There are growing concerns as five Nigerian oil workers and one British individual have reportedly lost their lives, while an additional five remain unaccounted following an incident at the Seplat Energy rig near Ovhor Oilfield in Sapele Local Government, Delta State.
The accident involved the newly acquired Majestic rig, which was being operated as part of the SEPLAT/NNPCL Joint Venture.
“The incident involving the Majestic rig, that was newly acquired by SEPLAT/NNPCL joint venture in the early hours of Tuesday, with 96 crew members affected. 6 bodies have been recovered, including that of a Briton.”
The fatal accident occurred earlier on Tuesday.
Reportedly, approximately 96 crew members on the rig were affected by the accident, with six bodies, including that of the British individual, reportedly retrieved.
The company’s management is diligently working to tirelessly locate and retrieve the remaining crew members who are still missing.
In a statement, Mr. Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, said, “Out of the 96-member crew on the rig, 92 of them are safe, however, tragically one fatality occurred during the incident, while three other rig personnel are still missing.
“Seplat Energy regrets to announce a serious incident on the Depthwise swamp drilling rig “Majestic” in the early hours of this morning. Seplat as the operator of the SEPLAT/NNPCL joint venture contracted the rig. It was in-transit to its planned drilling location at Ovhor in Delta State when it capsized.
“92 of the 96-member crew are accounted for and safe. However, tragically one fatality occurred during the incident, while three other rig personnel are still missing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the crew member who sadly lost his life and the three crew members who are still missing at the time of this report. Our emergency response and rescue efforts working alongside the rig owner and the authorities have been activated and are onsite. Our utmost priority will continue to be the safety and wellbeing of all the affected personnel and their families.
“We will provide further details as our understanding of the incident develops. A detailed investigation into the cause of the accident will follow.”
Seplat Energy has a 45 per cent working interest in OMLs 4, 38 and 41 located in Edo (OML 4) and Delta (OMLs 38 and 41) states onshore of Nigeria.
It serves as the operator for three distinct blocks that collectively constitute a single contract area. This responsibility is undertaken on behalf of the NPDC/Seplat Joint Venture. In essence, Seplat Energy manages the operations and activities within these three blocks in collaboration with the NPDC as part of their joint venture agreement.