The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) has issued an enforcement notice to Perenco UK relating to the risk of diesel spills at its Leman 27B installation in the North Sea.
The OPRED notice states the Leman 27BC jacket has been operating since installation without any local or computerised level transmitters or alarms, including executive action, on its diesel bulk storage tanks.
OPRED said operator Perenco failed to install the required equipment despite committing to in response to OPRED inspection letters in both 2022 and 2023.
As a result, OPRED said Perenco “failed to implement suitable precautions to mitigate the risk of release from the bulk diesel storage system on Leman 27B”.
A spokesperson for Perenco told Energy Voice the company is working with UK authorities to make the required changes to satisfy the notice requirements.
“The equipment is on order and, despite the current challenging supply chain situation, we expect to have the necessary systems installed and operational within the next month,” the spokesperson said.
© Supplied by Perenco“As a responsible operator, we always endeavour to comply with all relevant environmental regulations.
“We investigate all related incidents and take appropriate measures to prevent their recurrence.
“We are committed as an organisation to learning and continuous improvement.”
Energy Voice contacted OPRED for comment on the notice.
Perenco environmental and safety record
UK regulators have issued multiple environmental and safety notices to Perenco in recent years.
Perenco received three letters from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors in the months of November 2022 and January 2023, linked to a trio of its Southern North Sea platforms.
Inspectors rated Leman and Ravenspurn North as poor for maintenance management, and INDE rated poorly for Safety Critical Element Management and Verification.
© Supplied by Perenco/gov.ukIn August last year, Perenco received trio of safety improvement notices over the state of its Leman 27E installation.
The HSE noticed related to the condition of a redundant crane on the Leman 27E installation.
According to the offshore watchdog the lifting facility has not been kept in good repair, creating a “potential dropped object threat to people and process equipment”.
And in May last year, the UK’s safety regulator warned Perenco after multiple leaks on one of its Indefatigable platforms.
Perenco’s UK arm more than doubled its profits last year due to soaring commodity prices, company filings show.
Annual accounts for the group’s North Sea businesses filed with Companies House show pre-tax profits reached £1.18 billion in 2022 – up from around £493m in the previous year – on total operating revenues of over £1.4bn.
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