• Fire rages after tugboat, barge strike Louisiana gas pipeline

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    A fire still burns on Wednesday after a tugboat and barge hit a gas pipeline Tuesday evening in Perot Bay in Lafourche Parish, La., about 30 miles south of New Orleans.

    By Kevin McGill, The Associated Press

    NEW ORLEANS -- A gas pipeline burned Wednesday morning in a bayou south of New Orleans hours after it was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge, but authorities say no oil appeared to be leaking from the barge.


    Coast Guard Cmdr. Russ Bowen said it appears the barge is intact and none of its cargo of crude oil was leaking, though there were patches of oily sheen in the area. The Coast Guard was investigating whether those sheens were related to the accident.

    A plume of smoke rising from the site could be seen from downtown New Orleans Wednesday morning. Bowen said authorities planned to allow the gas to burn itself out before approaching for a closer inspection. The area is thinly populated and no evacuations had been ordered.

    Four people aboard the 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon were injured, one severely, in the collision Tuesday at about 6 p.m. CDT. Water at the collision site is very shallow.

    The 19-mile section of pipeline was carrying liquefied petroleum gas. It had been isolated from other conduits by its owner, San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron, so only what was inside could burn.

    "All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns," the Coast Guard said in a news release early Wednesday.

    The barge was holding 92,000 gallons of crude oil, the Coast Guard said. The tug boat had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Settoon Towing of Pierre Part, La., lists the tug among its vessels on its website.

    Bowen said it was believed that the diesel fuel aboard the tug had burned up.

    WWL-TV reported that the tug's captain was transferred to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.

    It was not immediately known who owns the 154-foot oil barge.

    The area is along the northern reaches of Barataria Bay, which was heavily affected by oil from the BP spill in 2010. It is mostly small communities where people often make their living from the sea, either working in the oil and gas industry or as fishermen.

    The 92,000 gallons the Coast Guard says was being carried by the barge is a fraction of the millions of gallons that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill.

    The region where the fire was burning is crisscrossed by pipelines and wellheads are a common sight in the shallow waters of the bayou and bay shoreline.

    Bowen said it's not unusual for tugs to operate in shallow areas. "That's just the nature of coastal Louisiana," he said.

    Beyond that, he said he couldn't comment on why the accident happened.

    Bayou Perot was the scene of an explosion and fire on a specialized oil rig in December 2010 in which three men were injured. The explosion happened while the men were welding and there was no pollution, the Coast Guard reported.

    Related:

    BP to pay $4.5 billion, plead guilty to manslaughter in spill

    3,675 gas wells OK'd by US -- and environmentalists

    This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:19 AM EDT

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Gulf oil platforms evacuating workers due to Isaac storm threat

    The Florida Keys know what to expect from a big storm, and they're getting ready. Tourists have been warned to get out of town. Officials are taking no chances with just hours left to prepare before the storm makes landfall.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    Major oil producers, including BP, Shell and Chevron, said Sunday they would be evacuating workers from Gulf of Mexico platforms in the face of an imminent threat of high surf and winds from Tropical Storm Isaac.

    The storm could affect an area that produces 23 percent of total daily U.S. oil production and 7 percent of its natural gas output.

    BP Plc said it will shut production at all of its Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms and evacuate all workers on Sunday in light of Isaac's westerly shift and forecasts that it could strengthen into a hurricane. BP has already shut and evacuated four platforms, including Thunder Horse, the world's largest. The company said Sunday it will shut its other three platforms. 

    Chevron, second to BP in Gulf oil production, said it would be evacuating some workers directly involved in oil and gas production from some of its platforms. "Chevron continues to closely monitor the projected path of Tropical Storm Isaac and has begun to evacuate some essential personnel from some offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Production has not been affected," the company said.

    Anadarko Petroleum followed suit. "To ensure the safety of our workers and the protection of the environment, we are shutting in production and removing all personnel from our operated facilities in the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico," it said in a statement. Among the platforms it is shutting are: the Independence Hub, Constitution, Marco Polo, Red Hawk, Neptune and Gunnison.

    Reuters said Murphy Oil was evacuating its Thunder Hawk platform Sunday and would do the same with two other platforms on Monday. Royal Dutch Shell said it will shut down production and fully evacuate its platforms on Monday, according to the news agency. Others who are evacuating workers include Marathon Oil and BHP Billiton.

    The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the storm threat has so far shut down about a quarter of daily oil production in the Gulf and over 8 percent of its natural gas production.

    Isaac is heading for the Gulf Coast, say forecasters, who predict the storm is likely to build into a Category 2 hurricane capable of sustained winds between 96 to 100 miles per hour. It could make landfall on the northern Gulf Coast by late Tuesday. The storm picked up strength as it passed over the warm waters of the Florida Straits after it lashed Cuba and left seven dead in Haiti.

    Related story: Isaac strengthens, set to hit Gulf Coast as Category 2 storm

    Memories are still fresh on the Gulf Coast over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, which killed 11 platform workers and spewed millions of gallons of crude over three months into the environmentally sensitive Gulf of Mexico. The disaster, which was the largest marine oil spill ever, occurred after an explosion on the platform. 

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    More money and business news:

    Follow NBCNews.com business on Twitter and Facebook

  • Fire shuts down major Chevron oil refinery in northern Calif.

    Residents living near Richmond, California, are being told to stay inside and shut their windows after a fire erupted at a Chevron oil refinery. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    Updated at 8:05 a.m. ET: A massive fire struck at the core of Chevron's large Richmond, Calif., refinery on Monday, spewing flames and a column of smoke into the air, and threatening a prolonged outage that may increase prices of U.S. gasoline. 

