oil rig explosion

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Oil Rig Explodes Near New Orleans
Oil Rig Explodes
Near New Orleans

Oil Rig Explodes Near New Orleans

1 missing; at least 7 injured

(Newser) - One person is missing and at least seven people are hospitalized with injuries after an oil rig explosion on a Louisiana lake. Emergency officials say the blast happened on Lake Pontchartrain around 7pm Sunday near the city of Kenner, WDSU reports. Authorities say five of the injured people are in...

1 Body Found in Oil Rig Explosion

But another worker still missing

(Newser) - Divers hired by the owner of an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that caught fire recovered a body in the waters near the site, according to the US Coast Guard and the rig's owner. The remains of the unidentified person were found by divers hired by Houston-based...

2 Remain Missing in Oil Rig Fire

The Coast Guard continues search off Louisiana coast

(Newser) - The Coast Guard kept up its search today for two crew members who vanished in yesterday's oil rig fire off the coast of Louisiana, the Times-Picayune reports. One 87-foot Coast Guard cutter replaced another at 4am this morning after an all-night search, and three helicopter crews and a fixed-wing...

BP Faces $52B in Gulf Spill Fines

With trial to begin tomorrow, lawyers negotiating furiously

(Newser) - With the trials set to begin tomorrow for BP and the other companies involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP alone could conceivably face up to $52 billion in fines and compensation, reports the AP . Under the Clean Water Act, which requires a minimum of $1,100...

BP: Halliburton Torched Evidence in Gulf Oil Spill

And computer modeling data 'inexplicably missing'

(Newser) - Halliburton has both intentionally destroyed and conveniently lost evidence relating to the Deepwater Horizon disaster , according to court documents filed by BP. “Halliburton has steadfastly refused to provide these critical testing and modeling results in discovery,” BP’s court filing says, according to CNN . “BP has now...

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...

Transocean Execs Land Fat Safety Bonuses
 Transocean Execs 
 Land Fat Safety Bonuses 
WHAT OIL SPILL?

Transocean Execs Land Fat Safety Bonuses

Company had 'best year in safety performance'

(Newser) - That minor explosion that killed 11 people and dumped 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico aside, it seems Transocean had a banner year in terms of safety. And to celebrate the "best year in safety performance in our company's history"—despite noting the "...

BP Workers Could Have Averted Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Disaster: Report
Workers on BP Rig Could Have Averted Disaster
says report

Workers on BP Rig Could Have Averted Disaster

No one asked visiting engineers about problematic test results

(Newser) - Experts on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig could have prevented last year’s huge oil spill—but no one checked with them, said the White House commission investigating the matter. A knowledgeable BP engineer was visiting the rig, but when a key pressure test returned odd results, workers didn’t...

Before Gulf, BP Had Azerbaijan Spill: WikiLeaks

Cables say PM accused firm of stealing billions

(Newser) - Eighteen months before the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company experienced a similar huge leak in Azerbaijan, WikiLeaks cables reveal. The firm was tight-lipped about the incident, angering its partners, the cables note, adding that BP was fortunate in getting its 212 workers to safety, the...

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...

Post-Overhaul, Oil Rig Inspection Still Lacking
 Post-Overhaul, Oil Rig 
 Inspection Still Lacking 
investigation

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...

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...

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...

13 Workers Rescued From Oil Platform Blast

One person injured; no oil leaks seen

(Newser) - 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...

Key Alarm Was Disabled on Oil Rig: Worker

Deepwater Horizon also had previously shutdown problems

(Newser) - As deadly pockets of oil and gas raced up the Deepwater Horizon's pipes on April 20, a key emergency alarm sat intentionally disabled and silent —giving workers no warning of the impending disaster until the oil rig blew sky high, according to testimony by an engineer. When he discovered...

New Containment Cap Reaches Oil Well
 New Containment Cap 
 Reaches Oil Well 
UPDATED

New Containment Cap Reaches Oil Well

Feds revise deepwater drilling ban

(Newser) - A new containment cap has just moved into position atop the ruptured oil well beneath the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude about the new equipment, MSNBC reports. "Until we have the cap on, securely fitted in place, and know it's operating...

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...

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...

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
...

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...

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