Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa
The Management of Shebah Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) in Receivership, says it is investigating the cause of the fire that engulfed its offshore facility, the “FPSO Trinity Spirit”.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ikemefuna Okafor, said this in a statement signed and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Warri.
According to Okafor, the company is working with other relevant parties to contain the situation.
The FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Terminal near Escravos, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta, caught fire on Wednesday.
It has not yet been established if there was any fatality.
Okafor stated: “We 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.
“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 10 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 to us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility.
“Also our community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who have been of tremendous assistance since the incident happened.”
Okafor said that the management had notified all relevant authorities and also appealed to the members of the public to stay away from the area.
He added that the company’s Crisis Management Team, monitoring the situation, will continue to update stakeholders with new development as the investigation evolves.