Gulf of Mexico experiences another natural gas leak

A blow out on a natural gas rig off the Louisiana coast caused a well to catch fire on Tuesday (July 23rd) and resulted in the rig being evacuated. The 44 workers on the rig were moved out of harm's way once the fire started, which continued to rage through the day after the initial incident.

The natural gas leak was attended by Wild Well Control Inc. The company was dispatched to attempt to bring the well under control before the fire started, but determined that it was unsafe to go any closer than 200 feet away from the out-of-control well. The fire occurred after this, although it is unclear as to what caused the gas to ignite.

Eventually the fire snuffed itself out when the gas well became blocked by undersea sediment and sand. Whilst flames still continued for a while, once gas stopped leaking from the well - caused by residual gas that had already leaked - it was reported that the flames had died out on Thursday (July 25th) morning.

During the leak and fire, it was reported that an oil sheen could be seen on the water surrounding the rig. However, this now appears to have dissipated and the most recent flyovers reported no sheen. Work is ongoing to permanently plug the well.   

Emotions are still running high concerning the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent fire, which resulted in the death of 11 rig workers and the release of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. However, a Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement spokesperson told the Associated Press that, unlike the massive BP oil rig incident, no one was injured during the blowout or the fire. It was also stressed that the leak would not be as damaging as the previous disaster.

This latest leak in the Gulf of Mexico comes on the heels of another. Earlier this month, another natural gas well sprung a leak, although no fire occurred. The Ship Shoal 225 B-2 was undergoing works to permanently seal the well when it began to actively leak natural gas. This leak was stopped and the well sealed shortly after.