Hibernia production halted again following spill

ST. JOHNS, NEWFOUNDLAND - Shortly after 21:00 on Saturday, August 17, 2019, the Canada – Newfoundland & Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) was notified of an incident at the Hibernia platform where, as a result of the loss of main power generation, the facility experienced a discharge to sea when its deluge system inadvertently activated, causing drains to overflow. HMDC has confirmed that there were no issues regarding the safety of offshore personnel, and production operations were safely halted following the incident.

Based on results of an overflight of the area at first light on Sunday, August 18, with Canadian Coast Guard personnel on board, the estimated volume of oil on the water was 2,184 litres at that time. The slick was located south of the Hibernia platform, with approximate dimensions 4.0 Nautical miles long by 1.0 Nautical mile wide.

Three vessels are currently on the site undertaking spill response efforts, with additional resources in the air and a fourth vessel en route. A tracker buoy has been deployed and wildlife monitoring efforts are underway, with no reports of affected wildlife at this point.

 “The nature and frequency of these incidents in our offshore area are obviously concerning,” said Scott Tessier, CEO of the C-NLOPB. “The C-NLOPB is focusing its efforts on driving enhanced operator performance with respect to the prevention of spills and improvements in compliance. Decisions on enforcement actions in these matters will follow the completion of our investigations under the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts.”

The C-NLOPB is sending personnel offshore to Hibernia and next steps in response to the August 17 incident will be determined once more information is available. Production operations are not to resume at Hibernia without the approval of the C-NLOPB.