The Whistler Nigeria: FPSO vessel explodes in Niger Delta
A Trinity Spirit Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel on Wednesday exploded causing raging fire within Nigeria’s coast, according to The Whistler Nigeria's release.
The Trinity Spirit Vessel is an Offshore Support Vessel built 46 years ago.
The FPSO serves as the primary production facility for OML 108 and it can process up to 22,000 barrels of oil per day as well as inject up to 40,000bwpd and store 2mmbbls of oil.
A source told THE WHISTLER that Trinity spirit FPSO formally known as Conoco in Meren field Escravos exploded with fire and sank in Nigeria’s coast.
The FPSO whose ownership is allegedly linked to Seplat Chairman ABC Orjiako is also a government approved terminal for lifting operations for all OML 108 production.
As of the time of filing this report, the fire is still raging while fire fighters are battling hard to put out the fire.
Confirming the incident, the Chief Executive Officer, Shebah Exploration and Production Company Ltd (in Receivership), Ikemefuna Okafor said the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokit’ Teminal, exploded during the early hours of Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
He said in a statement that there were no reported fatalities when the incident occured, adding that ten crew men were on board the vessel prior to the incident.
The statement explained further that the company has commenced investigations with respect to the safety and security of those on board the vessels.
It reads, “The Management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL} in RECEIVERSHIP hereby announce the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokit’ Teminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, 2 of February 2022.
“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 ten 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 us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility and our community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who have been of tremendous assistance since the incident happened,
“We have duly notified all relevant authorities and we appeal to the members of the public to stay away from the area while our Crisis Management Team continue to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves.”