One Dead in Gulf of Mexico Oil Platform Explosion

An explosion at an offshore oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico killed one worker and injured three others Thursday afternoon, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.

Fieldwood Energy LLC of Houston reported the blast around 3 p.m. at its Echo platform. The oil and gas pumping facility wasn't producing fuel at the time and no pollution has been reported, according to the federal regulator.

The employee who died worked for a contract company, and a second contract worker suffered serious injuries, the company said. The three wounded workers were transported back to shore to a medical facility Thursday afternoon.

"We have accounted for all other personnel who were working at the facility," said Shannon Savoy, offshore production manager for Fieldwood. "This incident just occurred, so we do not have many details at this point."

BSEE is coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard and will investigate the blast.

Fieldwood is an oil and gas company backed by private-equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC. The company has been buying up Gulf of Mexico wells and lease agreements over the last 18 months, including $4.5 billion worth of assets from Apache Corp. and SandRidge Energy Inc.

Write to Lynn Cook at [e-mail]

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