Statoil shuts in 200,000 b/d oil output on Snorre A platform leak

Singapore (Platts)--29Nov2004

Norway's Statoil has been forced to shut in some 205,000 b/d of crude output
and "a small amount" of natural gas production in the North Sea following a
gas leak at its Snorre A platform Sunday evening, a company spokeswoman said
Monday. This includes about 130,000 b/d of oil produced from the Snorre A
platform and 75,000 b/d from the Vigdis field, whose output is processed at
Snorre A, the spokeswoman said. An injection well on the platform began
leaking gas around 19:00 Sunday (1400 GMT), prompting the company to evacuate
180 crew members to surrounding platforms and cease production immediately.
Some 36 workers were left behind to combat the leak, Statoil said in a
statement. This team pumped heavy drilling mud into the leaking well through
the night, a process that would continue Monday, the company said. Meanwhile,
"it is very difficult to say" when oil production might be resumed, the
spokeswoman said, despite the fact that the company was "working continuously"
to repair the situation.

"The mud is intended to push back the gas, so that the we can get at the well
to halt the leak," Oivind Reinertsen, senior vice-president for Statoil's
Tampen business cluster, said through the company statement. New personnel
would be sent to the platform Monday to relieve the current emergency response
team. Statoil said the problem arose during preparations to drill a sidetrack
from injection well P-31 on the tension leg platform. Although heavy mud had
been introduced in advance to stabilize downhole conditions, gas entered the
mud when production tubing was pulled out. The intrusion was registered
topside, together with a gas leak from the seabed equipment, it said. Even
after the gas stopped reaching the platform topside, the seabed leak
continued. "This is a very unusual and serious incident," Reinertsen said. "In
such circumstances, we dont want more people on the platform than are needed
for emergency response. [As a result] production was shut down, and the
decision taken to evacuate the installation."

Copyright © 2004 - Platts

Please visit:  www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.