(Adds details, background)
ABUJA, July 8 (Reuters) - Seven people were killed in an
explosion at the Gbetiokun oil field in southern Nigeria's Niger
Delta region during the installation of a ladder on a platform,
the state oil company said on Wednesday.
Accidents and pipeline attacks in the Niger Delta are common
in Nigeria, cutting into the country's oil output. Pipelines in
the region are exposed and often unguarded, making them easy
targets for anyone with access to explosives.
International oil companies have increasingly focused on
offshore projects in Nigeria, partly to offset the risk to
onshore operations in the Niger Delta.
The latest accident occurred at OML 40, operated by a
subsidiary of state-owned oil firm NPDC and the Elcrest joint
venture. NPDC did not say whether production was affected.
"Detailed investigation of the cause of the explosion has
commenced, while the Department of Petroleum Resources has been
duly notified," the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said
in a statement about the incident, which happened on Tuesday.
It said "all personnel on board the platform" had been
accounted for.
Nigeria, Africa's top oil exporter, is battling the impact
of lower crude prices on government revenues and its currency
after a coronavirus pandemic crashed demand for crude.
(Reporting Paul Carsten and Camillus Eboh
Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Chijioke Ohuocha;
Editing by Mark Heinrich)