High Island 262 Explosion; Gulf of Mexico
NOAA initial notification: “On Tuesday night, 4 August 2009, the USCG reported a rig in High Island Black 262 that had an issue with gas turbine and ignited a natural gas line. Emergency shut down was activated prior to abandonment of rig. There are an estimated 6000 gallons of various fuels onboard and a […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 6 Aug 2009
Latest source report
“The USCG reported that 43 individuals escaped the rig without injury. The cause of the explosion and fire is thought to be a violent compressor failure that damaged and ignited a natural gas line. There were only very minor sheens observed near the rig during the next morning overflight. Photographs have been added to ResponseLink from that overflight. Only small out of smoke […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[3]
NOAA report chronology
3 dated source records · 4 Aug 2009 to 6 Aug 2009NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On Tuesday night, 4 August 2009, the USCG reported a rig in High Island Black 262 that had an issue with gas turbine and ignited a natural gas line. Emergency shut down was activated prior to abandonment of rig. There are an estimated 6000 gallons of various fuels onboard and a condensate crude tank of unknown capacity on the facility. The RP expects the line to burn off the remaining natural gas and to be a non-issue (let’s hope so). USCG Marine Safety Unit Galveston will conduct a morning overflight assess the situation.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 3: 4 Aug 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On Tuesday night, 4 August 2009, the USCG reported a rig in High Island Black 262 that had an issue with gas turbine and ignited a natural gas line. Emergency shut down was activated prior to abandonment of rig. There are an estimated 6000 gallons of various fuels onboard and a condensate crude tank of unknown capacity on the facility. The RP expects the line to burn off the remaining natural gas and to be a non-issue (let’s hope so). USCG Marine Safety Unit Galveston will conduct a morning overflight assess the situation.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (28.471°, -93.739°)
Initial Report
Source report excerpt: “On Tuesday night, 4 August 2009, the USCG reported a rig in High Island Black 262 that had an issue with gas turbine and ignited a natural gas line. Emergency shut down was activated prior to abandonment of rig. There are an estimated 6000 gallons of various fuels onboard and a condensate crude tank of unknown capacity on the facility. The RP expects the line to burn off the remaining natural gas and to be a non-issue (let’s hope so). USCG Marine Safety Unit Galveston will conduct a morning overflight assess the situation. The reported position is 28° 28' 16" N Lat. 093° 44' 21" W Long. This location is roughly 60 miles S of Sabine Pass (Texas – Louisiana boarder). At present, NOAA has only […]”
Final Report
Source report excerpt: “The USCG reported that 43 individuals escaped the rig without injury. The cause of the explosion and fire is thought to be a violent compressor failure that damaged and ignited a natural gas line. There were only very minor sheens observed near the rig during the next morning overflight. Photographs have been added to ResponseLink from that overflight. Only small out of smoke is still visible, but significant fire damaged can be observed in the photos. Sorry, there were no pictures of the rig burning during the night. With no observed serious pollution threat and a belief that the situation is stable, this entry will serve as the Final Report. Charlie Henry NOAA Scientific Support […]”
Share or embed this incident
Add a dated incident card to your article or website. It links readers to the complete timeline and original sources. The card contains no ads or tracking scripts.
Card preview
Open card ↗The card follows the automatically assembled NOAA timeline. Dates identify source postings, not necessarily event times; the latest report is not a verified outcome. Your publishing platform must support iframe embeds.
Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 8067[1]
Reading this account
Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
These are excerpts from the source, not independently verified conclusions. Publication order can differ from the sequence of events. Follow the source links for the complete reports.
Original sources
Timeline updated 18 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-8067 NOAA response record
High Island 262 Explosion; Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico. 1. On Tuesday night, 4 August 2009, the USCG reported a rig in High Island Black 262 that had an issue with gas turbine and ignited a natural gas line. Emergency shut down was activated prior to abandonment of rig. There are an estimated 6000 gallons of various fuels onboard and a condensate crude tank of unknown capacity on the facility. The RP expects the line to burn off the remaining natural gas and to be a non-issue (let’s hope so). USCG Marine Safety Unit Galveston will conduct a morning overflight assess the situation. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: NATURAL GAS AND CONDENSATE CRUDE. 3. POSITION 28.471N 093.739W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8067: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8067Open record and warning history →
Follow another incident
Not for navigation. Follow official NAVAREA broadcasts and your national MSI service. About our sources.