http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6969813.html
Houston Chronicle
By LISE OLSEN and TERRI LANGFORD
April 21, 2010, 9:44PMApril 21, 2010, 9:44PMNine major oil rig fires have killed at least two people and seriously injured 12 since 2006 in the Gulf of Mexico, a lonely, high-risk drilling area where workers stay for weeks at a time, working 12-hour-a-day shifts.
Those fires are among 509 recorded on oil platforms in the Gulf since 2006, according to the U.S. Mineral Management Services, which monitors and collects platform data.
The Chronicle did not find any fatal accidents involving the drilling rig that caught fire Tuesday night, the Deepwater Horizon, or the company that owns it, Transocean Ltd.
However, fire struck other Transocean rigs in 2008 and 2009 and four of 19 accidents recorded on Transocean platforms for the past four years resulted in injuries to workers that required evacuation to shore and caused $1.9 million in damage, according to MMS accident reports.
The Houston Chronicle counted 35 fatal Gulf of Mexico platform accidents since 2006, based on local news reports and records.
The two deadliest Gulf of Mexico fires occurred in 2008 and in January on two oil rig platforms operated by the Apache Corp. In those two cases, one man died of his burns, and another died jumping into the Gulf to escape the fire.
$8.5 million in fines
Fires on Transocean’s other rigs did not involve injuries, according to government reports. One 2008 fire began after an O-ring was improperly installed on a fuel line, causing fuel to leak onto a hot engine surface. Another in 2009 started because of electrical equipment failure.
Most of the fatalities on these hulking metal behemoths involved drowning, diving accidents, helicopter crashes or drilling equipment mishaps.
Drilling companies have been assessed at least $8.5 million in fines since 2005 by the MMS, which also wears another hat: The agency collects royalties from the leases it sells to oil companies it monitors for safety.
In 2009, $11 billion in royalties was collected from off-shore leases. According to the MMS website, those royalties are one of the federal government’s greatest sources of non-tax revenue.
Attorneys who often represent off-shore workers in injury cases said that accidents aboard Gulf of Mexico oil platforms tend to be underreported.
“There is a big difference between their actual incident/injury rate and their self-reported (rate),” said attorney Michael Doyle of Doyle Raizner in Houston, a firm that specializes in offshore injury cases.
Injury rate higher?
Despite federal reporting requirements, Doyle said companies have failed to report off-shore injuries to the U.S. Coast Guard, which shares some enforcement authority with the MMS, in about a third of the employee cases he has handled.
“Often (company officials) deny an injury no matter what the doctors say,” he said. “So the injury rate looks low, but is not.”
Federal court records show dozens of recent cases filed nationwide against Transocean Inc and interrelated companies. But many of the injuries and death cases result in undisclosed settlements, two other attorneys who recently represented workers in cases against Transocean said.
Kurt Arnold, who has represented several clients in recent cases against Transocean Offshore and specializes in maritime injury cases said most of the workers live together in small towns from East Texas to all across Louisiana.
“Unfortunately, the rise of incidents offshore are increasing as the exploration for oil and gas increases,” Arnold said. “Many companies talk about their safety record, but the majority of accidents are not reported or misclassified. Unlike on land, there is little oversight.”
terri.langford@chron.com
lise.olsen@chron.com