An oil spill has been observed on Wednesday near the Statfjord oilfield in the North Sea operated by StatoilHydro, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA).
The spill was estimated at 3,840 cubic meters of oil, which corresponds to 24,154 barrels of oil and this could be the second largest spill in Norwegian oil history, PSA spokeswoman Inger Andasaid in a statement.
She added that the biggest oil spill ever off Norway occurred in the Bravo blowout in 1977 when around 12,000 cubic meters of oil were spilled.
StatoilHydro information director Ola Morten Aanestad confirmed that the company had had a spill at its Statfjord Alpha platform, about 200 kilometers west of the Norwgian second largest city Bergen, near the border of the British continental shelf.
The Norwegian Rescue Coordination Center South had been notified and planes and helicopters from the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority were deployed to get an overview of the extent of the spill.
But weather in the area is poor, with 45 knot (51.8 pmh) winds and choppy seas. The initial rescue action did not succeed. And the further rescue action will be taken by the Norwegian authorities and StatoilHydro.
Source: Xinhua/agencies
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article