Hibernia Leak Stopped. 6.000 Liters Spilled (Canada)

Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) has informed Canadian authorities that they have stopped the oil leak from its Hibernia platform.

According to the C-NLOPB, HMDC estimates the volume leaked from the Northern Offshore Loading System (OLS) to be 6,000 litres. HMDC has reported that the leak stopped on January 1, 2014.

“The C-NLOPB will review the methodology used by HMDC to estimate the volume. The C-NLOPB will fully investigate the incident,” said the watchdog for the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area.  C-NLOPB oversees Operator activity for legislative and regulatory compliance in areas of safety, environmental protection and resource management.

Hibernia is an oil field in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately 315 kilometres (196 mi) east-southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, in 80 m of water.

On December 18, 2013, approximately 10 litres of crude was spilled from the HEV during the connection attempt. The hose was isolated from the rest of the offloading system and HMDC informed the C-NLOPB and monitored the sea surface in the area for 5 days. No sheens were reported but heavy seas prevented the launch of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to assess the situation.

On December 27, 2013, a sheen was noted in the area of the Northern OLS. Conditions prevented the use of the ROV to investigate the source of the sheen. On December 30, 2013, the ROV confirmed leakage from the HEV of the Northern OLS.

The shareholders of Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) are: ExxonMobil Canada (33.125%), Chevron Canada Resources (26.875%), Suncor (20%), Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation (8.5%), Murphy Oil (6.5%) and Statoil Canada Ltd. (5%).