Oil vessel blast: SEPCOL still searching for missing crewmen

Sopuruchi Onwuka

Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) has declared formal investigation into the whereabouts, safety, and security of the ten crew members who were on board operated production vessel which exploded in fire and burnt down last Wednesday.

The Oracle Today reports that the floating production, storage and offloading vessel, FPSO Trinity Spirit, caught fire and burnt down last Wednesday at the offshore Ukpokiti field located at the Escravos area, Western Niger Delta.

The vessel was operating as the main production facility for the Ukpokiti oil field located in oil mining lease (OML) 108 area in offshore Niger Delta.

The ten crew men on board the vessel when the incident happened are yet to be accounted for even after the fire has burnt out and the water is clear of any spill.

Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ikemefuna Okafor, stated in an update on the incident that joint investigation visit with regulators was scheduled for Saturday, February 5.

A source from one of the companies operating in the Escravos area told The Oracle Today that the vessel had been lying dormant for years and there was hardly any serious activity in it.

Records at the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) have it that the FPSO Trinity Spirit which is built in 1976 measured 1,105 feet and had a capacity of 274,774 dead weight.

With storage capacity for 2 million barrels of hydrocarbon liquid, the Trinity Spirit could process up to 22,000 barrels a day, and inject up to 40,000 barrels of water per day.

Our checks show that the production at the Ukpokiti field had been on fast decline and frequent downtime, pulling SEPCOL into cash flow difficulties that led to its current receivership management.

The vague operating situation at the faciltity, according to local sources, has made adequate control difficult.

The investigation, according to Mr Okafor, would primarily focus on the cause of the incident and account for the missing crew members who were on the vessel before it was engulfed in fire.

“We have been working with the relevant authorities and stakeholders to contain the situation and an investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the explosion,” Mr Okafor stated.

Whereas he stated that no casualty has been reported, he did not account for the missing crew men who were on the vessel.

“We can confirm that the fire burnt out completely as of Thursday afternoon, 3rd Feb. 2022 and this has enabled closer inspection of the vessel. With this development, a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) has been scheduled for Saturday, 5th February 2022 with the relevant authorities, stakeholders, and expert organizations.

“Currently, there are still no reported fatalities, and we continue prioritizing investigations with respect to establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the ten crew members who were on board the vessel prior to the incident,” he said.

Mr Okafor confirmed activation of pan industry regional incident response operations on the FPSO Trinity Spirit fire blast. He also advised non experts and others not directly involved in incident response operations to stay away from vicinity.

“We appreciate the assistance provided us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team, NOSDRA, NUPRC, SPDC and people in the community, particularly the fishermen, who have been of immense assistance since the incident occurred.

“Members of the public should continue to keep away from the area while our Crisis Management Team monitors developments in the investigations and update all stakeholders with new information accordingly,” he said.