Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A Gulf Coast still reeling from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon drilling platform explosion, which killed 11 workers and dumped thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for months, braced for another round this morning when reports began coming in about another oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana. Again?? You could almost hear the groan of a weary population whose lives, livelihoods and lifestyle have been irreparably damaged by the BP oil disaster.

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Update #2 (9/02/2010 @ 4:45pm) – Coast Guard Petty Officer Elizabeth Bordelon said there is a sheen on the water at the site of the platform, measuring about 100 feet wide and stretching for one mile. Jindal said the sheen can’t be confirmed.

The fire at the platform is not out yet, but it has been contained, Bordelon said.

Update #1 (9/02/2010 @ 12:31pm) – All thirteen people aboard a production platform that exploded in the Gulf are accounted for and safely on a commercial vessel according to initial information, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.

“We continue to gather information as we respond with full force, and have oil spill response assets ready for immediate deployment should we receive any reports of pollution,” the statement said.

Original Story (9/02/2010 @ 10:30am) – An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP’s undersea well spilled after a rig explosion.

The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said some of those from the rig were spotted in emergency flotation devices.

Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala., Ben-Iesau said. She said authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.

The Department of Homeland Security said the platform was in about 2,500 feet of water and owned by Mariner Energy of Houston. DHS said it was not producing oil and gas.

The Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP was in about 5,000 feet of water when it exploded and sank in April, killing 11 workers and triggering a leak of about 206 million gallons of oil.