Ten years after the explosion on that Deepwater Horizon rig off
OIL RIG EXPLODES OFF
Rescuers in helicopters and boats searched the
The blast Tuesday night aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig 50 miles off the
The
Nearly 24 hours after the explosion, the roughly 400-by-250-foot rig continued to burn, and authorities could not say when the flames might die out. A column of boiling black smoke rose hundreds of feet over the
“We’re hoping everyone’s in a life raft,”
Crews were doing routine work before the explosion and there were no signs of trouble, Rose said.
A total of 126 workers were aboard the rig when it blew up. The
Nearly 100 other workers made it aboard a supply boat and were expected to reach the
“He’s on the boat. That’s all we know. And that’s all we need to know,” she said.
The rig was tilting as much as 10 degrees after the blast, but earlier fears that it might topple over appeared unfounded.
The rig, which was under contract to the oil giant
He said there are numerous defenses on a modern rig to prevent something like that from happening. For instance, fluids used in drilling are weighted with barium sulfite to prevent gas from traveling up the well, and there are alarms to alert workers to gas. Machinery is built to prevent sparking and is placed as far away as possible from places where gas might leak.
“In almost all of these things, there’s not one thing that happens; it’s a series of things,” Bourgoyne said.
Rose said the crew had drilled the well to its final depth, more than 18,000 feet, and was cementing the steel casing at the time of the explosion.
“They did not have a lot of time to evacuate. This would have happened very rapidly,” he said.
According to Transocean’s website, the Deepwater Horizon is about twice the size of a football field. Built in 2001 in
The site of the accident is known as the Macondo prospect, in 5,000 feet of water.
Workers typically spend two weeks on the rig at a time, followed by two weeks off. Offshore oil workers are typically well paid, earning
Last September, the Deepwater Horizon set a world deepwater record when it drilled down just over 35,000 feet at another
“It’s one of the more advanced rigs out there,” he said. Panagos did not know how much the rig cost to build but said a similar one today would run
“My biggest fear is the helicopter ride,” she said.
Working on offshore oil rigs is a dangerous job but has become safer in recent years thanks to improved training, safety systems and maintenance, said
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.
There are 42 rigs either drilling or doing upgrades and maintenance in depths of 1,000 feet or greater in the
In 1964, a catamaran-type drilling barge operated by
The deadliest offshore drilling accident took place in 1988, when an
FAMILIES OF
Families eagerly waited to welcome survivors of a thunderous blast that rocked the oil platform they were aboard as
About 100 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon when it blew Tuesday made it onto a supply boat. The boat reached shore Thursday morning, according
Eugene said before the workers can be reunited with about five or six waiting families, they must be checked by doctors in Port Fourchon, where the boat docked. Afterward, they were expected to be taken to a hotel about 70 miles north in suburban
“We just want to see him,” Eugene said.
Meanwhile,
The rig, which is owned by
She said
“That was pure freaking hell,” Moss said late Wednesday. “To have your kids look at you and say, ‘Mama, my daddy may not come home.’” The Mosses have four children.
Authorities could not say when the flames might die out on the 400-by-250-foot rig, which is roughly twice the size of a football field, according the Transocean’s website. A column of boiling black smoke rose hundreds of feet over the
A total of 126 workers were aboard. Seventy-nine were
Company officials had not identified the missing workers. The
One of the deadliest
Rose said the Deepwater Horizon crew had drilled the well to its final depth, more than 18,000 feet, and was cementing the steel casing at the time of the explosion.
“They did not have a lot of time to evacuate. This would have happened very rapidly,” he said.
According to Transocean’s website, the rig was built in 2001 in
Workers typically spend two weeks on the rig at a time, followed by two weeks off. Offshore oil workers typically earn
Working on offshore oil rigs is a dangerous job but has become safer in recent years thanks to improved training, safety systems and maintenance, said
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.
Despite the long wait for word her husband was safe, Moss said she’s not upset and that the company didn’t want to give bad information.
She said her husband has been working in the oil industry most of his life and that even though he tells her it’s safe, she can’t help but worry.
“I’m a wife and a mother. Of course I worry,” she said.
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