KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A jackup owned by Velesto Energy has sunk to the seafloor during an operation offshore Sarawak.
The Naga 7, reportedly working on the Salam-3 appraisal well for ConocoPhillips, began tilting yesterday due to rapid penetration (‘punch-through’) into the formation and by today was fully submerged.
Drilling activities had not commenced, Velesto stressed, adding that all personnel onboard were offloaded to the rescue vessels.
The majority were transferred to Miri, Sarawak, while the remainder were in the process of being transferred.
Velesto is investigating the incident and assessing options. The rig is covered by insurance: recovery efforts are ongoing.
