Fire breaks out at offshore oil platform, leaving four injured

April 12, 2023, by Melisa Čavčić

UK-headquartered oil and gas exploration and production company Trinity Exploration & Production plc has confirmed that a fire broke out on one of its platforms at an oil field offshore Trinidad. As a result, the production has been halted until repairs are completed.

Trinity revealed on Wednesday, 12 April 2023, that at approximately 21:15 local time on Monday, 10 April 2023, a generator-related fire occurred on its Bravo platform at the Trintes field, offshore the East Coast of Trinidad. Due to this, production from the platform was stopped. Afterwards, the fire was “successfully and quickly” extinguished and the platform was subsequently evacuated, based on the company’s statement. However, production from the other Trintes platforms – Delta and Alpha – was also shut down as a precautionary measure.

According to Trinity, four operators were onboard the Trintes Bravo platform at the time of the incident. While two sustained minor burns, all four workers were impacted due to smoke inhalation, thus, they received medical treatment for minor injuries and continue to be monitored. The UK-headquartered firm emphasised that no hydrocarbons were released into the environment as a result of the incident.

Furthermore, a multi-disciplinary team was mobilised to the Bravo platform on Tuesday, 11 April, to comprehensively assess the exact cause and extent of damage arising from the incident and the remediation required to return the facility to service. Trinity explains that the damage is limited to a generator with the platform structure and other platform electricals and equipment in good order.

In light of this, the company estimates the replacement of the generator and associated repairs on the Bravo platform will be completed within three to four days. Therefore, the production restart will be initiated in “a phased manner,” once approval is received from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, says Trinity.

Moreover, the UK player elaborates that Alpha and Delta crews also conducted precautionary checks ahead of restarting oil production, which started in the late evening on Tuesday, 11 April 2023, with all previously producing wells coming back online overnight. As is normally the case with any shutdown and restart, the company underscores that well flow rates will be optimised over the coming days to attain pre-shut-in production levels.

While oil production from the Bravo platform accounts for approximately 350 bopd, the total Trintes field production is approximately 1,010 bopd. Trinity has been operating and producing offshore the East Coast of Trinidad since 2013. The company’s assets are operated under the Galeota exploration and production licence agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries within the Columbus basin.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team working on this incident for their diligence, which facilitated a quick and resilient response,” adds Trinity.

Regarding the company’s other recent activities, the firm recently disclosed that a well in the Brighton Marine block offshore the West Coast of Trinidad returned to production on 21 March 2023.