Oil production vessel explodes in Nigeria

An oil production vessel exploded off the coast of Nigeria early on Wednesday with 10 crew members on board.

in a statement on Thursday Nigeria's Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) said that flames had engulfed the Trinity Spirit floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel following the blast a day earlier.

" but we can confirm that there were 10 crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security," SEPCOL Chief Executive Ikemefuna Okafor said in the statement.

The Trinity Spirit can process up to 22,000 barrels of oil a day and can store up to 2 million barrels at any one time, according to SEPCOL's website.

The statement however did not say if any casualties have been recorded or the quantity of oil spilt into the sea.

One industry source active in Nigeria's oil sector said the vessel had about 50,000 barrels in storage and was not pumping crude from the Ukpokiti oilfield at the time of the explosion.

SEPCOL, which is currently in receivership, is yet to comment on the status of the vessel.