Another oil rig explodes in Gulf, rescues under way

Straight from the “add insult to injury” department, yet another oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. No word yet on if there has also been another spill, but they’re saying the rig was not active so hopefully that won’t be the case.

“We don’t know what caused the rig to catch on fire,” he told CNN, noting the incident is under investigation.

Asked about concerns regarding oil leaks or pollution, Colclough said “there are reports the rig was not actively producing any product, so we don’t know if there’s any risk of pollution.”

Mariner Energy is a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the Gulf of Mexico. About 85 percent of the company’s production comes from offshore assets, with a growing share of that coming from deepwater developments.

The explosion comes nearly five months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people and causing oil to gush into
the Gulf of Mexico, leading to one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

via CNN.com Blogs.

Update

The first photo of the actual rig has shown up online.

via Culture Map

Gulf Oil Spill- It’s Not Over Yet!

If you thought the near 90 days of oil pumping into the gulf was finally over, you’re probably just overly optimistic. The US Coast Guard is now saying that they are detecting a seep some distance from the well, and are asking BP for a written procedure to open the choke valve as quickly as possible without further damaging the well. The hydrocarbon seepage could indicate that oil is still in fact leaking from the damaged well.

Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, said the company now hopes to keep the damaged well shut until the relief well is completed in August.

“We’re hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue that we’ll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to the point that we get the well killed.

“Clearly we don’t want to reanimate flow into the Gulf if we don’t have to.”

via Yahoo News UK

FYI Returns!

Dave Mercer returns, from fishing and probably washing and waxing that boat I’m waiting to win. A perfect start to the day, at least for me!

The Gulf Looks Like A Warzone

This video is just as intense and heartbreaking as any warzone video I’ve seen. I’m really not sure what to say, other than WE NEED HELP. It’s time to call in all the countries and corporations in the world to help clean up this environmental disaster before it’s too late. If we kill our oceans we’re not going to be able to keep ourselves alive.

BP Oil, Making It’s Way From The Gulf To Your Crops, Beaches, And Kids

Personally, if I saw bits of oil on the beach I probably wouldn’t let my kids play in it. And I definitely wouldn’t bring my kids to the beach if it meant I had to pack sunscreen and GOOGONE! Seriously, WTF!

Apparently it’s also raining oil in Louisiana now threatening water supplies and crops being exposed to a contaminante that will last years in the ecosystem or be cleaned with even more damaging chemicals.

We’re so screwed.

Are These Miraculous Microbes The Key To Cleaning The Gulf Oil Spill?

They sound too good to be true, but apparently they’ve already been tested and proved 100% successful in previous real world oil spills. So why aren’t carpet bombing the gulf with this stuff yet?