Statoil reports oil spill at Statfjord field

Norwegian gas company Statoil reported an oil spill close to the OLS B loading buoy at the Statfjord oil field last October 8. The oil field is located in the Norwegian-UK boundary.

Preliminary assessments indicate that the spill is within the range of 40 cubic metres of oil.

The oil spill was discovered during the loading of oil from the Statfjord A platform to the tanker “Hilda Knutsen” via the OLS B loading buoy, which is located between Statfjord A and Statfjord B.

Loading to the tanker has stopped and supply to the pipe and loading system from Statfjord A has been closed. Production at Statfjord A is operating normally.

The leak is located in a flange in the loading hose. It is also too early to say how much oil has leaked.

The stand-by vessel with oil spill response equipment and the anchor handling vessel, equipped with a ROV, are at the location. A SAR helicopter is also assisting with monitoring the spill.

The company notified the authorities and said that further assessment and investigations will uncover the scope and causes in more detail.