One dead, three missing after drilling rig capsizes in Nigeria’s Delta State

Nigerian oil company Seplat Energy has reported that one person was killed while three others have gone missing after a drilling rig capsized in Nigeria’s Delta State on Tuesday, August 15.

The rig Majestic, which was operating under contract with Seplat, was in transit to its intended drilling location at Ovhor in Delta State when it capsized in the early morning (local time) of Tuesday.

Ninety-two of the embarked personnel on the rig are accounted for and safe. Tragically, however, one crewmember perished in the capsizing while another three went missing following the mishap.

Seplat has deployed personnel to assist representatives of rig owner Depthwize and local authorities in working to locate the three missing rig crew.

The company added that an investigation into the cause of the accident will be conducted as more details become available.

In a separate press release, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said an initial probe revealed Majestic has been operating in Nigerian waters since 2016 without requisite approvals from the agency.

NIMASA has also initiated contact with the Clean Nigerian Associate, a conglomerate of international oil companies responsible for the cleaning of Tier 2 oil spills, to determine whether there is any oil spill at the scene of the incident and then to determine the volume of spilled oil.