Gulf Drilling reports fire on oil rig in Qatar

Fire broke out on Gulf Drilling International’s rig in Qatar and injured six personnel working on it.

Qatar-based Gulf Drilling is a subsidiary of Gulf International Services Company.

The incident occurred while processing the GDI-3 platform in order to shift it to another worksite. Firefighters and QP emergency services brought the fire under control.

According to the company’s statement, the platform was moved to another location where it was repaired and brought back into service.

Following the incident, the company evacuated all other personnel who were on board to a secure place.

The company did not disclose any details about where and when the fire occurred.

The GDI-3 platform has been contracted to Qatar Petroleum for a period of five years until February 2019.

In July 2015, the Gulf Drilling International-operated support barge Rumailah partly collapsed into the sea off the shore of Qatar. The floating staff accommodation block Rumailah was performing operations in the Al Shaheen field run by Maersk Oil Qatar.

Gulf International Services said the rig suffered a punchthrough incident.