NEW ORLEANS | The owner of a drilling rig that’s ablaze in the Gulf of Mexico says it may drill a relief well as part of a plan to control the natural gas well that blew wild.

This photo released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement shows natural gas spewing from the Hercules 265 drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. No injuries were reported in the midmorning blowout and there was no fire as of Tuesday evening at the site, about 55 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement)
This photo released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement shows natural gas spewing from the Hercules 265 drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, Tuesday, July 23, 2013. No injuries were reported in the midmorning blowout and there was no fire as of Tuesday evening at the site, about 55 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement)

A news release from Hercules Offshore Inc. says the relief well is among the options being considered.

It says it’s also trying to find out why the well blew and then caught fire, but its first focus is cutting off the flow of natural gas.

Officials stressed that Tuesday’s blowout won’t be nearly as damaging as the 2010 BP oil spill. Hercules says all 44 workers on the jackup rig were rescued without injury.