SEPCOL confirms explosion on FPSO Trinity Spirit

February 03, (THEWILL) – The Management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL), in RECEIVERSHIP has confirmed the unfortunate incident of a fire outbreak that engulfed its offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, around Excravos, Warri South-west, Delta State.

A statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Ikemefuna Okafor, on Thursday, said the fire was caused by an explosion that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, 2nd of February 2022.

In the release titled: “Fire Incident On The Trinity Spirit FPSO,” the company said investigations were going on to ascertain the actual cause of the explosion.

It noted that as required, it had already reported the matter to the appropriate government agencies.

The company further confirmed that there were 10 crew members, but that everything was being done to ensure their safety and security.

“The management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) in receivership, hereby announces the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Teminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, 2nd 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 10 crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security”, the company said.

SEPCOL further appreciated the assistance provided by the Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA), the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility and its community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who it said had 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 continues to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves”, it stated.

Meanwhile, THEWILL learnt that the Vessel has a capacity to process up to 22,000 barrels of oil per day, inject up to 40,000 barrels of water per day and store 2 million barrels of oil,

The facility, TRINITY SPIRIT, was built in 1976 (46 years ago), with a carrying capacity of 274774 Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT) and overall length of 337.05 metres as well as a width of 54.5 metres.

The FPSO serves as the primary production facility of for OML 108 and is also a government approved terminal for lifting operations for all OML 108 production.