Petrobras regretfully announces that an explosion took place aboard FPSO Cidade de São Mateus today, February 11th, at approximately 12:50 pm. The FPSO is operated by BW Offshore and is chartered by Petrobras.

The unit has been operating since June 2009 in the post-salt of the Camarupim and Camarupim Norte fields, some 120 km off the Espírito Santo state coast. Out of 74 workers onboard, three have succumbed to their injuries and died on site; ten sustained injuries and have already been transferred by helicopter to receive medical care in the city of Vitória, and six are still missing.

BW Offshore is providing all the necessary assistance to its employees and family members with Petrobras support. The accident was controlled by the immediate deployment of the Contingency Plan, mobilizing all the necessary recourses. FPSO operations have been shut down. Production at the platform was around 2.2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day.

Tags: Petrobras