No less than seven workers were killed in an explosion at Oil Mining Lease 40 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in Benin River Valve Station.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced this in a release on Wednesday, saying the incident occurred on Tuesday.
NPDC is a subsidiary of NNPC.
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the explosion happened at Gbetiokun, OML 40, operated by NPDC.
“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,” Mr Obateru said.
He also said investigation had begun on the cause of the explosion.
Obateru said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had been duly notified and form 41 was being prepared for the industry regulator as required in circumstances of this nature.
“The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers,” he said.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, according to the statement, has commiserated with the families of the bereaved.
