Yet another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded Thursday. All 13 crew members were found floating in the water wearing survival gear called "gumby suits" and were safely rescued. Louisiana officials immediately were not sure whether oil was leaking from the rig however a 100 foot wide and mile long oil sheen is now spreading from the explosion site. Firefighting vessels are currently at the scene trying to quell the fire from the explosion. Mariner Energy, the Houston based company who owns the rig, alleges that they do not know what caused the explosion.
According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Mariner Energy has been cited for 10 accidents in the past four years. Such accidents have included platform fires and pollution spills. In 2007, the company was fined $35,000 by the Minerals Management Service for welding sparks that fell into an oil storage tank and burned a contractor. The oil rig is about 200 miles away from where the BP explosion occurred. The platform is in about 340 feet of water and is considered to be in a shallow location. This will make capping the well much easier than what BP officials had to deal with.
