Gulf platform fire stirs drilling debate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- An explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday has intensified the debate over the safety of offshore wells.

The platform, owned by Mariner Energy, 80 miles from the Louisiana coast, exploded in flames.

The incident comes just 5 months after BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers, and the wellhead a mile under the surface of the gulf leaked more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the gulf.

The Mariner platform is about 250 miles west from the Deepwater Horizon site.

In a statement Thursday, Mariner said the fire had been extinguished and that no injuries were reported. It said automated shutoff equipment on the platform turned off the flow of oil and gas from the wells before the fire erupted and the crew evacuated.

The Obama administration in May issued a 6-month moratorium on deep-water drilling following the BP spill.

The Mariner platform, working in 340 feet of water, is considered a shallow-water platform. It had been producing 1,400 barrels a day of crude oil and 9.2 million cubic feet a day of natural gas, the company says.

The New York Times, citing federal records, reports that there have been at least four accidents on the platform since 2000, including two fires.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter Thursday to Mariner Energy Chief Executive Officer Scott D. Josey saying they want a briefing on the incident by Sept. 10.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who has been investigating oil rig safety since before the BP spill, said the Mariner incident "is the starkest possible reminder that oil rigs in this country are not safe, have not been safe for years, and are not currently being inspected for safety.

"It seems that everyone is content to let another oil rig explode every few months rather than taking concrete steps to clean up the industry," Grijalva said.

Environmental groups have called for increased regulation of offshore drilling.

Over the past 10 years, 69 people have died on offshore facilities and there have been 858 fires and explosions, says Greenpeace, citing data from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

"The oil industry continues to rail against regulation but it's become all too clear that the current approach to offshore drilling is simply too dangerous," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement.

"We don't need to put American workers and waters in harm's way just so multinational oil companies can break more profit records," Brune said.