Norway: Output Resumes at Statoil’s Statfjord C

Reuters’ Oslo office reports that oil production has restarted at Statoil’s Statfjord C production platform, following a shut down caused by a toxic gas leak discovered on Thursday.

Statoil’s spokesperson told Reuters that: “Production has been ramping up over the weekend and full production is now resumed.”

The leak point that triggered a hydrogen sulphide alarm in the utility shaft on Statfjord C was identified as a flange to the wall against a storage cell. After the alarm was sounded, Statoil had all personnel gathered into the lifeboats, but eventually there was no need for evacuation.

Further, the spokesperson told Reuters that the leaking point has been fixed. No injuries have been reported to the crew of 236 onboard Statfjord C.

Statfjord C platform, located at Statfjord field, which is one of the oldest producing fields in the Norwegian North Sea, has been producing oil since 1985, and it has a daily production rate of 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, March 19, 2012; Image: Statoil