[DantesPeak]

Oil Platform off Congo Consumed by Suspicious Fire Total SA says two killed in fire at Congo oil field, production halted The Associated PressPublished: May 10, 2007:
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo: A fire at an oil field operated by Total SA killed two people and injured two others, the French petroleum giant said Thursday. The fire halted production causing a loss of 60,000 barrels a day, company officials said in a statement disseminated on state-run radio.

The cause of the blaze at the Kossa oil field, around 570 kilometers (354 miles) from Brazzaville, was unknown. Flames engulfed the oil field before dawn, and the fire was still burning late Thursday. Company officials said their investigation so far had turned up a suspicious boat, its hull and body completely burned.

"The company has announced the halt of production until further notice. Our refinery was not touched, but for the moment the blaze continues," the statement said.

IHT

Two workers killed in fire at Total platform off Congo coast
05.10.07, 12:38 PM ET

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Two workers were killed this morning in a fire on a Total oil platform off the coast of Congo, the country's national radio reported.

According to the radio, Total said in a statement that the causes of the fire at the Nkossa platform, located 50 km off the south-west coastline of Congo, were not immediately known.

The two Congolese workers who died in the fire were employees of Norwegian drilling company Seadrill.

AFX/Forbes

While Congo isn't a significant global oil producer, its output consists largely of low-sulfur crudes, which are coveted due to their ease of processing into gasoline.

OsterDowJones 5/10/07 ODJ 18:07:43

[DYBoulet]

Hmm. How do you think we're going to feel the effects of this?

[DantesPeak]

Hmm. How do you think we're going to feel the effects of this?

Congo exports a majority of its oil to the US, and as that oil is coveted light sweet crude, it may directly affect the amount of gasoline refined in the US - as it may be difficult to replace quickly.

[Eli]

Well this is a question for the experts.

How hard is it to operate an oil platform that is on fire? does this affect the production much?

[Twilight]

It could be the case, Eli.

[shortonoil]

Eli said:

How hard is it to operate an oil platform that is on fire? does this affect the production much?

LOL

[DantesPeak]

"There are two injured who have been taken to Pointe Noire: one Congolese and one Australian," a Total spokeswoman said.

"It seems there was also a fishing vessel close to the platform ... We are conducting searches to see if there any missing people," she said.

She did not say what the fishing vessel was doing near the platform.

An oil ministry official said the two dead men were Congolese workers, while the two injured worked for a Norwegian drilling company, Seadrill.

Congo Republic is sub-Saharan Africa's fifth-biggest oil producer after Nigeria, Angola, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Nkossa is the biggest oil field in the former French colony.

Congo's oil production was around 270,000 barrels per day in 2006. Total produces about two-thirds of that figure and is the largest foreign investor in the country.

Reuters

[joewp]

She did not say what the fishing vessel was doing near the platform.

Just a couple of offhand guesses, either fishing or igniting the platform. Those would be my WAGs.

[jeffvail]

Far too little data at this point to determine the cause, but speculation is always fun:

The situation in Nigeria gets quite a bit of press, and the geopolitical and social forces underlying the violence there are fairly well understood. To what extent do these same factors suggest a "resource control" insurgency in Congo? The CIA World Factbook notes "Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous." Is inequity in oil revenue sharing reigniting these tensions?

Of note, the oil producing region in Congo is next to the Angolan exclave of Cabinda. I don't know the background on this exclave, but the waters controlled by Angola due to this exclave are a primary driver of the significant potential for future oil production increase from Angola. *IF* there is a budding insurgency in Congo that will target oil facilities as is happening in Nigeria, to what extent is there a danger of this spilling over into Cabinda and affecting future Angolan oil production? I have no idea how likely this is (time to do some research...), but it would be a VERY significant impact, as Angola is one of the few places on the planed expected to significantly increase oil exports over the next few years...

[DantesPeak]

jeffvail, good points.

Still Total says it doesn't know what happened. I also noticed there does not appear to be much press about this, maybe they are being kept away from the site?

Output from the N'kossa field in Congo was about 60,000 barrels a day prior to the fire, Patricia Marie, a Paris-based Total spokeswoman said by telephone today. About 36,000 barrels a day is Total's share. ``We have an internal investigation,'' Marie said. It was not clear what started the fire, she said.