    The fire was contained by 11 p.m. (2 a.m. ET), according to the company. The fire blazed for hours after it erupted at the refinery in a densely populated industrial suburb east of San Francisco. Smoke could be seen billowing over the Bay Area and four train stations were shut.

    Thousands of local residents were ordered to stay indoors and shut all windows and doors after the fire hit the sole crude unit at the 245,000 barrel per day plant, which accounts for one-eighth of California state's refining capacity. But that order was later lifted.

    "I heard a big boom ... then the alarms started going off," 23-year-old local resident Daniela Rodriguez told the Contra Costa Times.

    "I was getting kind of scared. I went into my backyard and could see a big, dark gray cloud. I saw it was coming from where the refinery is, so I told my mom to lock the windows," the newspaper quoted her as saying.

    Read more about this story on NBCBayArea.com

    The plume from the fire reached an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 feet above ground level, officials said at a news conference, according to the Times.

    No fatalities
    All workers had been accounted for and no fatalities were reported, but one employee was treated at an on-site clinic for burns to his wrist, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

    About 200 people have sought medical help, complaining of respiratory problems, the San Pablo, Calif.-based Doctors Medical Center said in a statement.

    "They told me I'm not going to die, but it sure feels pretty serious," 21-year-old Richmond resident Julius Bailey told the Chronicle after seeing a doctor for respiratory complaints at Kaiser’s Richmond Medical Center.

    The fire had started in the No. 4 crude unit, the only one at the plant, at 6:15 p.m. shortly after a leak was discovered, Chevron said.

    As the leak grew, workers were evacuated, plant manager Nigel Hearn told journalists at the site. He said some units were still operating, but gave no details. 

    Complete US news coverage on NBCNews.com

    Supply could be affected
    Any lengthy disruption in production could affect the supply of fuel in the West Coast, particularly gasoline, due to the difficulty in meeting California's super-clean specifications. The region also has few immediate alternative supply sources. 

    "Chevron will have a hard time finding replacement barrels in an already short market," said Bob van der Valk, a petroleum industry analyst in Terry, Mont.

    "Refineries are already drawing down summer blend inventory in anticipation of the switch back to winter blend gasoline,"  he said.

    Residents of Richmond were advised to "shelter in place", an order often given during refinery accidents to shield against possible exposure to toxic chemicals or smoke. Sulfuric acid and nitrogen dioxide were released during the incident, according to a filing with the California Emergency Management Agency. 

    "We heard the sirens go off and I said, 'Thunderdome blew,'" Richmond resident Emmett Zediker told the Times.

    Josh Edelson / Reuters

    Firefighters douse flames at the Chevron oil refinery in in Richmond, Calif., on Monday.

    "We call Chevron 'Thunderdome' because when it blows, it blows. So we cracked open a bottle of vintage wine and we are having an apocalypse party," the Times quoted him as saying.

    Key to local economy
    The refinery, the third-largest in California and among the oldest in the country, is key to the economy of Richmond, a declining industrial city. But it has stirred controversy among local residents concerned about the environmental impacts and local politicians often seeking more tax revenues.

    "I looked out the window and saw 40 foot flames and black smoke," Marc Mowrey, a Point Richmond resident who lives about a mile from the plant, said in a telephone interview.

    Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

    He said the smell was not exceptional or very different from other days, but a huge plume of smoke was sitting over Richmond and neighboring El Cerrito.

    At its peak 10 years ago, the refinery employed over 1,300 people on a site of over 2,900 acres.

    Last week, the refinery reported vapor leaks and a compressor failure to California pollution regulators, according to notices. The notices did not say which units were involved.

    Fire breaks out after explosion at Okla. oil refinery

    We are "very disappointed that this happened, and apologize that we are inconveniencing our neighbors," Chevron spokesman Walt Gill told local television.

    A Reuters reporter who lives nearby said he heard some loud bangs and a siren as the fire erupted, but a Chevron spokesman denied reports of an explosion. 

    In 2006, an explosion at the plant sent hundreds of people to the hospital. Incidents also occurred in 1999 and 2007.

    It is common to shut down the entire plant in the event of a major blaze. A Feb. 17 fire at the crude installation units of BP's 225,000-bpd Cherry Point, Wash., refinery led to a three-month shutdown and sent the regional price premium to more than $1 a gallon in some places.

    Read Chevron's official statements on the incident

    Reuters and NBC News staff contributed to this report.

    More content from NBCNews.com:  

    Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

  • 5 hurt after blaze at Alaska convenience store

    Jeremy Stone / Alaska State Troopers via AP

    Firefighters battle a blaze at a gas station convenience store near Alaska's Denali National Park on Sunday.

    By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and wire services

    Updated at 4:15 a.m. ET: The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the fire was "greatly diminished" by 10 p.m. local time (2 a.m. ET).  However, authorities said that firefighters were likely to remain on the scene throughout the night.

    Published at 3 a.m. ET: At least five people were injured after a suspected explosion and fire ripped through a gas station convenience store near Alaska's Denali National Park on Sunday night.

    Crews believe a blast near a checkout counter inside the store touched off the blaze in Cantwell, Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Mike Roberts said.

    "The fire has fully engulfed the structure," Roberts told The Associated Press. He said that by late Sunday it appeared to be diminishing.

    The area around the Chevron station was cordoned off as a precaution against a gasoline or propane explosion.

    "Basically, they're sealing off the area, not letting anyone in, making sure it's clear of people," he said.

    Firefighters were concerned about a propane tank located behind the building and were working to protect it from the flames, Roberts added.

    Roberts told NBC station KTUU that five people were injured -- including two people who suffered "significant burns." According to the KTUU, another vicitm "suffered trauma after being hit from objects inside the convenience store."

    The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that high winds caused problems for the firefighters.

    Cantwell is located just outside the eastern boundary of Denali National Park and about 175 miles north of Anchorage.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.