Newser) - A massive blaze has erupted from an oil rig in the Timor Sea off northwest Australia. The fire was sparked as workers battled to plug an undersea leak that has spewed 400 barrels of oil a day for the past 10 weeks. No one was injured in the fire and... More »

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