Chevron begins drilling relief well to extinguish Nigeria rig fire

By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku
21 February 2012 Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) has begun the process of drilling a relief well to seal the Funiwa 1A natural gas well. According to a statement by the company, the relief well is being drilled to extinguish a fire that began January 16 at the original well, located approximately six miles (10 kilometres) off the coast of Nigeria. The company maintained that no oil was spilled or had flowed from this natural gas well. The oil giant said the drilling plans would enabled the cementing and abandonment of the Funiwa 1A well. “The relief well is being drilled by the Transocean Baltic rig with approvals from Nigerian authorities”, the company said. The rig fire caused substantial damage to the jack-up KS Endeavour and lift-boat Mako. One hundred and fifty four workers were reportedly  on board the rig and lift boat at the time of the incident, but 152 were evacuated, while two were killed. The jack-up according to the company was under contract to CNL and operated by FODE Drilling Nigeria Ltd, at the time of the incident. It had been drilling a natural gas well approximately 6 miles offshore Nigeria in approximately 40 feet of water. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke had during an assessment tour of some communities believed to have been impacted by the gas fire, pledged Federal Government’s commitment to provide lasting solution to incidents of environmental pollution caused by oil and gas exploration and production especially in the Niger Delta region. […]

Rig Fire: Chevron Begins Drilling of Relief Well