I've discounted this oil rig story since the first report.
One factor that hasn't been considered is humidity. Even given the time of year, this is still a very warm place. And the sea creates a lot of haze, vapor and spray when it is warm.
I'm sure if we have any tropical sailors here, they will tell you that it's very difficult to see something close to the horizon in these conditions at any reasonable distance, let alone hundreds of miles. Certainly that's been my limited experience.
So the sighting is simply totally wrong.
I think he saw meteorites if it was anything.