Independent North Sea producer Serica Energy (AIM: SQZ) has been served with an improvement notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over the release of fuel gas at its Bruce platform.
According to the HSE, Serica allowed the release of 196kg of hydrocarbons for over two and a half hours.
In addition, the HSE said that Serica’s workers were put at risk due to the presence of gas.
However, a spokesperson for Serica Energy said that nobody was injured due to the release.
The HSE blamed the release on Serica’s maintenance arrangements for one the platform’s low-pressure booster compressors (LPBC A), which “failed such that the gas fuel supply system and joints were inadequately reinstated and tested” before the compressor was returned to service.
The spokesperson added: “Safety remains Serica’s highest priority, and the company is working closely with the HSE to ensure lessons are learned from the incident and updated procedures are put in place to prevent a reoccurrence.”
Serica has until 31 July to improve its processes.
The Bruce platform is based 211 miles (340km) northeast of Aberdeen where it connects to Serica’s Bruce field. The platform is responsible for processing nearly 5% of the UK’s gas production and hosts a community of over 300 people, of whom 160 are offshore at any one time.
The platform saw a short period of unscheduled downtime in 2024 due to a subsea intervention to ensure enhanced production reliability on the Rhum field.
Serica chief executive Chris Cox has previously said that the company is looking to take advantage of the “untapped potential around the Bruce hub”.
The group has committed to extend Bruce’s lifespan by an extra four years through to 2030, with Cox hinting that a drilling campaign around the field is likely in coming years.
The group has previously done well work on Bruce, though no new wells have been drilled there since 2012.
Serica took over the asset in 2018 after the acquisition of stakes in three North Sea fields from energy giant BP.
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