The Louisiana Oil & Gas Association has filed a brief in federal court highlighting the industry’s concerns about a recent ship accident at the mouth of the Mississippi River that caused extensive damage to an offshore oil platform.
Dallas-based Cox Operating LLC filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Louisiana last fall in the wake of its Platform 58-B being struck by a Turkish-flagged tanker that allegedly drifted from its anchorage. As a result of the collision, the platform has been shut down, resulting in a loss to the company of 1,500 barrels of oil daily.
“Cox Oil has sustained both physical and economic losses and damages that are currently expected to exceed $225 million,” the complaint states. “These losses and damages include, among other things, the physical damage and economic damage resulting from the loss of use of the platform. …”
Attorney Edward Poitevent
Though LOGA is not taking a position on the merits of the allegations against the tanker M/V Atina or its owners, the association argues that energy companies whose platforms are damaged by vessels deserve verifiable security for their claims by parties that are certified or licensed in the United States.
In the Cox case, which occurred at 4:30 a.m. last Oct. 17, the vessel owner has only offered a letter of understanding (LOU) from The Standard Club UK Ltd., which lacks the appropriate certification, according to LOGA.
“When a foreign vessel damages their property and disrupts their production, Louisiana oil and gas producers should not be forced to shoulder the risk of accepting a promise to pay in the form of an LOU issued by a noncorporate surety that is not licensed by the state of Louisiana and does not hold a certificate of authority from the U.S. Treasury,” LOGA’s June 1 brief states.
Edward Poitevent, LOGA’s attorney, said such collisions may not be common in the Gulf, but the potential for environmental upheaval and loss of life is real.
“It is not an everyday occurrence, but it does happen and it is a serious problem when it happens,” Poitevent told the Louisiana Record.
A reoccurrence of a BP-type disaster is not out of the question when such collisions occur, he said.
“If a similar type of event had occurred in connection with this, you’d be seeing Deep Water Horizon all over again,” Poitevent said.
Complicating a possible resolution in the case is the fact that the tanker’s captain has apparently fled the United States to escape responsibility, according to those familiar with the litigation.