Photo from Christian Science Monitor site
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Upstream report on today’s press conference.
Observations:
- The listing DP rig is apparently being held on location solely by the marine riser.
- It sounds like they were cementing (or had cemented) production casing at the time of the incident, and that the surface plug had not yet been set prior to temporarily abandoning the well. Flow could be inside the casing or in the annulus.
- Apparently most of the oil is being released at the top of the riser (estimated rate of 300 bbl/hr) and being ignited. If the riser fails, oil will be released at the seafloor and the spill response will be much more challenging.
- They will attempt to actuate the BOPE with an ROV. This implies that they either were unable to actuate BOPE prior to evacuating or that the actuation was unsuccessful (e.g. shear ram was unable to cut pipe in well bore).
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11 workers still not accounted for.
According to the latest US Coast Guard release:
Updated reports indicate that there were 126 people on board the MODU at the time of the explosion.
One-hundred-fifteen crewmembers have been accounted for. Of those accounted for:
- Seventeen crewmembers were medevaced from the scene
- Ninety-four crewmembers are being transferred to shore at Port Fourchon aboard the Damien Baxton, an offshore supply vessel. There are no major injuries reported for these members.
- Four crewmembers have been transferred to another vessel
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Contrary to an earlier report (see below), the Coast Guard has told Upstream that the 11 workers are still missing and the search continues.
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Correction from nola.com
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Coast Guard Photo
Coast Guard Photo
“It’s burning pretty good and there’s no estimate on when the fire will be put out.” Mike O’Berry, US Coast Guard
The Coast Guard is hoping to locate the missing in an escape capsule or life raft. link
All BP personnel are reported to be safe.
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Preliminary (and unsubstantiated) information:
- Fire is uncontrolled
- BOPE actuated
- MSRC activated (oil spill response cooperative)
- Search and rescue ongoing
- Rig is listing
- Approximately 20,000 bbl diesel on rig
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The Coast Guard reports:
-
7 critical injuries
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11-12 missing
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The fire is still burning
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Deepwater Horizon
The Coast Guard is reporting an explosion last night on the Deepwater Horizon, a Transocean drillship working for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The Horizon was working in Mississippi Canyon Block 253 about 52 miles off the coast of Venice.
Details are sketchy, but 126 people are reported to have been evacuated. Local news is reporting 8 critical injuries and some missing personnel.
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