Equinor Spills Oil During Loading Operation at Statfjord Field

Norwegian oil firm Equinor has informed that oil spilled during a loading operation in the North Sea offshore Norway on Wednesday.

Equinor said that in connection with loading oil from buoy to a shuttle tanker on the Statfjord field, oil was observed on the sea surface early on Wednesday morning.

“The loading operations were stopped when this was discovered, and the loading systems were shut down. Efforts have been initiated to map the extent of the oil observed on the sea surface,” Equinor said.

“In compliance with regular procedures Equinor’s emergency response organization was quickly mobilized, and the authorities were notified,” Equinor added.

The Statfjord field has been developed with the Statfjord A, B and C production platforms, which all have concrete gravity base structures incorporating storage cells. The Statfjord A started production in 1979, Statfjord B in 1982, and finally Statfjord C in 1985.

Earlier this month, Equinor awarded a contract for the removal and disposal of Statfjord A, one of the oldest platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Namely, the Statfjord A platform will shut down production in 2022, 43 years after first oil. The platform was originally scheduled to be shut down in 1999 but it has since then undergone substantial upgrading and its life has been extended several times.

The contract for the engineering work, preparations, removal, and disposal of the topside was awarded to Excalibur Marine Contractors, a company in the Allseas group. Kværner at Stord was hired by Excalibur to dismantle and recycle the topside onshore.