Offshore staff

KOPERVIK, Norway – The Kollsnes processing plant and the Vestprosess pipeline have been ramping up following yesterday’s enforced shutdown.

This was due to a collision between the Norwegian military frigateHelge Ingstad and the Maltese tanker TS Sola close to the Sture oil terminal.

Norwegian pipelines operator Gassco said supplies to Europe will be restored to normal, but it will take some time to return the network to full capacity.

Yesterday, analyst Rystad Energy claimed that around 365,000 b/d of offshore oil production could be shut in for several days.

TheHelge Ingstad sustained severe damage in the collision, which occurred around 15 minutes after the tanker, carrying around 600,000 bbl of oil, had set sail under tow from the Equinor-operated terminal.

The frigate was moved to an inshore location and was listing heavily, with emergency teams mobilized to prevent it from sinking.

Sture, which has underground storage capacity for roughly 6 MMbbl, is the receiving terminal for Oseberg Blend and Grane Blend. Main contributors to Grane Blend are the Grane, Ivar Aasen, and Edvard Grieg oil fields.

Rystad Energy estimated that production from these fields could be impacted for up to seven days. The infrastructure at the terminal, however, is secure and the shut-down appears to have been precautionary.

11/09/2018