Objective Assessment of gaping Helideck Hole on Gulf Rig

There has been some buzz on the Internet, as to why there is a hole burned in the aluminum Helideck, of the offshore Oil rig that recently exploded in the Gulf.

This article investigates this a bit further to see if an explosion of the magnitude that occured on the rig, could indeed cause the massive hole that appears in the Helideck. It is not meant to assume anything, just a basic assessment based on a few details.

First, below appears a picture of the hole in question on the rig:

[link to www.repubx.com]