Property damage and business interruption

18.3, explosion

Egypt: an explosion which took place in the Gulf of Suez on 8 March on an oil rig owned by Saipem and rented by the Egypt based joint-venture company Petrobel, closed down production at nine nearby wells for three days. The explosion injured two drilling officials and started a fire on the rig, which was operating near Abu Rudeis, 130 km south of Suez city. Petrobel is a joint venture between the Egyptian state company EGOC and the Italian company ENI. The explosion reportedly caused financial losses of US$78.0mn, including the loss of production from fields which usually produce 40,000 barrels of oil a day.