West African countries produce low-sulfur, or sweet, crude oil, prized by U.S. refiners because of the proportion of high- value gasoline it yields.

Bloomberg

[jeffvail]

I'll have a post on theoildrum.com covering the situation in Cabinda (Angolan Exclave) in a bit more detail in the next few days.

[AirlinePilot]

The fire does get a mention here....

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... fer=energy

[jeffvail]

Here's the article on instability in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, with a mention of this *possible* attack on the N'kossa field in Congo:

Cabinda: Prospects for an Oil Insurgency in the Angolan Exclave

Edit: I noticed that I forgot the "*possible*" in front of "attack" above. Shortonoil, below, is right: there is NO evidence that this was an "attack," but it remains a possibility.

[shortonoil]

joewp said:

Just a couple of offhand guesses, either fishing or igniting the platform. Those would be my WAGs.

Maybe we are over reacting a bit. Oil platforms do have sort of a history of catching on fire from time to time, and fish like oil platforms, so one would expect to find fisherman around them. The interesting thing is the reaction to this; just ten years ago no one, except for the oil company, would have cared in the least.

[Newsseeker]

Mysterium. Let me know if an article about it comes out. Thanks!

[DantesPeak]

Thanks jeffvail for your article.


An explanation as to what happened here has not been reported in any media source.

Note that Congo's oil is valuable for US refineries.

Total Calls Force Majeure At Congo Nkossa Terminal

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
May 11, 2007 4:14 p.m.

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Total SA (TOT) said Friday it has called force majeure on contracts related to oil supplies from the Republic of Congo following a fire that forced the French company to halt production from the country's largest oil field.

"We declare force majeure," said Total spokeswoman Patricia Marie. "We cannot give any indication on when (force majeure) will expire."

This is a reversal from an earlier statement from Total, which said it would be able to fulfill its obligations.

Two workers were killed after the blaze Thursday at the Nkossa oil field, which stopped 60,000 barrels a day of production.

Republic of Congo's crude oil types are typically medium and sweet; Djeno is the main crude export blend.

Traders of West African crude say Djeno is bought predominantly by U.S. and Asian refineries.

WSJ - subscription may be required

[Oil-Finder]

Contrary to popular belief, there are still unexplored areas of the world with good oil potential.

--> Reuters <--

Teaser:

Mende said he expected the Central Basin to form a cornerstone of a new petroleum sector that will also draw upon oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Guinea, Lake Albert, and Lake Tanganyika along Congo's eastern border.

"It was known even before independence that there was potiential (in the Central Basin). We have already consulted satellite images and surface indicators that confirm that," he said.

But no doubt this will be an unpopular idea among many.

[cipi604]

I wish them luck!

[pup55]

CIA World Factbook

Population 65 million, only 2% of their country is arable land, so their population is "fed" at the rate of 1300 people per square km, 6 times more than the US, and worse than Pakistan.

Infant mortality: 65 per thousand births, 10 times higher than the US, about 4.5% admit to having aids. over 1 million people with aids around. Life expectancy 57. Risk of major diseases is classified as "very high". Diarrhea, malaria, typhoid, plague and sleeping sickness. Their population has a per-capita income of $300.

47% of the population under 14, and 6.37 births per female, so within 10 years their already miserable population has an excellent chance to double.

On top of all of this, they have been through a recent civil war, they have about 1.1 million internal refugees, and unknown numbers of refugees from other nearby screwed up places. such as Rwanda and Angola. Military dictators, rebels in the countryside, the whole nine yards.

So the injection of billions of dollars of oil money into this place, along with the usual amounts of greed and political corruption, plus political meddling on the part of the oil companies and other international organizations including the CIA is sure to make it even worse.

At any rate, you know that the life of John Q Public over there is going to be even more miserable.

So, I have to tell you, they might be better off if we leave them alone.

[dorlomin]

But no doubt this will be an unpopular idea among many.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0730/rape.html

'Women are gang raped, often in front of their families and communities. In numerous cases, male relatives are forced at gun point to rape their own daughters, mothers or sisters,' she said.

In the central Equateur province, the police and army often responded to civil unrest 'with organised armed reprisals that target the civilian population and involve indiscriminate pillage, torture and mass rape', the report found.

Heart of Darkness indeed. It will need to be alot of oil to pay for the security.