White Rose work suspended
CNLOPB orders stop to Husky’s Searose operations in response to near-miss with iceberg last March
A decision to not disconnect and sail the Searose FPSO away from an approaching iceberg last March is coming back to haunt Husky Oil Operations Ltd.
The Canada-newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB) has suspended petroleum-related operations aboard the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel located in the White Rose field about 350 kilometres east of St. John’s.
In a news release issued Wednesday, the CNLOPB stated that findings from its preliminary report into the incident indicate Husky, its onshore senior management and its offshore installation manager did not follow its ice management plan (IMP).
“The CNLOPB has determined there are serious issues respecting Husky’s ice management, management systems and organizational decisionmaking,” the release states. “Based on the enquiry’s preliminary findings, the CNLOPB lacks full confidence that appropriate action will be taken by the Operator during an emergency situation.”
Husky says it has begun taking steps to suspend operations on the Searose and its associated production facilities.
“We could have and should have responded differently according to the pre-existing plan, and we will learn from this incident,” Husky CEO Rob Peabody said in a statement.
“We will work with the CNLOPB and take the actions necessary to satisfy the regulator.”
The incident occurred when the iceberg, which Husky had been monitoring through satellites and dedicated surveillance fights, changed direction early in the morning of March 29, 2017 and entered the one-quarter nautical mile ice exclusion area of the Searose.
In response to the encroaching iceberg — which the CNLOPB described as 40 metres wide, 60 metres long and standing eight metres above the waterline — Husky depressurized production wells, flushed lines with treated seawater and was ready to disconnect if the need arose. The 84 personnel on board at the time were instructed to muster and “brace
for impact,” according to the board.
By 5:30 a.m., the iceberg was within 180 metres of the Searose — which was carrying
340,000 barrels of crude at the time, more than a third of its capacity — but by 6 a.m. had drifted more than 500 metres away.
There were no injuries and no damage to the facility or the environment.
The suspension will remain in effect until the board is confident that “corrective and appropriate actions” have been addressed to the satisfaction of the CNLOPB’S chief safety officer and its chief conservation officer.
Husky says some measures to improve its ice management operations are already in place and that the safety of personnel and protection of the environment remain the company’s top priority.
Siobhan Coady, the province’s minister of natural resources, is hopeful the issue is resolved “in a timely manner,” but says the suspension is a matter between the regulator and the company, and that the province’s first priority is the health and safety of the employees.
As for the economic impact of a shutdown, Coady stated it “may result in short-term deferral of royalty revenue; however this revenue will be recovered in future as the oil is produced.”
Operations aboard the mobile drill rig Henry Goodrich, also operated by Husky, are unaffected by the suspension.
“We could have and should have responded differently according to the pre-existing plan, and we will learn from this incident.” Rob Peabody, Husky CEO