At least 10 workers are missing in a Wednesday fire incident involving a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility belonging to Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited (SEPCOL), located in Delta State.
As of the time of filing this report, no official statement had been given to confirm any casualties on the facility said to be located in Escravos, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Sources said that fishermen who arrived at the scene on rescue mission found it difficult to get close to the vessel as a result of the intense heat from the fire.
Meanwhile, Management of SEPCOL in a reaction has expressed shock over the incident.
Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ikemefuna Okafor, in a statement, said in receivership announced the unfortunate incident of fire that engulfed their offshore facility.
“In RECEIVERSHIP hereby announce the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Teminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, February 2, 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,” he said.
