Trinidad: Worker missing after Well Services offshore rig collapse; Heritage Petroleum responds

Trinidad: A worker went missing in the sea after the collapse of an offshore oil rig owned and operated by Well Services Petroleum Company Limited early Sunday morning.  

Rig 110 was operating in an offshore area occupied by Heritage Petroleum in the East Field. During the collapse, the rig was occupied by 75 personnel onboard, who were all engaged in drilling activities at the time.  

The missing person is being identified as Pete Phillip of La Romain, San Fernando, who immediately went missing in the sea after the accident.  

Other personnel, who were involved in the incident were evacuated by the rescue team, however the search for missing Pete Phillip is currently underway at the site.  

The unexpected accident also injured one of the workers, who is now receiving medical care and is currently in stable condition.  

The family of the missing worker was also informed about the incident, and they are patiently cooperating with the authorities to find the missing individual and providing all sorts of assistance in the circumstances.  

The Heritage Petroleum Company shared an official statement after the incident on their social media highlighting that they are fully supporting the Well Services Petroleum Company to respond to the incident.   

“Heritage personnel are onsite and in constant contact with Well Services in relation to the continuing management of this incident,” the release further read.  

Well Services also shared a statement describing the incident and sharing their support to the family of those affected. 

“Well Services officials are in contact with the family of the missing individual and providing all necessary support and assistance in this period of uncertainty,” the company mentioned in the statement.  

The Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young stated that he had briefed on the incident and said that the authorities will assist via Heritage and provide all sorts of assistance they could to Well Services, the privately owned company. 

Netizens on social media are also pouring their opinions through comments and calling out that the rig is ‘Rusty’ and ‘Not Inspected in Years’.  

“This rig looks as though it has not been inspected in years, to ensure that it meets all the safety requirements. I hope the missing person is found,” a user wrote.  

Another user expressed a unique approach suggesting the authorities to make GPS tracker mandatory for offshore workers.  

“It should now be mandatory for all offshore workers to have a waterproof GPS tracker once they are on any offshore platforms, that can be monitored Offshore and Onshore so they can be easy to find,” he wrote.