As of late, the gulf coast has become more well-known for oil spills and natural disasters than its natural beauty and once bountiful fishing and shrimping. A major oil spill in 2010 caused major damage to the area, damage that is still being dealt with.
The latest event is this line of tragedy occurred today as a blowout on a natural gas rig off of the Louisiana coast lead to an unexpected leak. The blowout occurred 40 miles south and 15 west of Grand Isle at about 9:50 a.m.
In the wake of the leak 47 workers on the rig were evacuated. No injuries or fires have been reported in relation to the leak and the gas released is expected to dissipate with minimal impact. The Coast Guard has been monitoring the resulting gas cloud from the air.
The rig, which is owned by the company Hercules Offshore, was said to be working on completing what is called a “sidetrack-well” in the industry. “Sidetrack-wells” are used to reenter gas wells and are usually used when the original entry becomes damaged.
Hercules has yet to release full details of the event, but it looks as if it will be less harmful to the area than past spills.
