Several workers were injured and at least two were missing after an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded last week. Black Elk Energy’s West Delta Block 32 was a smaller platform, decommissioned several years ago and in the process of being updated in order to pump the last vestiges of profit from it.
The accident occurred as workers were repairing a pipeline from the platform to shore. Flow to and from the platform was shut off while this was happening. But a pipeline apparently still had oil and gas vapors in it; when a worker used a cutting torch on it, it caused an explosion.
At least nine workers were sent to area hospitals and two were missing following the accident.
Some critics say smaller companies like Black Elk, who has moved in on these decommissioned rigs to get the remaining oil from them, don’t have the resources to take safety precautions like the “big guys” (BP, etc.). Others, however, simply chalk it up to a dangerous job where explosion accidents in particular are bound to happen.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
The investigation by federal officials and the company is likely to focus on why the line still contained oil and natural gas when it was cut. “The line should have been depressurized, purged and filled with nitrogen or another inert gas” that would not catch fire, before the pipe was cut, said Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute.
He said companies doing such work are now required to submit plans to BSEE in advance, explaining the procedures they will follow, and when it’s complete, file paperwork confirming they followed the procedures. “If they violated the procedures, in terms of what they told BSEE they would do, they’re likely to face fines and other restrictions,” Smith said.
He said the new regulations and the increased time needed to get permits places additional pressure on smaller firms working in Gulf waters. That pressure is exacerbated by the comparatively low price the companies are receiving for oil and natural gas.
Some jobs are more dangerous than others, and working in the oil and gas industry certainly has serious risks. But this doesn’t mean an accident of such magnitude can be brushed off as if it were par for the course.
As a personal injury attorney, I have seen how serious oil and gas industry accidents can be, and I know those victims struggle with far more than physical pain following such an accident.
