offshore Injury’ Category
One Person Injured in Oil Platform Explosion in Gulf Of Mexico
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
It feels a little like April all over again.
This morning, there was an explosion on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. At this point, all 13 crewmembers on the platform are believed to be accounted for and safe. One person is confirmed to have been injured.
According to a statement by the Coast Guard, the crew members were all rescued and have been safely transferred to a commercial vessel. They are currently in wet immersion suits waiting to be brought to shore. The platform is believed to be still on fire. The Coast Guard is...
Confusion Marked Last Day of Deepwater Horizon
Friday, August 27th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal has a gripping account of the last day on the doomed Deepwater Horizon. The WSJ has taken Coast Guard hearings and witness accounts to present its version of what went wrong on the 20th of April.
There was much disagreement and confusion during the last hours of the rig. The confusion began with an e-mail sent by a BP engineer on the morning of April 20th. In the e-mail was a major change to a safety pressure test conducted to determine the well’s safety. According to the change, BP wanted to remove an extraordinarily large...
How Much Do We Really Know about the BP Spill Fund?
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Anybody who's been following the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, knows that BP has such aside a $20 billion fund to pay all liability claims arising from the disaster. However, there are key facts about the fund that, I believe, few people know about.
Money from the fund will be used to reimburse claims arising from state and local response efforts, as well as environmental damage. There may be very little money left over to pay claims to victims of the explosion.
Contrary to what Ken Feinberg, the administrator of the fund told Public Citizen, the fund is capped at...
Yet More BP-Transocean Finger Pointing at Houston Hearings
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
The US Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement are conducting another round of hearings into the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, in Houston this week. The hearings are scheduled to be spread out across five days. The first couple of days into the hearings have already had BP and Transocean coming out all guns blazing at each other.
Much of the hearing was dominated by BP executives blaming Transocean for the explosion. The head of marine authority at BP testified that Transocean had found dozens of maintenance issues in an audit...
UK Health Agency Reports Increase in Offshore Injuries
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
As we deal with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion off US waters, it somehow feels worse to learn that offshore workers are not much safer on the other side of the pond either. Britain's Health and Safety Executive is pulling up the offshore oil and gas industry for an increasing number of injuries and fatalities. According to the agency, there has been an increase in major injuries and fatalities and unplanned hydrocarbon releases.
According to the figures released by the Health and Safety Executive, there were 50 major offshore injuries reported in 2009-2010. That was an...
Transocean Accuses BP of Withholding Documents That Could Point to Cause of Deepwater Horizon Explosion
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
The finger pointing between BP and Transocean over the causes for the Deepwater Horizon explosion continues. Today, Transocean accused BP of withholding critical documents that could point to the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April.
According to the WSJ, Transocean has sent a letter to BPs attorneys, saying that the oil company has key information that can help identify the cause of the explosion. However, BP has failed to hand over the information to Transocean. This puts Transocean in a difficult position as it has no answers to provide the families of the 11 workers who...
BP to Provide $52 Million in Funding Towards Mental Health Outreach Programs in Gulf Coast States
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Last week, a study confirmed the depth of mental health and stress among residents of the Gulf Coast. Approximately 2/3rd of parents in the study admitted that their children were showing symptoms of mental stress since the oil spill. The children were having trouble sleeping, had severe skin rashes from the stress, and suffered from respiratory problems.
The magnitude of the mental health crisis that is still simmering below the surface in the Gulf Coast states, has been the white elephant in the room that BP has refused to address thus far. The company has chosen to remain...
WaPo Focuses on Stresses of Oil Rig Work
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Stressful work conditions, inadequate training, and a work culture that is more dollar-centric than focused on safety - all these and other factors lead to hundreds of oil rig worker injuries every year. The Washington Post has a special report on the kind of work environment that contributes to these injuries.
Oil rig work pays very well, and as a result, the drilling industry is never short of potential job applicants. Many of these workers show up on drilling rigs with very little training and ill prepared to handle the stresses of working on the high seas. Out...
First Personal Injury Lawsuit Filed over BP Chemical Dispersant
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Oil cleanup workers and maritime lawyers have been very concerned about the ill health effects of the chemical oil dispersant that BP has been using in its efforts to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Those concerns were heard loud and clear in the first personal injury lawsuit involving the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9500. The lawsuit was filed in Alabama by two property owners, who alleged that the use of the product is causing people to get sick.
The lawsuit Wright versus BP, alleges that BP has sprayed the chemical from airplanes in the middle of the night. ...
Transocean Employees Now Focus of Oil Spill Investigation
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Employees of Transocean, who were on board the Deepwater Horizon-semisubmersible rig, have now become the focus of an investigation into the disaster. Two Transocean employees, chief engineer Stephen Bertone and chief engineer technician Mike Williams have been designated as parties of interest by a hearing panel consisting of the US Coast Guard and the Interior Department. With that, the number of Transocean workers who are likely to face charges in the accident, has increased to five.
If Transocean employees are found to have acted in a manner that contributed to the explosion, then they could face...
