An offshore worker has died after suffering fatal injuries on a platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
On Friday, March 11, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), an agency under the United States Department of the Interior, responded to a reported fatality on Platform A, Green Canyon Block 18 in the Gulf of Mexico.
The platform, located approximately 150 miles south of New Orleans, is operated by an offshore oil and gas operator based in Houston, Whistler Energy II, who reported that an offshore worker was fatally injured while working on the platform rig.
The bureau said that there was no pollution or additional injuries reported, but it did not provide any details about what actually happened on the platform that caused the death of the worker.
The bureau informed that all drilling operations have been suspended and will remain suspended until BSEE grants approval to resume drilling. As this is a platform rig with production from a separate deck, production has continued, the bureau explained.
“BSEE investigators are actively engaging with the operator and will investigate the incident. As weather permits, BSEE inspectors and investigators will visit the location,” the BSEE said on Friday.
Whistler Energy II entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after acquiring 100% of the working interest in two lease blocks, Green Canyon 18 and Green Canyon 60, from an ExxonMobil affiliate and W&T Offshore in July 2013.
The GC 18 platform was originally set in 1987. It is a 30-slot, 25,000-ton structure located in 760 ft of water, 79 miles south of Port of Fourchon. It is rated at 30,000 BOPD.
Whistler Energy II started the refurbishment and upgrade of the platform in the fall of 2013, and completed it in the second quarter of 2015. The refurbishment was performed by a project management services company based in Houston, Epic Management Resources.
Offshore Energy Today Staff