A Floating Production, Storage & Offloading (FPSO) vessel, belonging to Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) has exploded in Niger Delta
DAILY GIST gathered that the FPSO vessel, belonging to SEPCOL is located offshore on the Ukpokiti Terminal, Escravos, Warri in Delta.
Ten crew members were said to have been missing in the incident.
The 22,000 barrel PD vessel has the capacity to inject up to 40,000 barrels of water PD & store 2 million barrels of oil.
According to the management of SEPCOL, the vessel built in 1976, exploded in the early hours of Wednesday but the cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained.
A statement signed and released by SEPCOL’s Chief Executive Officer, Ikemefuna Okafor on Thursday, has it that fire engulfed the vessel following the explosion.
Okafor in the statement said efforts were ongoing to contain the fire. Revealing that there were ten crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident, the SEPCOL’s CEO, however, stated that there were no casualties thus far.
The statement reads: “The Management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) in RECEIVERSHIP hereby announce the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, 2nd of February 2022.
“The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated and we are working with necessary parties to contain the situation.
“At this time there are no reported fatalities, but we can confirm that there were ten crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security.
“We appreciate the assistance provided us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility and our community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who have been of tremendous assistance since the incident happened.
“We have duly notified all relevant authorities and we appeal to the members of the public to stay away from the area while our Crisis Management Team continue to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves”.
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