Chevron Nigeria Ltd. said a contractor started drilling a relief well to seal the Funiwa 1A natural gas well, which caught on fire Jan. 16 about 6 miles offshore Nigeria in 40 ft of water.
Transocean Ltd. is using its GSF Baltic jack up rig to drill the relief well.
Nigerian authorities approved the relief well as part of a response plan to enable cementing and abandonment of the Funiwa 1W well.
Last month, fire started aboard the shallow-water jack up KS Endeavor operated by FODE Drilling Nigeria Ltd.
Two crew members were killed, and 152 others were safely evacuated. The accident’s cause remains under investigation, Chevron Nigeria said, adding that no oil has been spilled.