On Monday 16th January, a fire– thought to have been caused by a gas leakage –
ripped through Chevron's oil rig in Bayelsa State, leaving two workers missing.
After several days of intensified searching, Chevron released a statement
extending its condolence to the families of the two missing people. The company
has,
however, accounted for the remainder of workers, who had been present on the
rig
and a nearby barge when the fire broke out. It said two workers were treated
for
minor injuries.
The investigation into the fire is ongoing. There is little evidence of
sabotage, and the company believes it was caused by equipment failure. It has
been
established that the explosion occurred between 4.30am and 5am and was reported
to be
an accident. Some of the evacuated workers confirmed that the drilling exercise
encountered technical problems while working on a new gas well head.
Speaking about the incident, Chevron's General Manager of Public and Government
Affairs said: "There was no explosion. It was a fire incident at the Finuwa Field. The
name of the rig is KS Endeavour. It is owned by Fode Drilling. All workers are
being evacuated."
Sources: Upstream, Afrique en Ligne, Reuters
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