The Hibernia platform may soon be back to its drilling and oil production operations.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced Thursday it approved Hibernia Management and Development Company’s (HMDC’s) plan to resume drilling and production at the Hibernia platform.
The approval, however, is subject to conditions following the suspension of operations after a second oil spill on Aug. 17.
A news release notes that since the August spill, the C-NLOPB has had extensive engagement with HMDC, and an investigation report by HMDC identifying the root cause of the spill has been accepted by the C-NLOPB.
A suite of corrective actions have been put into place.
“The spill was determined to have been triggered by a power outage due to a faulty fuel valve actuator on Main Power Generator B, while Main Power Generator A was offline for maintenance,” the release states. “The power outage resulted in a loss of instrument air pressure which led to a subsequent activation of the firefighting water deluge system.”
The release adds that the high water rate from the deluge system flooded the hazardous drain system and tank resulting in overflow and discharge of hydrocarbons to the sea.
“The C-NLOPB is thereby satisfied with HMDC’s plan for restart and will be continuing enhanced oversight meetings with HMDC to monitor progress on corrective actions following from the July 17 and Aug. 17 spill incidents,” the release stated.
Paul Alexander, the C-NLOPB’s chief safety officer, said that, “Based on our due diligence and review of HMDC’s people, processes and equipment, I am confident that the restart of Hibernia operations can be done safely and environmentally responsibly.”
The C-NLOPB continues formal investigations into five incidents: the April 2018 discharge of synthetic-based mud from the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Transocean Barents; the November 2018 spill by Husky Energy at the White Rose Field; the July 2019 spill at the Hibernia platform;
the August 2019 spill at the Hibernia platform; and the September 2019 incident on the Transocean Barents, which left one worker injured. The injured worker has been released from hospital. Operations on the Transocean Barents remain suspended.
Decisions on enforcement actions will only follow the completion of each investigation under the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts.
