Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh: ordering lifeboats may require changes

The first vice-president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh, said that it may be necessary to make changes in ordering lifeboats during the evacuation of staff. This is due to the fire, which started on a platform in the Guneshli oil field on December 4th.

The oil workers were evacuated in two boats, but one of them was damaged by strong winds and waves and people fell into the sea. The search for the others is under way.

Yusifzade said that the height of the waves reached up to 10 meters, and the speed of the wind was about 38-39 meters per second, the platform is designed for a wave height of 13 m. 

SOCAR vice-president commented on a large number of employees (63 people) who were on the platform. He said that usually the number is smaller, but they wanted to drill four more wells there. Therefore, the workers conducted both construction and drilling works.