Five workers died in a fire on the Becuna platform in the Simba oil and gas field offshore Gabon, while one Perenco worker was still missing (till the filing of this report).

The platform is operated by Africa-focused independent oil and gas company Perenco, which extinguished the fire and deployed an emergency team conducting an ongoing search and rescue mission.

Expressing sorrow at the tragic incident, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) said it advocated the highest safety standards across all energy projects.

The Simba field is a shallow water conventional oil project crucial for the stability of Gabon and Africa’s oil market and economic expansion.

The field accounts for 4 per cent of the west African country’s oil production alone.