Tragedy: Seven Die As Explosion Rocks NNPC’s Facility In Delta

Related stories

Drama as Tinubu’s Aide, Aliyu Audu Resigns

By Abiola Olawale Aliyu Audu, Senior Special Assistant to President...

Tinubu Running Govt. of ‘Propaganda And Lies’, Says Peter Obi

By Kolawole Ojebisi Labour Party's presidential candidate in the 2023...

2027: Ijaw Group Threatens To Prevent Election In Warri If…

By Kolawole Ojebisi The Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI, has...

From Joseph Obukata (The New Diplomat’s N/Delta Correspondent)

No Fewer than seven suspected oil workers have been reported dead at a location in Delta state after an explosion rocked an oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

The explosion reportedly occurred on Tuesday at the company’s Benin River Valve Station, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) confirmed late Wednesday.

According to Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, the BRVS explosion happened at Gbetiokun, OML 40, operated by NPDC.NNPC

Obateru said, “The incident, which occurred on Tuesday during the installation of a ladder on a platform (Benin River Valve Station) for access during discharging of Gbetiokun production, unfortunately caused seven fatalities.

“The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers.”

The NNPC said all personnel on board have now been fully accounted for.

The New Diplomat reports the OML 40 licence lies onshore within the Niger Delta, approximately 65km northwest of Warri, and covers an area of 498 square kilometres.

The Company completed the acquisition of a 45% equity stake in OML 40 in September 2012 and has been producing oil from the Opuama field since 2014.

The Gbetiokun field, which was discovered in 1987 and further appraised in early 1990s is currently being operated by NPDC and Eland Oil & Gas, an upstream oil and natural gas exploration company.

The companies had last year announced that they were commencing a five-well drilling campaign of OML 40 onshore the Niger Delta.

According to reports, the development was targeted to shore up gross output of about 45,000 bpd for the firms. Reports said the partners are drilling five wells, with a rig going to spud two development wells on Gbetiokun and a further two wells in Opuama.

Eland’s chief executive officer, George Maxwell said in an intelligence report that production from this asset, which borders the Gulf of Guinea and flows to Shell’s Forcados terminal, is currently running at about 26,000 barrels per day all from the Opuama field.

He was quoted to have said that at the end of this drilling campaign, gross output could hit about 45,000 bpd, as Gbetiokun field is set to be exploited by an early production facility with a capacity of up to 25,000 bpd.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

[tds_leads input_placeholder="Your email address" btn_horiz_align="content-horiz-center" pp_msg="SSd2ZSUyMHJlYWQlMjBhbmQlMjBhY2NlcHQlMjB0aGUlMjAlM0NhJTIwaHJlZiUzRCUyMiUyMyUyMiUzRVByaXZhY3klMjBQb2xpY3klM0MlMkZhJTNFLg==" pp_checkbox="yes" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXRvcCI6IjMwIiwibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjQwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMTUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3NjgsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMjAiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sImxhbmRzY2FwZV9tYXhfd2lkdGgiOjExNDAsImxhbmRzY2FwZV9taW5fd2lkdGgiOjEwMTksInBob25lIjp7Im1hcmdpbi10b3AiOiIyMCIsImRpc3BsYXkiOiIifSwicGhvbmVfbWF4X3dpZHRoIjo3Njd9" display="column" gap="eyJhbGwiOiIyMCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTAiLCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxNSJ9" f_msg_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_input_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_btn_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_family="downtown-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_weight="700" f_btn_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_transform="uppercase" btn_text="Unlock All" btn_bg="#000000" btn_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxOCIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjE0IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxNCJ9" input_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMCJ9" pp_check_color_a="#000000" f_pp_font_weight="600" pp_check_square="#000000" msg_composer="" pp_check_color="rgba(0,0,0,0.56)" msg_succ_radius="0" msg_err_radius="0" input_border="1" f_unsub_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_msg_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_weight="500" f_msg_font_weight="500" f_unsub_font_weight="500"]

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Nigerians Have Behaved Badly For 'A Very Long Time', LP's Alex Otti Backs Tinubu's Fuel Subsidy RemovalOne Third Of Dangote Refinery Crude From US as Scarce Local Supplies Stall Refinery's Capacity, Says BloombergTinubu Running Govt. of 'Propaganda And Lies', Says Peter Obi2027: Ijaw Group Threatens To Prevent Election In Warri If...Sanwo-olu Breaks Silence On Alleged Rift With Tinubu, Calls President 'Father And Leader'Tinubu Tells Sanwo-Olu At Lagos Peace Meeting: "All is Forgiven"Pope Leo XIV Urges Faithful to Open Borders, Break Down Barriers, Embrace LoveJune 12: Tinubu To Address Senate, Reps Joint Session On Democracy DayNUT Speaks On Why FG's Planned Computer-based Examinations Won't Curb MalpracticesTension in Colombia as Presidential Hopeful Miguel Uribe Shot 3 Times at Campaign Rally in Critical StateGowon Reflects on Nigerian Civil War, Says It Was a Painful Duty, Not a ChoiceNigeria Celebrates Democracy as FG Declares June 12 Public HolidaySERAP Tells Tinubu to Appoint Integrity-Driven Nigerians as INEC CommissionersWhy I Prosecuted The Civil War --- GowonTinubu Mourns Legendary ‘Gwo Gwo Ngwo’ Crooner Mike Ejeagha
X whatsapp