Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Chevron joint venture, confirms a fire on the KS Endeavor jack-up rig. The drilling rig is in CNL's Funiwa Field, within Oil Mining Lease 86. The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 16. Rig and support barge personnel were evacuated from the facilities.
Our priority now is the safety of our employees and contractors. Well-control plans have been established.
Chevron wishes to reiterate its commitment to operational excellence, the safety of its personnel, security of its assets and protection of the environment.
Chevron has reported the fire to all relevant government authorities.Read the press release below:
(http://www.chevron.com/articleimages/latest/news_203789/1457697f-c289-4781-abce-5b3792c645e1/image-KS02.jpg.cvxn)
SAN RAMON, Calif., January 16, 2011 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) reports that its subsidiary, Chevron Nigeria Limited, is working to contain a fire that ignited early this morning aboard the K.S. Endeavor, a drilling rig offshore Nigeria operated by FODE Drilling Nigeria Limited. The rig was drilling a natural gas exploration well, located in the Funiwa Field approximately six miles (10 kilometers) offshore and in approximately 40 feet (12 meters) of water.
One hundred and fifty-four personnel were on the rig and an associated barge. Two contractors are still unaccounted for while all others are safe and undergoing medical examinations at an adjacent production platform. Aggressive search and rescue activities continue for the two missing personnel.
"Every effort is being made to find the missing workers. They are our utmost priority," said Andrew Fawthrop, managing director, Chevron's Nigeria/Mid-Africa Strategic Business Unit. "We do not know what caused the incident. We are working diligently to contain the fire, which is restricted to the rig. Substantial resources have been deployed including well control specialists and drilling experts. We continue to work in full cooperation with Nigerian authorities and are committed to providing additional information as it becomes known."
Production from Chevron's North Apoi platform was shut in due to its proximity to the incident.
Additional updates on the incident are available at Chevron Updates (http://www.chevron.com/news/mediaresources/updates.news).