Production at Tambar field resumes after fatal accident

Aker BP has reinstated production from its Tambar field off Norway. The output had been stopped since December 7, after a worker fell off the Maersk Interceptor jack-up rig operating at the field.

Two workers were initially reported injured, however, Aker BP on Friday confirmed that one worker had passed away, while the other was in a stable condition.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway and the police are investigating the accident. Aker BP and Maersk Drilling have also started their own investigation.

As for the production, according to Aker BP, project activities, well service activities and other activities that are not related to investigation of the accident on Maersk Interceptor will gradually resume in a controlled manner. As a step in this work, production from the Tambar field was started up again on Tuesday.

Tambar

The Tambar installation is located 16 kilometers southeast of Ula in 68 meters water depth. It is a normally unmanned wellhead platform (NUI), remotely controlled from Ula. The Ula field center serves as an area hub for the satellite field Tambar, and as a third-party host for the Oselvar and Blane fields.

Aker BP is currently working on a redevelopment project on the Tambar field which consists of two additional wells and gas lift. This is expected to extend the production period from the field by about ten years. The gas lift is being installed because the reservoir pressure at Tambar is no longer sufficient to ensure satisfactory production.

As for the Maersk rig, it was hired to drill and complete two new wells on the field, designated 1/3-K-4 and 1/3-K-2.