An offshore worker died last weekend in an incident aboard a Seadrill drillship deployed on a Kosmos Energy project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
"At approximately 1:45 pm Central Time on January 24, 2021, Kosmos Energy learned about the fatality of an Allrig contractor on the Seadrill West Neptune drillship which is working on the Kodiak II well completion in Mississippi Canyon Block 727," Kosmos Energy said in a statement sent to Offshore Engineer.
Richard Clark, President of Kosmos Energy’s Gulf of Mexico business unit said: "No words can express the sorrow and pain that come when such a tragic event happens. On behalf of everyone at Kosmos Energy, my deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of the man who died. They have suffered a tremendous loss."
In a separate statement sent to Offshore Engineer, Seadrill said the incident had happened at 13:30 Central Standard Time on January 24, 2021 and that all drilling activities on the rig have been suspended since.
"Seadrill is providing support to the West Neptune crew at this difficult time and wishes to express its condolences to the family of the deceased. The US Coast Guard and Bureau Safety and Environmental Enforcement were immediately notified and will undertake an investigation on the drillship in the coming days. Seadrill together with representatives from Kosmos Energy and Allrig will also undertake a root cause investigation," Seadrill said.
Kosmos' Clark said that, as the incident is investigated and the facts come to light, the company will do everything to ensure this never happens again.
Neither Seadrill nor Kosmos have provided any details on the circumstances of the incident, however, Kosmos' Clark said initial learnings have already been shared with its peers in the region.
"We have already begun to share initial learnings from the incident with our peer companies, engaging with more than 20 operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico," Clark said.
"Kosmos Energy strives to maintain a safe operating environment, and this incident is of great concern to us. Our highest priority is to ensure the safety of our employees and contractors, and every possible action is being taken to assist in investigating the incident," the company further said.
Allrig, the company whose employee died in an incident, sent the following statement to Offshore Engineer: "We are extremely saddened to report that on January 24th, 2021 an incident occurred on the drillship West Neptune which resulted in the fatality of an Allrig contractor."
"Our thoughts are with the deceased’s family at this difficult time and we are currently providing ongoing support to them and to all other Allrig contractors and employees affected by the incident."
Offshore Engineer has reached out to BSEE and Allrig seeking more info into circumstances surrounding the incident.
"Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any additional comment at this stage," an Allrig spokesperson said.