Oil Spill Response Limited Opens New Base in Singapore

Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), the global oil spill response cooperative funded by more than 160 environmentally responsible oil and energy companies, announced the opening of a new base with enhanced response capabilities at Loyang in Singapore yesterday.

The opening of the base is a milestone event for the maritime and oil and gas industries in the Asia Pacific region, bringing together expert personnel and equipment resources in a single place so as to deliver an integrated, swift and effective response to an emergency oil spill incident.

In addition, regional response capability sited at the base has been boosted by the recent arrival of advanced subsea well capping equipment known as a ‘capping stack’ which can be mobilised throughout the Asia Pacific region in the event of a subsea well control incident.

Investing in the base and resources sited at Loyang reflects OSRL’s commitment to improving its response capability and expertise so as to deliver an industry-leading service to its members, customers and stakeholders.

OSRL Chief Executive Robert Limb said today: “Staying true to our mission to respond to oil spills effectively and efficiently anywhere in the world, the Loyang base forms an important link in our global network of response bases and is a strategic launch pad from which to deliver our response, preparedness and subsea well intervention services to our members and stakeholders in the region. I believe our move to Loyang marks a significant upgrade of our services to the maritime and upstream oil and gas industries in Singapore, the Asia Pacific region and beyond.”

Located within a dedicated oil and gas supply facility with wharf access and in proximity to key airports, the new base is strategically placed for OSRL to mount an emergency response either by air or sea: thereby offering a range of viable response delivery options during an emergency spill incident.

Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, who was guest of honour at the official opening, said: “We are very glad to have had the opportunity to work in partnership with OSRL over the years and to have witnessed its growth in Singapore. We congratulate OSRL for expanding and upgrading its facilities here in Singapore, which will boost OSRL’s response efficiencies and capabilities in Singapore and the region.”

Declan O’Driscoll, OSRL Regional Director, Asia Pacific, said: “The new base at Loyang enables OSRL to take advantage of the ability to deliver a multi-faceted approach to response via sea and air. The new facility also allows us to expand in terms of our staff, the space available and the addition of more resources as and when appropriate in the future.”

In addition to its strategic location, its expanded size of 9,500 square metres comprises a storage area for response equipment and dispersant, a dedicated warehouse for subsea well intervention equipment, a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Centre, an in-house training facility and office space for 100 staff.

The new OSRL base is close to Seletar Airport where OSRL’s Hercules C-130 aircraft is based permanently for wide-area high-volume aerial dispersant spraying operations in the event of a spill. It is also very near Changi Airport which is home to an array of sophisticated air logistics services. OSRL has access to a wharf facility with a water draft of 10 metres at the Loyang Base, providing direct deepwater access for OSRL’s response catamarans and other transportation vessels required to mobilise the subsea well intervention equipment.

OSRL’s integrated subsea well intervention system includes four capping stacks to shut in an ‘out of control’ subsea well, plus two hardware kits to clear debris and apply subsea dispersant at the wellhead. It is suitable for the majority of known subsea wells in the Southeast Asia and Australasia region and can be deployed in water depths up to 3,000 metres.

Limb added: “As expectations of stakeholders continue to grow, it is even more important for us to ensure we are fully prepared. This new facility in Loyang demonstrates OSRL and industry’s commitment to ensuring the highest level of preparedness and response capability.”

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Press Release, June 14, 2013