Norwegian regulator launches probe into Mongstad refinery incident
Oct. 27, 2017
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has launched an investigation into a naphtha leak that forced the evacuation and partial shutdown of Statoil ASA subsidiary Statoil Refining Norway AS’ 9.3 million-tonne/year refinery in Mongstad, north of Bergen, on the morning of Oct. 24 (OGJ Online, Oct. 24, 2017).
While no injuries have been reported in relation to the event, PSA will launch its own investigation into the incident beginning this week, said the independent government regulator responsible for safety, emergency preparedness, and work environments in the Norwegian petroleum industry.
The goals of the independent investigation will include clarifying the course of events as well as identifying direct and underlying causes of the leak for a report to be published as part of a broader contribution to learning and experience transfer within the nation’s petroleum sector, PSA said.
Reported to Statoil’s emergency center on Oct. 24 at 7:14 a.m. local time and brought under control by the operator’s emergency response team by 9:02 a.m., the leak forced shutdowns of unidentified parts of the refinery as well as an evacuation of 108 plant employees.
Statoil, which previously confirmed it would carry out its own investigation into the incident, has yet to disclose details regarding either the status of current operations at the facility or any impacts to production that occurred as a result of the partial shutdown.
In 2016, the Mongstad refinery experienced a 35-cu m crude oil spill caused by corrosion to a pipe at the manufacturing site, according to Statoil’s annual report to investors.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
