Coast Guard responding to rig fire Gulf of Mexico; people reported in water

With breaking news alerts coming from CNN, NY Times, and others we decided to go to the best source for news from the Gulf -- NOLA.com from New Orleans. Details are sketchy as this just happened but NOLA was quick to point out this is small rig and nothing close to what happened with Horizon. The best news is that everyone is accounted for from the rig.

Coast Guard responding to rig fire Gulf of Mexico; people reported in water
Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 10:10 AM
Updated: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 11:07 AM

Bob Warren

...In an interview with CNN, Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough said there were 13 people on the rig and that all were accounted for. Twelve of the workers are in immersion suits and one is injured, he said.

Immersion suits protect the wearer from hypothermia.

All 13 people abandoned the rig after the explosion and are accounted for, but have not yet been rescued from the Gulf, the Coast Guard said.

Colclough said the rig was not actively producing at the time of the incident, but is still on fire. The explosion was reported around 9:30 this morning....

Vermilion Oil Rig 360 is a gas and oil rig in 450 feet of water in South Timbalier Block 316, according to company records.

Vermillion 380 is a fixed, manned production platform. It's not a well being drilled for oil, like BP's Macondo well and it's not a floating rig like the Deepwater Horizon.

Lee Hunt, president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, said these types of rigs are permanently in place, often with a pipeline or oil and gas and water separation facilities on board.
"It's more like a small offshore refining operation," he said.

Excerpt: Read More at NOLA.com