Settlement reached in civil trial over fatal offshore explosion
Jun 28, 2016, 8:18am CDT
Jack Witthaus Web producer Houston Business Journal
A settlement was reached in the civil trial stemming from the 2012 fatal explosion on a Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
The New Orleans trial — which started last week and combined nine lawsuits— was expected to last several weeks before a settlement was announced June 27, according to the Associated Press. The settlement's terms were not disclosed.
A settlement was reached in the civil trial stemming from the 2012 fatal explosion
The trial for the criminal case has been set for Jan. 17, 2017. It’s also expected to last several weeks.
The Nov. 16, 2012, explosion killed three contractor workers, injured others and leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Houston-based Black Elk operated the West Delta 32 oil platform 17 miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Louisiana-based Grand Isle Shipyard Inc. and Scotland-based Wood Group PSN Inc. were also involved in different capacities while construction work was being done on the platform at the time of the explosion.
Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Black Elk, Grand Isle Shipyard, Wood Group PSN and three individuals.
In a statement last November, Wood Group PSN noted it was one of six contractors working on the platform when the incident occurred. The company also said it was not notified that "hot work" was going to occur at the particular unit on the day of the incident and "would have taken appropriate action to isolate the unit as our safety policies and procedures dictate."