Chevron Oil rig workers presumed dead, Efforts on to Drill Relief Well

Chevron Corp. says it has ended its search for two workers who went missing in a fire on an offshore rig near Nigeria’s coast.

Chevron said in a statement Thursday it extends its condolences to the families of the missing persons. However, it did not declare them dead and declined to give more details.

The American energy company says it has accounted for 152 workers who had been present on the gas rig and a nearby barge when the fire started Monday. It said two workers were treated for minor burns.

Chevron said an investigation into the fire is ongoing and believes equipment failure may have caused it. Nigeria’s state-run oil company blamed it on a build-up of gas pressure.

In related news, Singapore energy services firm KS Energy Ltd said the jack-up rig it leased to Chevron Corp was still on fire and the impact on its financial position was unclear.

The shallow water KS Endeavor, which was operating off the coast of Nigeria, caught fire on Monday and “is reported to be almost submerged into the waters”, KS Energy said in a statement to the stock exchange in Singapore on Thursday.

KS Energy said the rig was insured but added that it was unable to comment on whether the damage would have a material impact on its financial position.

“The company will not be able to make any assessment of the potential impact of the incident until incident investigation has been completed,” it said.

Chevron has deployed equipment to drill a relief well . In a statement the company said, “Chevron is deploying additional drilling experts and well control specialists to Nigeria to assist with well control efforts and the relief drilling process.”