SAFE OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING?

Oil slick spreads from sunken rig
April 22, 2010 (CNN)

"A 1-by-5-mile sheen of crude oil mix has spread across the Gulf of Mexico's surface around the area where an oil rig exploded and sank, a Coast Guard lieutenant said…Officials do not know whether oil or fuel are leaking form the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig and the well below, but BP Vice President David Rainey said [it could bbe a major spill]…

"A remotely-operated vehicle is surveying the area and cleanup efforts are already under way…Meanwhile, the Coast Guard continued to search for 11 people missing after an explosion late Tuesday set the rig ablaze forcing workers to be evacuated…Officials are still unsure what caused the blast…[T]he missing workers may not have been able to get off the rig…52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, when the explosion occurred Tuesday night. There were no indications it was a terrorist incident…"

From adolfojacosta via YouTube

"Officials said 126 people were on board…Of the 115 accounted-for workers, 17 injured were evacuated by helicopter…94 people were taken to shore with no major injuries, and four more were transferred to another vessel…It was not known whether the missing workers were able to make it to one of the rig's lifeboats -- fully enclosed, fire-resistant vessels designed to evacuate people quickly.

"The Coast Guard said calm weather conditions and warm Gulf waters increase the likelihood of survival for the missing workers…As rescue crews continued searching for survivors, a federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of one of the 11 missing workers…[claiming] negligence by…[Transocean and BP] caused the explosion…The suit does not provide specific details about the blast…"

Happy Eafrth Day from the "environmentally safe" offshore oil drilling industry. (click to enlarge)

"Transocean's website describes the company as the "world's largest offshore drilling contractor and the leading provider of drilling management services worldwide," with 140 offshore drilling units…The rig involved in the explosion -- a mobile unit which moves to different locations in the Gulf of Mexico -- had been drilling for oil in its current location since January…

"…[D]ozens of vessels and aircraft were on the way to the scene…including equipment to minimize the environmental impact of any spilled oil…Up to 336,000 gallons could spill into the Gulf, based on the amount of oil the rig pulled out daily…And up to 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel could also leak…As cleanup efforts ramped up, government and company officials said they planned to get to the bottom of what caused the explosion…"