Offshore oil platform catches fire in Gulf of Mexico

An oil platform located in the Gulf of Mexico, 32 kilometers offshore Louisiana, caught fire on Friday, May 22, 2015. 

Watchstanders at Coast Guard (CG) Sector New Orleans received a report at 2:50 a.m. from the offshore supply vessel Miss Katherine reporting a fire on board an oil production platform in Breton Sound Block 21.

The CG says that all 28 people aboard the platform were evacuated to the offshore supply vessel and were taken to Venice. No injuries were reported.

At approximately 6 a.m. responding crews boarded the platform and extinguished the flame and started clean up and repair operations.

According to CG, there was no shoreline impact or injury to wildlife reported and the cause of the incident is under investigation.

The platform is owned and operated by privately-held Texas Petroleum Investment Co.

According to Reuters, after the incident the company shut off production. Furthermore, Reuters reports that the platform’s tanks held just 100 to 120 barrels at the time of the fire, even though they have the capacity to store up to 4,000 barrels of crude.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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