Fire out, probe begins on Mariner platform

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"The life jackets were the key to their survival and well-being, considering how far from land they were," said USCG Petty Officer Steve Lehmann. The platform is 102 miles offshore.

"Automated shutoff equipment on the platform safely turned off the flow of oil and gas from the platform's seven producing wells before the fire occurred and the crew evacuated," said Mariner Energy, a Houston-based company, in a release.

The company dispatched fire boats to douse the blaze.

"No injuries. No spill," said Mariner spokesperson Patrick Cassidy. "Don't know the cause of the fire yet. The investigation is underway. The platform was used to produce oil and gas."

"We do not know yet if there is a leak," USCG's Lehmann said.

Lehmann explained that a Mariner Energy helicopter first reported spotting a mile-long sheen of oil on the water's surface near the platform yesterday.

"Five Coast Guard helicopters have flown over the area since then and were not able to confirm the sheen," Lehmann said. "We are maintaining a state of constant vigilance, making certain no oil is leaking, considering the harm already done to the Gulf."

The Mariner Energy platform is roughly 150 miles west of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil well, which is in the final stages of being permanently plugged, after leaking approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil from April 20 to July 15 in the largest oil leak catastrophe in U.S. history.

The rig explosion that ruptured the Deepwater Horizon well pipe took the lives of 11 crew members. Part of the government's response was the imposition of a drilling moratorium in the Gulf.

The Mariner Energy platform, however, did not fall under the federal moratorium because the platform is located in relatively shallow water, at 340 feet. It was authorized to produce both oil and natural gas, and was averaging about 9.2 million cubic feet of gas and 1,400 barrels of oil a day, the company said.

The company said it will cooperate fully with the federal investigation into the cause of the fire. Bromwich of the BOEM said the Coast Guard will assist in the probe.

The BOEM was formerly known as the Mineral Management Service, whose actions are currently being scrutinized in the ongoing investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Department of the Interior recently changed the name of its disgraced agency and hired Bromwich to return it to effectiveness and respectability.

Lehmann said the investigation is starting with interviews of the 13 crew members.

Presidential Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the President has been briefed on the incident. Gibbs noted that the platform is not in deep water and would not, if a leak did occur, present as great a difficulty as Deepwater Horizon.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has also taken action, writing a letter to Mariner CEO Scott Josey, requesting a biefing on the incident and its possible causes by Sept. 10.

"This explosion highlights the significant risks associated with offshore drilling, and that much is left to be done to keep America's workers and waters safe from those risks," said Rep. Bob Markey, D-MA, a member of the committee. "After the 13 workers on this rig are safe and sound, we have a duty to them and all oil workers to make sure the oil industry's drilling practices are also safe and sound."