Nigeria's production facility linked to Ukpokiti oil terminal catches fire

The Trinity Spirit floating production storage and offloading unit, anchored to Nigeria's Ukpokiti oil field, caught fire after an incident on Feb. 2, operator Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd. (Sepcol) said Feb. 3.

"The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated and we are working with necessary parties to contain the situation," the company said in a statement. "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."

The Ukpokiti field, which is located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 108, has not been in production for a number of years. The field's output has been on a steady decline from around 7,000 b/d five years ago to zero in 2020 and 2021, according to data from Nigeria's oil ministry.

Sources said the producer battled cash flow problems and heavy debts, which curtailed its plans to raise output to 50,000 b/d.

It is located on the western edge of the Niger Delta in shallow water offshore Nigeria, very near the Meren field.

The facility is also located near the Chevron-operated Escravos oil terminal where the US oil giant exports over 200,000 b/d of oil and condensates.

Sepcol is an offshore oil and gas contract drilling company with some stake in the country's upstream sector. In 2004, Sepcol acquired ConocoPhillips' equity interest in OML 108, thereby becoming the operator of the block.