Statoil: The evacuation first-hand

Friday, Nov 09, 2012

"Everything was calm and orderly. We didn't feel any heeling, so the platform felt quite normal," says Hilde Moen, who was evacuated from Floatel Superior yesterday, 7 November.

Moen does gas treatment research in Statoil's Technology, projects and drilling unit. She was on the Floatel Superior to perform a job in connection with the planned shutdown on Njord A.

At 03.40, a leak was reported in a ballast tank on the accommodation platform, which developed a 3-4 degree heel. The platform was stabilised in the course of about an hour using ballast management.

"I never felt the situation was dramatic. We were first told to pack a bag, but this was countermanded by a message indicating that we should put on our survival suits and gather at the exterior muster station shortly after 10.00. It was good to see that the emergency response organisation worked as intended. We were given food and drink on board Njord A. I was on the last helicopter to shore, where we were also very well looked after. We came onshore without anything at all, but they distributed shoes, jackets and cash. They took care of accommodations and air travel for those who needed it," says Moen.

336 evacuated

Six helicopters were available in the area, and three of them were used to evacuate 336 people to Njord A nearby. They were transported on to Kristiansund during the course of the day.

"There was no imminent danger after we had stabilised the rig, but the visual inspection revealed a scope of damage that indicated evacuation. We then carried out a safe, secure and efficient evacuation. The margins are small in these types of situations, which is why we always want to evacuate non-essential personnel. While several people have described the incident and the evacuation as undramatic, we cannot rule out that others may have had a different perception," says Bente Aleksandersen, emergency response manager and vice president Operations south on the Norwegian shelf in DPN Norway.

Source: Statoil

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