Statoil evacuates North Sea platform due "unstable" well

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

Statoil evacuates North Sea platform due "unstable" well
Fri May 21, 2010 8:49am BST

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil said on Friday it had evacuated the Gullfaks C platform in the North Sea after changes in well pressure led to a fault on one of two valves designed to prevent a blowout.

Environmental group Bellona said the situation was "very critical" and highlighted continued risks of offshore oil and gas exploration in the wake of BP's well blowout and environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

"There are no leaks and no injuries," Statoil spokesman Gisle Johanson said. "The situation on the platform is stable and we are planning for further operations to normalise the situation."

Johanson said the evacuation of about 90 people was caused by an "unstable pressure situation" in a Gullfaks well, which he said meant "too much or too little" pressure.


Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64K1MP20100521

[DeSwiss]

1. What the hell does......

"The situation on the platform is stable and we are planning for further operations to normalise the situation."

....mean?

- Exactly? Is it in any way similar to the "tiny leak/vast ocean" analogy???

K&R

[asjr]

2. Mother Nature is getting pretty darned tired

of our fooling with her. Volcanoes, earthquakes, oil gushing out of the ocean, and soon tornadoes. We just do not listen to her.

[DeSwiss]

4. I don't blame her one bit.

- Although I wish her aim was better ----->

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. It means they've still got options left

And some people are still on the platform. Note that one of the valves failed, but the other one hasn't, yet. So far, no actual leak.

“It’s a serious situation,” said Inger Anda, spokeswoman for the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority. “It looks like it’s under control for the time being.”

The company evacuated 89 people from the platform and left a crew behind to deal with the well, Anda said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-21/statoil-dealing-with-unstable-well-at-gullfaks-c-update2-.html

[DeSwiss]

5. I guess we'll see. n/t

[maddezmom]

11. looks like 140 are still there, so I'd imagine they have a plan and are fixing the well

Statoil said it was busy trying to rectify the situation, but that it would probably take "several days."

"There are no human injuries nor damage of the platform and there is no (oil) leaking from the well," company spokesman Gisle Johanson told AFP, acknowledging however that the situation was "serious."

Some 140 workers remained on the Gullfaks C platform to try to resolve the problem.

In the meantime, the platform's security is relying on a single, so-called blowout preventer at the top of the well that works by blocking unscheduled emissions of oil and gas.

http://www.swedishwire.com/component/content/article/1:companies/4656:statoil-oil-platform-evacuated-due-qunstableq-well-

[dipsydoodle]

6. It means under control

in english english : not sure about american english.

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. The Norwegian govt. owns 62% of the Company

I trust the Norwegians more than BP, shell, EXxon or the other mega corporations

[Celefin]

8. At least Statoil doesn't do as much secrecy as BP... still it's serious:

Company spokesman Gisle Johanson was quoted as saying that although there were no leaks or injuries involved, that the installation had been downmanned.

“The situation on the platform is stable and we are planning for further operations to normalise the situation,” Johanson was quoted as saying according to Reuters news agency.

“One of the two fuses to prevent uncontrolled blowout, do not work. The situation arose on Thursday afternoon, according to Television 2,” Offshore.no reported.

And Johanson was further quoted as saying: “The situation on the platform is safe. We consider the risk of an uncontrolled blowout that small. 140 people left on the platform. Those who were evacuated did not have jobs related to the situation, “

http://www.oilport.net/news/art.aspx?id=16762

[Yeahyeah]

9. Yeah the fucking Norwegians are going to poison the whales before they kill them now.

[trumad]

10. Cap the damn thing before it's to late.