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Fire on Oil Platform off Angola Injures 17 People

Chevron's BBLT platform (file image courtesy Chevron)
Chevron's BBLT platform (file image courtesy Chevron)

Published May 20, 2025 4:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A fire on Chevron's deepwater Benguela-Belize-Lobito-Tomboco (BBLT) platform off Angola has injured 17 people, including four who are in serious condition, the oil major confirmed Tuesday. 

The BBLT platform was in the middle of a scheduled annual maintenance cycle, Chevron said, and it had been shut in since May 1 for repairs. At about 0310 hours on Tuesday morning, a fire broke out on the BBLT platform's cellar deck. The fire was brought under control by company employees who responded "immediately," Chevron said. 17 people were injured in the accident. 

Chevron's local subsidiary, Cabgoc, is focused on the safety of all other personnel and on getting to the root causes of the casualty. An investigation is under way, supported by Angolan regulator ANPG. 

BBLT is a bottom-fixed compliant tower platform located about 50 nautical miles off the Cabinda coast of Angola. The platform's rare design relies on a 1,200-foot flexible platform jacket, which is partially supported by its own buoyancy. The jacket can sway horizontally, giving it better resistance to wave action. Examples include Chevron's Petronius platform, Exxon's Lena, and BBLT. 

The platform's maximum production capacity is 220,000 barrels per day. The effect of the fire on the timeline for resuming operations is not immediately known.