OREANDA-NEWS. A shallow-water offshore platform in the US Gulf of Mexico was evacuated after an explosion early this morning.

The platform in Breton Sound Block 21 is near Breton Island off the coast of Louisiana and is owned by Texas Petroleum Investment Co, the Coast Guard said. All 28 crew members were evacuated unharmed. The platform produces roughly2,200 b/dand had less than 120 bl of oil in storage at the time of the fire. An oil sheen was spotted on the water but the well was shut and production ceased, the Coast Guard said.

The fire was reported at 3:50am ET. One fire boat was on site early this afternoon and another was in route, according to the US Coast Guard, which was monitoring the response.

The company said in a statement that a rented compressor had caught fire but that no repair or maintenance was underway at the time of the fire. The platform gathers crude from a field of 50 to 60 wells.