Vermilion Block 380 platform

The Vermilion Block 380 A Platform is a fixed offshore platform located in of water approximately off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform was originally installed as an oil and gas drilling and production platform in early 1980.

Mariner Energy

The platform was owned by Mariner Energy, Inc., an oil and gas exploration company based in One Briar Lake Plaza in Westchase, Houston, Texas. In 2010, Apache Corporation bought Mariner Energy for $2.7 billion. The acquisition was completed on November 10, 2010.

Design

As viewed from the surface, the platform appears to be of a traditional four-pile design. However, the design incorporates four exterior skirt piles in order to provide additional stability at the base. These skirt piles do not extend all of the way from the mudline to the water surface. The eight piles, four main and four skirt, that secure the platform to the seafloor are in diameter and extend more than below the mudline.
It was producing approximately of natural gas and of oil per day.

Location

The platform was located at the Vermilion Block 38 in the Gulf of Mexico about south of Vermilion Bay.

Explosion

The rig exploded and caught on fire on September 2, 2010. The platform was off-line for maintenance at the time the incident occurred. The flames from the explosion could be seen off the Louisiana coast. Thirteen workers were occupying the platform at the time of the explosion. All of the workers were rescued from the ocean, with one person sustaining injuries. The rescue vessel Crystal Clear rescued the crew members, all of whom wore type I life jackets at the time of rescue. All went to a hospital in Houma, Louisiana.