Statoil experience another North Sea oil leak

The Stratford C offshore oil rig had to cease operations on Sunday (January 26th) due to the detection of an oil leak. Statoil runs the North Sea platform, which has experienced previous leaks. The latest incident was identified when the oil leak set off a gas detection alarm.

According to Statoil, the leak was located shortly after the alarm was sounded and work began quickly to stop it. Despite the fast response, some oil has reportedly flowed into the sea. The alarm resulted in all 270 crew members being evacuated from the platform onto lifeboats, however, they were able to return to their living quarters within a short period of time.

Currently work is ongoing to ascertain the extent of the leak. Statoil is considering inspecting the extent of the damage from the air, as the weather in the North Sea can be incredibly rough and there are emergency response services in the area.

Preliminary calculations suggest that the maximum discharge of the oil into the sea is 32 cubic metres. The oil that has leaked was stabilised before the incident and was discharged from the depressurised trap for liquids that is located in the drainage system below the cellar deck. Engineers are checking to see if the drainage system is working, once it has been confirmed that the system is fully functional, the platform will be able to resume operations.

The Petroleum Safety Agency (PSA) will also conduct its own investigation of the incident, due to the fact that preliminary information produced by Statoil has suggested that a significant amount of oil leaked. PSA has said that the leak is being categorised as serious, prompting it to launch its own probe.

The Norwegian safety agency previously investigated four other incidents at oil and gas sites during 2013. Two of these previous incidents occurred on Statoil platforms in the North Sea. As a result of these investigations, the PSA has ordered companies operating on the Oseberg field centre in the North Sea to take steps to improve wells and processing plants.