Offshore staff
LYSAKER, Norway – Aker BP has issued details of how it responded to an oil spill at the Alvheim field in the Norwegian North Sea at the end of November.
During a production re-start on the Alvheim FPSO following an unplanned shutdown, with one well online, an estimated 51 cu m of oil were discharged through the produced water outlet.
The company responded by closing all necessary valves immediately to stop the flow and mobilized its emergency response organization alongside the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) and the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) to deal with the oil on the sea surface.
NOFO and the NCA opted to implement a technique known as mechanical degradation, which involved the standby vessel Esvagt Stavanger mixing the oil down into the water column until it dissolved.
Satellite and aerial surveillance measures also took place, in addition to the standby vessel’s oil radar.
According to Aker BP, the response was effective with the size of the oil slick significantly reduced by the following day. That led the NCA, in consultation with NOFO and Aker BP, to end the operation on December 1.
By that point no oil was visible on the sea surface either in satellite images or via flyovers, and no harm was found to have been caused to birds or marine life in the area.
“Our co-operation with NOFO and the Norwegian Coastal Administration shows that the Norwegian shelf has sound and effective oil spill preparedness in place, should the need arise,” said Marit Blaasmo, Aker BP’s Senior Vice President—People & Safety.
01.02.2024
