Status update on Cidade de São Mateus

This statement is updated as of Friday 13 February 08:00 (local Brazilian time) and information will be kept updated as we monitor the situation.

BW Offshore now confirms that the bodies of the five deceased personnel have been brought to shore. Four are Brazilian nationals and one is Indian. Arrangements are being made for formal identification and release to family. Four Brazilian personnel remain unaccounted for.  Seven personnel with injuries are receiving medical care in hospital. BW Offshore management is in Vitoria with the crew, and support to personnel and next of kin is ongoing. The unit hull is confirmed to be intact. A specialist team has returned to the unit to evaluate if conditions are sufficiently safe to allow the search and rescue efforts to continue.  

"This is a terrible day for the families of the men we have lost and our hearts go out to them. We remain determined to continue the search for those still missing", said Carl Arnet, CEO.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 12:50 local Brazilian time, there was an explosion on Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de São Mateus. The unit is operated for Petrobras by BW Offshore on the Camarupim and Camarupim Norte fields in Espirito Santo littoral approximately 120 km from the coast. Of the 74 persons onboard, there have been five fatalities and four crew are still missing. The remaining crew are all accounted for. Production has been stopped and the unit has been shut down."

For further information, please contact:

Benito Ciriza, BW Offshore, +55 21982979351
Torfinn Buarøy, BW Offshore, +47 91 66 02 52