Worker Dies in Oil Drilling Accident

New Orleans, LA: A worker for Allied Oilfield Services who was situated on a non-producing offshore natural gas platform died in a recent oil drilling accident after falling through the opening of a deck, reports Reuters.

According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the employee was working approximately 129 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico when the accident occurred.

The death occurred two days prior to the one-year anniversary of the BP well explosion that killed 11 workers and spilled massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the news source.

"This tragic accident underscores why we are fully committed to working with the industry to ensure the highest safety standards on offshore facilities," BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich said in a statement.

The Hill reports that the worker who died was performing routine work to plug the well, which had not been in operation since 2008 at Hilcorp Energy Co.'s platform off the Louisiana coast.