An explosion on Oil Mining Lease 40 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company has killed seven workers, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced on Wednesday.

NPDC is the flagship subsidiary of NNPC.

The explosion occurred on Tuesday at the petroleum company’s Benin River Valve Station.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the BRVS explosion happened at Gbetiokun, OML 40, operated by NPDC.

He disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja entitled “NNPC Reports Explosion at NPDC’s Benin River Valve Station.”

Obateru said, “The incident, which occurred on Tuesday during the installation of a ladder on a platform (Benin River Valve Station) for access during discharging of Gbetiokun production, unfortunately caused  seven fatalities.”

The national oil firm said a detailed investigation of the cause of the explosion had commenced.

It said the Department of Petroleum Resources had been duly notified and Form 41 was being prepared for the industry regulator as required in circumstances of this nature.

“The bodies of casualties have been deposited in a morgue in Sapele, while families of the personnel involved are being contacted by their employers,” NNPC stated in its statement.

It named the employers as Weld Affairs and Flow Impact, adding that they were consultants to NPDC.

NNPC said all personnel on board the platform had been fully accounted for.

Its Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, commiserated with the families of the bereaved.

He prayed that God grants them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss of their loved ones.