ABUJA, Nigeria, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Two people are missing from a natural gas drilling rig that caught fire off the coast of Nigeria, U.S. supermajor Chevron said.
"Every effort is being made to find the missing workers," Andrew Fawthrop, managing director of Chevron's subsidiary in Nigeria, said in a statement. "They are our utmost priority."
Chevron confirmed that a drilling rig about 6 miles off the Nigerian coast caught fire. There were 154 people on the rig and an associated barge. Two people are missing, the company said.
The rig was drilling a natural gas exploration well in 40 feet of water.
Nigeria is facing threats from labor unions upset that a fuel subsidy in place for nearly 40 years was halted at the beginning of the year and from Islamic militant group Boko Haram. The government this week reinstated some of the subsidy to meet protester's demands, however.
Chevron said it deployed "substantial resources" to the rig and would work with Nigerian authorities to assess the situation.
"We do not know what caused the incident," Fawthrop said.
