North Sea operator Statoil has admitted it has suffered an oil leak from one of its key fields.
Workers on the Statfjord C platform were ready to evacuate from the installation yesterday after the oil leak triggered gas alarms.
Around 32 cubic metres – roughly 200 barrels of oil equivalent – are understood to have leaked during the incident. Investigations by the Norwegian safety authorities are now underway.
The platform has now been shut down, with crew returned to their quarters, as high waves and storm conditions hit the area of the field.
“It has been confirmed that a limited amount of oil has leaked into the sea. We are currently working on mapping the extent of the leak,” Statoil said in a statement.
“There are emergency response resources in the area to observe, and Statoil is considering inspection from the air.”
The Statfjord field is one of the oldest Norwegian oil fields, originally discovered in 1974, with the Statfjord C platform beginning production in June 1985.
It straddles the UK and Norwegian continental shelves, with production of around 23,000 barrels of oil per day.
Less than two years ago a leak of toxic hydrogen sulphide gas on Statfjord C saw the platform shut down, while in 2007 more than 21,000 barrels worth of oil was spilled from a tanker during loading from the neighbouring Statfjord A.
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