Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – BP Norway ordered a total evacuation of its Valhall platform in the North Sea and suspended production from that facility in late December after a barge broke its anchor and drifted toward the platform following a storm, several online media outlets have reported.
Offshore.no, a news website covering Norway’s offshore oil and gas industry, said that 235 workers were evacuated on Dec. 31, 2015.
Another Norwegian news website, Aftenposten, reported that the weather in the area was harsh, with high winds gusting at 70 knots and waves taller than 10 m (32.8 ft). These conditions ripped the barge from its moorings and sent it toward the Valhall platform, which is located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, close to the meridian line with UK sector.
On Jan. 4, Energy Voice quoted a BP Norway spokesman to say that all personnel had returned to Valhall on New Year’s day, and that production had resumed as well.
01/06/2016
