From the 'Oh Crap' dept: BP Works to Right $1 Billion Oil Platform

From the Associated Press:

NEW ORLEANS - BP worked Wednesday to right a $1 billion petroleum platform found listing in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Dennis.

A cause had not been determined, said BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell in Houston. On Tuesday, after power was restored and crews were able to board the Thunder Horse platform, information from data recorders was sent to the shore for analysis, Chappell said.

"It's a history of the status of the equipment and actions taken by the operators, prior to the evacuation," Chappell said. "It will also provide information on what happened on the vessel after the people were removed last week."

Thunder Horse, the largest platform in the Gulf of Mexico, is the center of the Thunder Horse field, located about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans in about 6,000 feet of water. Until the accident, BP expected it to begin producing oil — as much as 240,000 barrels per day — in late 2005. Exxon Mobil Corp. is a partner in the project.

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