Latest rig explosion leaves officials unsure about drilling future

The Gulf Coast suffered another setback Thursday morning when Mariner Energy’s Platform 380 exploded about 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay.

And while the platform was not considered to be under the Obama administration’s blanket moratorium, local government officials feel the explosion will add another roadblock in lifting the moratorium.

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet and Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph were guests on WWL’s radio show “Think Tank” with Garland Robinette the day of the explosion.

“I think [the federal government] is going to look harder at [us] trying to lift the moratorium now,” Claudet said. “So I think our chances are substantially diminished as a result of this.”

Randolph told Robinette she was happy to hear the 13 rig workers were safe, but like Claudet, worried about what the government will do next in regards to the moratorium.

“The last thing we needed was another situation that they would have to address, and therefore, we will definitely have a much greater uphill battle now,” she said.

But Gov. Bobby Jindal had something different to say about last week’s incident, stressing that it is in no way similar to the Deep Water Horizon explosion.

“People need to understand this was a platform that was in shallow water, it wasn’t a deep water exploration rig, and not affected by the moratorium. We don’t want these accidents to happen, we want to get to the bottom of it and prevent these accidents from happening in the future,” Jindal told the Tri-Parish Times. “But I think it would be better for the federal government to listen to their own experts on how to make drilling happen more safely.”

Jindal was also relieved to report Platform 380 was not leaking any oil.

“While our first priority is the safety and well-being of the workers, we are also glad to learn from the Coast Guard and Mariner Energy that the platform does not appear to be leaking,” he said at a press conference in Houma last week.

“The Coast Guard continues to check valves on the platform to ensure that it has been completely shut in. All of our state agencies continue to coordinate with the Coast Guard to keep updated on the situation and supply any response resources that may be needed.”

When asked if he thought the federal government would use last week’s incident to strengthen its moratorium case, Jindal said that shouldn’t happen.

“There are people who are going to use what they can to try to shut down the oil and gas industry, but we’re going to have to fight to make sure the facts get out and people in [Washington, D.C.] understand the difference between a shallow water and deep water platform, and that people understand that we are for oversight and regulation,” he said. “We want it to be done safely.”

Jindal stands by the resilience od the people of Louisiana, and said he still hopes to see the state come out on top.

“As we learned during hurricanes and the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, we must prepare for the worst and continue to hope for the best in these types of incidents,” he said.