Transocean spokesman Guy Cantwell said that the search and rescue operation was called off yesterday afternoon. He did not give further details.
The missing man, Ben Okakpu, 30, who worked for contractor Atlantic Mediterranean Oilfield Service Company (Amosco), was one of three crew involved in Saturday's accident at the Akpo field, off Nigeria.
The other two workers, who have not been named, were Transocean employees.
According to a summary incident report into the accident seen by Upstream the port aft crane boom and cab, together with the three men, went overboard during tests.
Upstream understands that the crane boom snapped during load test recertification. Okakpu is believed to have been supervising the tests.
The accident report, compiled by Transocean's Lagos office, said that three fast rescue craft and three standby vessels were deployed to search for the missing, while a remotely-operated vehicle carried out a subsea sweep. A search and rescue helicopter was also mustered.
One of the fast rescue craft recovered two of the missing men, both of whom sustained serious injuries. It is understood that one of the men was taken by air ambulance to South Africa for treatment.
According to the Transocean incident report, one of the rescued men had suffered head injuries, as well as possible broken legs and hips. The report said he was "barely conscious" when pulled from the water.
The other man was suffering chest pains. Sources have told Upstream the man is being treated in a Port Harcourt hospital. His condition is understood to be in a "serious but stable" condition.
The Okakpu family met with officials form Transocean's Nigerian unit yesterday.
The drilling giant was unable to confirm whether the search's suspension would lead to Okakpu being declared dead, saying the matter lay with the Nigerian authorities.
The search was carried out by Transocean, Total, Amosco and the Nigerian navy.
A Transocean official in Lagos confirmed in an email that an Amosco representative was taken to the drillship on Sunday, 1 August to observe the search effort.
The Jack Ryan has been carrying out development drilling at Akpo, in OML 130, for French giant Total. Output from a portion of the field was shut in immediately after the incident, but has since resumed.
Cantwell said Transocean does not yet have a clear picture of the damage to the drillship, nor is it in a position to say how long the unit will be out of action or how long repairs will take.
Akpo, in OML 130, came on stream in March last year and currently produces up to 185,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent.
Akpo holds proven and probable reserves estimated at about 620 million barrels of 50 degrees API condensate and more than 1 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The high pressure-high temperature field, discovered in 2000, lies in water depths ranging between 1200 and 1400 metres, about 200 kilometres off the Nigerian coast.
The Akpo development involves 44 wells - 22 producers, 20 water injectors and two gas injectors. Eighteen wells are still to be drilled.
The Jack Ryan started operations for Total in June last year under a four-year contract with a dayrate of $425,000, according to Transocean figures.
Total operates OML 130, which also hosts the Egina field, with a 24% stake. Its partners are Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Brazil's Petrobras and Nigerian outfit Sapetro. - Upstream Online
