Shell Sued Over Platform Fire

Three offshore oil workers filed a lawsuit against units of Royal Dutch Shell and Enbridge, seeking $1 million in damages for injuries they allegedly suffered during a Nov. 8 fire on a US Gulf of Mexico production platform. The suit, filed in Galveston County court in Texas on Dec. 5, claims safety lapses on Shell’s Enchilada platform caused severe injuries to the three, Reuters reported. The complaint seeks more than $1 million in damages from Shell International Exploration and Production, Shell Offshore and Garden Banks Gas Pipeline Company, a unit of Enbridge, which owns a gas pipeline connected to the platform. The Enchilada platform caught fire and 46 crew members were evacuated to a nearby platform. The facility, about 112 nautical miles south of Vermilion Bay, Louisiana, has been shut since the fire. No date for resuming operations has been set, Shell said on Monday. The fire halted operations at other oil platforms, including Shell’s Auger and Salsa.