LUANDA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen people were injured, including four in serious condition, after a fire erupted early Tuesday morning on an offshore oil platform in Angola's northern enclave of Cabinda, according to a statement from the African country's National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG).
The platform is operated by Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of U.S. oil giant Chevron.
The blaze broke out during scheduled annual maintenance at around 3:00 a.m. local time on the lower deck of the Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco (BBLT) deepwater platform, located in Block 14 in the maritime area off Cabinda, the ANPG said in the statement.
All the injured have been brought ashore and are receiving medical care, while the cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
According to ANPG, the BBLT facility had been offline since May 1 for a planned shutdown. Block 14, where the platform is located, covers more than 4,000 square kilometers and has been producing oil since 1999.
An ANPG report in February said that Block 14 had an average daily output of 42,195 barrels of crude oil, accounting for about 4 percent of Angola's total national production.
Chevron has been looking to withdraw from Block 14 and the adjacent Block 14T, both of which have experienced prolonged declines in production. The company has already begun the process of relinquishing the licenses for these blocks.
The incident occurred amid growing labor unrest at Chevron's Angolan operations. In March, local media outlet Club-K reported rising worker dissatisfaction over layoffs and alleged pay disparities between frontline workers in Cabinda and administrative staff in Luanda, sparking concern for a potential strike. ■