20日晚上一個鑽油平台發生爆炸，燃燒了36個小時後於22日上午在墨西哥灣沉沒，相關公司將承擔嚴重漏油後果的善後問題。
這個名為深海平面(Deepwater Horizon)的鑽油平台是由瑞士泛洋有限公司(Transocean Ltd.)所有，與英國石油(BP Exploration & Production, Inc.)簽有合約，有一個探勘井已鑽探到其極限深度18000呎。鑽井位於路易斯安那外海41英里，紐澳良東南方130英里處，當地時間晚上10點意外發生時，鑽井已被關閉。
海岸防衛隊官員說，井口仍未封閉，每天可能會洩漏出8000桶原油。此外，據報當平台沉沒時，上面還有上百萬加侖的2號燃油或是船用柴油。
越洋發表聲明說，「聯合處理小組無法在平台沉沒前阻止碳氫化合物的流動，我們正與英國石油(BP)與海岸防衛隊密切合作，討論平台沉沒帶來的衝擊以及後續計畫。」
「美國海岸防衛隊已經備有減輕這類意外造成環境影響的計畫，」該公司說。
於此同時，失蹤的11名工作人員至今下落不明，存活的機會渺茫。海岸防衛隊的官員於22日說，已經執行了17次海空中的搜索行動，大約搜索了1940平方英里的範圍。
海岸防衛隊22日擴大了搜救範圍，將包含平台位置附近3000平方英里的範圍。不過搜救行動預計將於週五結束。
泛洋副總裁羅斯(Adrian Rose)22日說，週二爆炸後生還的工作人員表示，失蹤者可能位於爆炸點附近，而無法逃脫。
國家反應小組已經啟動，區域聯合指揮中心也在紐澳良附近設立，以協調搜救並處理漏油事件。內政部副部長海斯(David Hayes)於21日抵達，以協助協調並回應各項問題。
英國石油公司22日啟動了全面的漏油處理反應，以協助泛洋評估鑽井狀況，並以水下遙控潛艇防止進一步的噴發。
英國石油執行長海沃德(Tony Hayward)表示，該公司計畫將視需要鑽探一個減壓井。附近的一個鑽井平台可以立即用於鑽探所需的減壓井。
英國石油表示，他們已經準備好超過10萬加侖的化油劑與四架可在漏油處噴灑藥劑的飛機，也已取得美國海岸防衛隊使用這些設備的許可。
該公司已經放置了50萬呎長的攔油索，長度將持續增加到100萬呎長。
英國石油已經做出48小時的油污路徑預測，預期這段時間內漏油的範圍將停留在鑽井附近，另外也對保護環境敏感區域所需的資源做了前期計畫。
起火與爆炸的原因至今未知。未來幾天至幾週內，相關單位將會啟動調查事故原因的計畫，並且評估所造成的損害。
歐巴馬總統在白宮對墨西哥灣事故的受難者與其家屬所遭遇到悲劇表示哀悼與祈禱，並指示整個聯邦政府全力提供協助與所需資源，也要將減輕環境衝擊的處理工作列為第一要務。
美國總統要求有關部門盡力處理此一事件，並探究事故原因。他也感謝那些過去幾天為拯救生命與保護環境而馬不停蹄的英勇救難者與政府官員。
An oil rig that exploded Tuesday night and burned for 36 hours sank in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, leaving responders with a potentially enormous oil spill on their hands.
The Deepwater Horizon, owned by the Swiss company Transocean Ltd. and contracted by BP Exploration & Production, Inc., had drilled an exploratory well down to its limit of 18,000 feet. The well was being closed when the incident occurred at 10 pm Tuesday local time, about 41 miles offshore Louisiana and 130 miles southeast of New Orleans.
The well is still unplugged and could potentially release up to 8,000 barrels of crude oil per day, said Coast Guard officials. In addition, over a million gallons of #2 fuel oil or marine diesel fuel was reported to be onboard the rig when it went down.
Transocean said in a statement, "The combined response team was not able to stem the flow of hydrocarbons prior to the rig sinking, and we are working closely with BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and the U.S. Coast Guard to determine the impact from the sinking of the rig and the plans going forward."
"The U.S. Coast Guard has plans in place to mitigate any environmental impact from this situation," the company said.
Meanwhile, hope is fading that 11 crewmembers who are still missing will be found alive. Coast Guard officials said today that 17 search sorties have been completed by air and by boat and approximately 1,940 square miles have been searched.
The Coast Guard today expanded its search area to include 3,000 square miles around where the platform's location. But the search is expected to be called off sometime on Friday.
Transocean Vice President Adrian Rose said today that crew members who survived Tuesday's explosion indicated the missing men may have been near the blast and unable to escape.
The National Response Team has been activated and Unified and Area Commands have been established near New Orleans to coordinate search and rescue operations and oil spill response efforts. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes arrived yesterday to assist with coordination and response.
BP today activated an extensive oil spill response, assisting Transocean in an assessment of the well and subsea blow out preventer with remotely operated vehicles.
Hayward said BP has a plan for the drilling of a relief well, if required. A nearby drilling rig available to begin activity immediately will be used to drill the relief well.
BP says it has supplies of more than 100,000 gallons of chemical dispersants and four aircraft ready to spray dispersant to the spill, and the pre-approval of the US Coast Guard to use them.
The company has deployed 500,000 feet of boom, increasing to 1,000,000 feet of boom by day's end.
BP has implemented pre-planned forecasting of 48-hour spill trajectory, which indicates spilled oil will remain well offshore during that period; and has pre-planned the staging of resources for protection of environmentally sensitive areas.
The cause of the fire and explosion is unknown at this time. An investigation into the cause of the incident and assessment of the damage will be conducted in the days or weeks to come.
After saying that his thoughts and prayers are with the family members and loved ones facing the tragic situation in the Gulf of Mexico, the President directed the entire federal government to offer all assistance needed in the rescue effort and in mitigating and responding to the environmental impact as "the number one priority."
The President asked the responding departments to devote every resource needed to respond to this incident and investigate its cause. He thanked the brave responders and government officials "who have worked non-stop over the last two days to save lives and protect the environment."
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
