Statoil was forced to evacuate personnel from one of its North Sea platforms after a fire broke out in a loading pump.
The platform manager reported smoke and fire in a utility shaft on the Statfjord A platform, triggering the Norwegian operator’s emergency response procedures.
Two Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters were mobilised as well the emergency response vessel Stril Herkules.
The incident unfolded at 8.20am yesterday.
A spokesperson said: “The fire started in a loading pump in the utility shaft and was restricted to one area that is separated by fire barriers.
“When the smoke was detected, the automatic deluge system was triggered.
“The emergency response organisation on Statfjord A has worked on extinguishing the fire. The area is now being monitored by the fireguard.
“There were 67 people on board when the incident occurred. At 10 am, 20 people had been moved to Statfjord B by SAR helicopter.
“Production at Statfjord A was shut down and crew on board without emergency response assignments were sent to the lifeboats. They are now being gathered for a debriefing on the platform.”
Statfjord A is a production platform that has a concrete substructure and storage cells. The Norwegian part of the Statfjord field is located in blocks 33/9 and 33/12 in license 037 and contains both oil and gas.
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