BP Confirms Identities of Three Employees Killed in Algeria

BP "with great sadness" on Monday confirmed the identities of three of its employees who lost their lives following the terrorist attack on the In Amenas joint venture gas facility in Algeria on Jan. 16.

"We are in frequent, close contact with the families of these employees and, with their consent, are able to confirm our colleagues’ identities," BP commented.

Those employees are:

Sebastian (Seb) John, 26

Seb John, from Nottingham, joined BP in September 2012, as a Civil & Structural Engineer. Seb was a member of the BP’s graduate development programme, and had recently joined the In Amenas joint venture team. He was on his first trip to Algeria.

"Without doubt, Seb was going to succeed” said Andy McEwan, a colleague from BP’s North Africa region. “He was definitely one of a kind when it came to work, as a character and as a person. There are no words that can describe how much Sebastian will be missed by us."

Seb was married to Nicola, with a young son.

Carlos Estrada, 44

Carlos Estrada, originally from Colombia, was living in London, and had worked for BP since 1995. Carlos was a vice-president with BP’s Upstream Global Projects Organisation and was visiting the In Amenas site to provide expertise on BP’s interests in projects in Algeria.

BP North Africa President, and friend of Carlos, Felipe Posada said: "Everyone loved Carlos, he was full of energy, passionate about what he did, incredibly smart and liked by everyone he met. He was a huge talent for the future. He was also a great personal friend of mine and of many others. I will greatly miss him as I know will very many people in BP."

Carlos was married to Claudia, with two young daughters.

Gordon Rowan, 58

Gordon Rowan, from Oregon in the U.S., was a Well Operations & Engineering Manager and had worked for BP and formerly ARCO since 1986. Having spent time at Algeria’s Rhourde El Baguel field, he had returned to the country to work at In Amenas after a period in China.

Mark Cobb, Gordon’s colleague, who was also involved in the incident, said of him: "He was respected by all of his colleagues for his openness, personal integrity and commitment to the safety of his people. He was a leader that people wanted to follow, leadership which he fostered though his commitment to the development of his staff. He lived the BP values and was a great reflection of BP within In Amenas."

Gordon had two sons, Dan and Richard.

A fourth employee is also feared to have lost his life in the attack. BP said it was unable at this time to comment on his identity.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: "This is confirmation of devastating news and our hearts go out to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of these men. We cannot imagine the grief of those closest to them but we know they are very much in the thoughts of so many people in BP. We will continue to do everything we can to assist and support them at this time. They were our colleagues and friends and we will remember them and honour their memory."

BP requests that people show consideration for the families of our colleagues and continue to respect their privacy.

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