Apache Corp., the operator of the rig, is attempting to kill the well, and is sending a drilling rig manned by employees of the Boots & Coots company to the site to drill a relief well if it becomes necessary. Boots & Coots oversaw the drilling of the relief well at the BP Macondo spill site in 2010.
15 workers were evacuated from the Ensco 87 rig, which sits in 218 feet of water, after tests found natural gas had migrated from the 8300-foot well to a sand formation approximately 1100 feet below the seabed.
There are still 50 people on board the rig, according to a press release issued by Apache.
This uncontrolled flow happened after a blowout preventer had been activated. According to Fuel Fix:
Problems first arose on Feb. 4, when workers on the Ensco 87 jackup rig detected a kick, or uncontrolled flow of fluid, in the well. In response, they activated a blowout preventer, which apparently was successful in keeping natural gas from escaping the well.
However later testing revealed that gas had migrated from the bottom of the roughly 8,300-foot well to a shallower sand formation 1,100 feet below the seabed.