Worker Killed in Gulf of Mexico Rig Explosion
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One worker was killed and at least three other workers were injured when an offshore oil rig exploded on Thursday afternoon. The Echo Platform oil rig, which was operated by the Houston-based Fieldwood Energy, exploded around 3pm about 12 miles off the coast of New Orleans. The injured workers are being treated at a nearby medical facility onshore. All of the injured and deceased workers were contractors. Questions remain about the total number of workers who were injured during the blast.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, but federal regulators are investigating the incident. According to the Federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the damage was limited to the explosion area. No pollution was reported since the rig was not in production at the time of the catastrophe.
Fieldwood began operating the platform in July of 2014 after purchasing $3.75 billion in assets from Apache Corp.