BP confirmed that the Thunder Horse semisubmersible platform, located in Mississippi Canyon Block 778 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, 150 miles southeast of New Orleans, is listing following the passing of Hurricane Dennis. Early reports confirmed that the platform is listing an estimated 20 - 30 degrees. The Thunder Horse field is in development and has not yet begun production of hydrocarbons.

The situation was discovered at approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday morning by a vessel in the area. The cause is unknown. The Thunder Horse platform had been evacuated of all personnel on Friday in anticipation of the hurricane's approach. At this time there has been no known release of any fuel or hazardous substances.

BP immediately activated its Incident Command structure, notified the appropriate regulatory agencies including the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the U.S. Coast Guard, and conducted over flights to further assess the extent of the damage.

At this time BP is mobilizing a number of response vessels to the Thunder Horse location and working with the Coast Guard to create a response plan. The first priority will be to safely board the vessel for a further assessment of its stability and to begin investigating potential causes of the issue.

BP and the Coast Guard are collaborating to establish a Unified Command in Morgan City, Louisiana.

View more information on BP's Thunder Horse Field in Rigzone.com's Field Development Project List.

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