Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor is scaling back activity at the Martin Linge field in the Norwegian North Sea after one of the offshore team tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The person is not seriously ill, according to the company, and has been in isolation in his cabin since Monday. He arrived at the field last Wednesday, having recently visited Austria.
Equinor is in dialogue with the Norwegian health authorities about further measures. Tests have been conducted on two further persons at the field, both of whom also visited high-risk destinations; results of these tests are not yet available.
Medical staff on board are checking all personnel and no additional individuals have reported symptoms.
Personnel will remain at the installations, and Equinor said it was continuously evaluating further measures to prevent further contamination is under implementation, such as fewer social gatherings and meetings; the introduction of larger distances between personnel in the canteen; and cleaning of selected common areas.
Martin Linge’s fixed platform is into the hookup and commissioning phase ahead of a planned production start at the end of the year. Presently 776 people are offshore, working on the project and spread across three installations.
In a separate development, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has authorized Equinor to drill exploration well 35/10-5 in North Sea license 827S, using the semisub West Hercules.
The location is around 11 km (6.8 mi) southwest of the producing Vega field.
03/11/2020
