Oilfield explosion toll rises: 4 crewmen still missing, 3 dead, 3 alive

Sopuruchi Onwuka

Number of fatal casualties in the vessel fire blast at Ukpokiti oilfield in the Escravos area offshore Delta State has risen to three as anxiety mounts over the fate of four crewmen still unaccounted for.

It also became clear that operations of the floating production, storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel, the Trinity Spirit, might have been reduced to only crude oil storage and offloading purposes at the time of the incident. This explains the absence of significant spill from risers after the fire blast.

Managing Director of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited (SEPCOL), Mr Ikemefuna Okafor, stated that floating producer had 10 crewmen on board when the explosion happened.

Company sources have it that at least three people have been confirmed dead in the incident, another three alive, and remaining four crewmwn still missing as of Monday.

Earlier in an update on Sunday, Mr Okafor had announced recovery of the body of a dead man in the vicinity of the operated Ukpokiti field where the Trinity Spirit had gone up in flames and burnt down last week.

He said closer inspection of the area during a joint investigation visit with regulators on Saturday led to recovery of the body of an unidentified victim, and finding three crewmen alive.

“Our priority remains focused towards establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the four crew members still missing,” the company said.

Sources at the National Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) confirmed that significant oil spill could not have occurred since the production facilities of the FPSO Trinity Spirit were not active during the fire incident.

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. But it was gathered that SEPCOL has not produced from the field in the past few years.

The NURC had in a press release on the incident described Trinity Spirit as an evacuation ship used trading firms to store crude offtake from nearby terminals.

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.

Our updates show that the production activities at the Ukpokiti field had since stopped.

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

The investigation, according to Mr Okafor, would primarily focus on the cause of the incident and account crew members who are still missing.

“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.

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.