Oil Platform Fire: No Oil in Water But Questions About Cause

All quiet in the Gulf Friday. An oil platform fire that forced 13 workers to abandon the huge facility in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday was safely extinguished and there was no sign of oil in the water.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough told the New Orleans Times-Picayune a helicopter flyover would double-check the scene of the blaze in an area called Vermilion 380, off the Louisiana coast. But he said "there were no reports of a sheen yesterday."

That's not the end of the story. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, a new offshore watchdog agency, will investigate the accident that occurred at a platform in relatively shallow water. It is not yet clear what sparked the fire, which was initially described as an explosion.
"We are relieved that the 13 personnel on the platform were rescued safely," said bureau director Michael Bromwich. "We are continuing to closely monitor this situation, which will be investigated fully. We will use all available resources to ensure that we find out what happened, how it happened, and what enforcement action should be taken if any laws or regulations were violated."

On Capitol Hill, three Democrats regarded as experts on energy issues, Reps. Henry Waxman of California, Bart Stupak of Michigan, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, asked the company that owns the platform to provide them with a briefing by next Friday, the New York Times said. Patrick Cassidy, a spokesman for the Houston-based oil company, Mariner Energy, insisted Thursday there was no explosion at the platform, no spill and no injuries.

But after the disastrous blowout in April of a deep water BP well, which was finally capped last month, it's likely that what happened at the Vermilion platform will get a thorough review.