Most oil platforms can not be seen in Google Earth. This is because Google and its imagery providers do not bother with imagery of the oceans far from the coast unless there is something of particular interest. Back in 2006 Google Sightseeing was able to find a few oil platforms in Google Earth’s imagery, which they showcase in this post.
In March we told you about DigitalGlobe’s First Look program and its public map showing where imagery has been captured of particular events. One such event was an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 1st, 2015. DigitalGlobe captured imagery of the location on April 5th, which shows an oil slick coming from the platform.
To find the location of the oil rig above in Google Earth download this KML file
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Several images from before and after the event have been added to Google Earth in the area and a number of other oil rigs can be seen in the imagery. The imagery can only be seen in ‘historical imagery’. Many of the oil rigs show plumes of smoke but these are normal gas flares. If you turn on the ‘Earth City Lights’ layer (found in Gallery->NASA), you will notice a very bright area where the above oil rigs are due to the gas flares.
If you turn on the ‘photos’ layer you can find a number of pictures of oil rigs in the region.
About Timothy Whitehead
Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
thank you 🙂