Perenco Still Searching for Missing Person After Platform Incident
This article was first published on Rigzone here
In a statement posted on Perenco’s website on Wednesday, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon revealed that the search for a missing person is ongoing following an incident that occurred at the Becuna platform off the coast of Gabon.
“The search for the missing person is still actively underway, with new land-based resources covering more than 90km of coastline, in addition to the air and sea resources already mobilized,” Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon said in the statement.
In a statement posted on Perenco’s site on March 20, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon announced that an incident involving fire had occurred at the Becuna platform. The incident took place that day at approximately 15.25 Gabon time, according to that statement, which revealed that initial reports indicated two persons had been injured and five were missing.
“Both injured persons have been evacuated to shore. The area has been secured, the fire has been placed under control and all personnel on the platform who were not injured have been moved to a safe location,” Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon said in its March 20 statement.
“Perenco has activated its emergency response procedure and is working closely with the emergency services and the relevant authorities,” it added.
In a follow up statement posted on Perenco’s site on March 21, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon said the fire had been extinguished and the site had been safely secured. It confirmed, however, that there had been five fatalities and that one person was still missing.
“Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we are focused on supporting them at this time. Emergency teams continue to be deployed on site and to search for the missing person,” Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon said in its March 21 statement.
In its latest statement, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon revealed that international experts had arrived in Port-Gentil on Monday evening “to assist with the process of identifying those who tragically died in the incident”. The experts are now working in close collaboration with the authorities in charge of the investigation, the company highlighted.
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“In collaboration with the company Spie Oil & Gas Gabon, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon is coordinating assistance to the families of the victims during this painful period with the support of the UPEGA (Union Pétrolière Gabonaise) representing the entire oil sector in Gabon,” Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon noted in its March 27 statement.
“Given the technical complexity of the incident, Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon is mobilizing independent experts specializing in the analysis of similar events. The aim of this process is to determine the precise causes, circumstances, and reasons, as yet undetermined, that led to this situation,” it added.
“The safety of staff working on our sites is our absolute priority. We will do everything in our power to establish the cause of this accident, in collaboration with the Gabonese authorities, and take the necessary measures to ensure that it never happens again,” the company continued.
Rigzone asked a Perenco spokesperson on March 26 if there was an update on the person that is still missing, about the cause of the incident, and if production was affected. The spokesperson responded with Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon’s March 27 statement on the incident without elaborating further.
Perenco describes itself on its website as a leading international independent hydrocarbon company. The business employs almost 7,500 people in total and produces from several countries, including Gabon, the UK, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, and Vietnam, its site shows.
Perenco’s Gabon production in 2023 totaled 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to its site.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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