North Sea Nova x-mas tree falls to seafloor

March 26, 2021
An incident occurred late last week during a lifting operation on the semisubmersible West Mira, which is working for Wintershall Dea on the Nova field in the North Sea.

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – An incident occurred late last week during a lifting operation on the semisubmersible West Mira, which is working for Wintershall Dea on the Nova field in the North Sea.

The company mobilized its emergency response organization and notified the authorities. No personnel were injured.

A x-mas tree being lowered from the rig was 5 m (16.4 ft) below the sea surface when the winch wire snapped. This caused the tree to sink to the seafloor, 368 m (1,207 ft) below water level.

Eight people were working in the area of the rig where the incident occurred, in safe distance from moving equipment, according to the company.

An ROV was dispatched to the seafloor to assess the situation. The survey that followed revealed no risk of discharge of well fluids or hydrocarbons and the x-mas tree has been localized on the template.

The well is under control and secured with three barriers.

03/26/2021