Explosion At NNPC Facility In Benin River Valve Station Kills Seven People

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that an explosion occurred on Oil Mining Lease 40 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

The explosion which occurred on Tuesday at the petroleum company’s Benin River Valve Station resulted in the killing of seven workers, the NNPC announced on Wednesday.

NPDC is a subsidiary of the NNPC.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the BRVS explosion happened at Gbetiokun, OML 40.

He disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja entitled “NNPC Reports Explosion at NPDC’s Benin River Valve Station,” that “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.”

The statement added that a detailed investigation of the cause of the explosion had commenced while the Department of Petroleum Resources had been duly notified and Form 41 was being prepared for the industry regulator as required in circumstances of this nature.

The bodies of those killed in the explosion have been deposited at a morgue in Sapele while their families are been notified.

“The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers,” NNPC stated in its statement.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, has commiserated with the families of the bereaved.

He prayed that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss of their loved ones.

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