Breaking: New Oil Rig Explosion in Gulf of Mexico

There’s been another oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico:

One person is missing after a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Rescue crews from New Orleans and Houston are on the way to the rig via helicopter, the Coast Guard said.

Twelve people were accounted for, and one is missing.

Who owns the rig?

[Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel] said the rig, Vermillion Oil Rig 380, is owned by Mariner Energy, but that details were scarce.

Vermillion Oil Rig 360 is a gas and oil rig in 450 feet of water in South Timbalier Block 316, according to company records.

Mariner is owned by Apache Corp., which recently made news for a Gulf oil disaster-related deal with BP:

BP PLC said Tuesday it will sell assets in the U.S., Canada and Egypt to Apache Corp. for $7 billion to help pay the costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

At least part of the proceeds will go toward a $20 billion fund that BP agreed to last month under pressure from the Obama administration. The fund will help pay cleanup costs and damages from the spill.

We’ll keep you updated.