AN APACHE oil rig headed for the Western Australian coast has caught alight igniting concerns over rig safety.
The rig which was destined to commence work on the company’s latest oil exploration project, caught fire in a shipyard in Singapore on 11 April 2009.
Apache has confirmed that drilling will be delayed due to the blaze. The company was planning to drill 20,000 barrels of oil a day from its Van Gogh field located 53 kilometres, north-north-west of Exmouth by the mid-2009.
The company says that fortunately no-one was hurt in the fire. The rig, however, is expected to take several months to repair.
The machine was leased to Apache by Cyprus company Prosafe Production Public.
Authorities are investigating the incident to determine the cause of the blaze.
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