Three crew members who went missing on Tuesday after an oil rig operated by Seplat Energy collapsed in Delta state were not found by Thursday morning, the company said.
One person, a British national, was confirmed dead after the accident, the company said. The remaining 92 of the 96-member crew were rescued.
Ten have been treated and released from hospital.
Seplat said it hired the drilling rig, Majestic, from Depthwise. The rig was in transit to a planned drilling location at Ovhor in Delta state when it capsized.
The regulator, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, said on Wednesday the ill-fated equipment had been operating in Nigerian waters since 2016 illegally. Seplat did not comment on that claim.
The agency said it dispatched a search and rescue team and marine accident investigation teams to the scene.
NIMASA said it had initiated contact with the Clean Nigerian Associate, a conglomerate of all International Oil Companies responsible for the cleaning of Tier 2 oil spill, to establish the level of spillage at the scene of the incident.
– Continuing search
In an update on Thursday, Seplat said it was working with Depthwise to continue the search for the three missing workers.
“Divers and other emergency workers are on-site, and as of 9a.m., the missing crew members remained unaccounted for,” it said.
– Learn more
Seplat Energy is Nigeria’s biggest indigenous energy company in terms of market value.
The company is hoping to expand its business by taking over ExxonMobil’s shallow water business in Nigeria.
The deal to buy Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited for $1.3 billion stalled after former President Buhari withdrew an earlier approval.
Discover more from Pluboard
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.