Chevron Says One Missing After Fire at Angola Offshore Oil Platform With 17 Injured

Chevron’s Angolan business said on Wednesday that there was one person missing after an early morning fire at its Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) offshore oil platform on Tuesday.

Seventeen people were injured, four seriously, when the fire started around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) in the basement of the multi-story deep-water oil platform, Angolan authorities and the U.S. oil major said on Tuesday.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. The BBLT platform is found in Block 14 some 60 miles (97 km) offshore the Cabinda coast and injured personnel had to be helicoptered to land for medical treatment.

Chevron subsidiary Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) was working with relevant agencies to help with search and rescue operations, a company statement said.

“CABGOC is collaborating with its contracting partners to provide support to the impacted individuals and their families,” the company said.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Miguel Gomes in Luanda; editing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens)