Norwegian energy company Statoil reported on oil leak Thursday near the Statfjord oil field in the North Sea, though it's too early to guess on volumes.
Image: Statoil
The spill was reported at 08:30hrs (local time) while the tanker Hilda Knutsen was being loaded from the Statfjord A platform via the OLS B loading buoy, which is located between Statfjord A and Statfjord B.
“The leak is located in a flange in the loading hose. It is also too early to say how much oil has leaked,” Statoil said in a statement today.
After the spill was spotted, the tanker loading operation was stopped and the pipeline and loading system from Statfjord A was closed, Statoil said. Production at the platform has been unaffected.
A standby vessel with oil spill response equipment is on the scene, along with an anchor handling vessel, equipped with a ROV. An SAR helicopter is monitoring the spill, Statoil said.
Company’s preliminary assessments indicate that the spill is within the range of 40 cubic metres of oil.
Statoil said equipment was on hand to address the spill and relevant authorities had been notified.
Source: statoil.com