Maritime News

A BP oil rig may be shut down over safety concerns.

 
Two months before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, a group of 19 lawmakers signed a letter urging an investigation into the safety of the Atlantis oil and gas platform.  Now a group of lawmakers is encouraging the Mineral and Management Service (MMS) to shut down the oil platform until a safety investigation can be completed.

 
The Atlantis is the second largest oil rig in the region.  It is located 150 miles south of New Orleans and pumps up to 200,000 barrels a day of crude oil and up to 180 million cubic feet of natural gas.  Officials believe that an accident on the Atlantis could be many times worse than the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

 
The Deepwater Horizon incident cost 11 lives, left 17 injured, threatened wildlife and caused economic damage to hundreds of thousands of offshore workers all along the Gulf Coast.

 
BP claims the rig is operating safely; however, a former contractor claims the rig is being operated without complete or accurate engineering documents.  The MMS is conducting an initial investigation.

Loading

Get Your FREE
Injury Toolkit

Our Qualifications