On 22 October at 04:45, smoke was detected by several smoke detectors in a switchgear room in the M40 module at Sleipner B.

Sleipner B was unmanned at the time of the incident.

Emergency shutdown, depressurisation and de-energisation of the facility were carried out. The area emergency response and rescue vessel Skandi Mongstad initiated external cooling of the module. This work carried on throughout the evening.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

Background

The Sleipner fields include the Sleipner Øst, Gungne and Sleipner Vest gas and condensate fields. In addition, the Sleipner installations process hydrocarbons from the tie-in fields of Sigyn, Volve and Gudrun, and from 2017 also rich gas from Gina Krog.

Sleipner consists of the following facilities:

  • Sleipner A - Drilling, processing and living quarters platform
  • Sleipner R - Riser platform for gas export and oil export
  • Sleipner T - Platform for processing and removal of CO2
  • Sleipner B - Unmanned production platform

Sleipner B is unmanned and is periodically operated by operations and maintenance personnel transferred by helicopter from Sleipner A.

Investigation

We take this occurrence seriously, and have decided to launch an investigation. An investigation team of our specialists has started this work.

The main objective of our investigation is to determine the causes of the incident and any lessons to be learned, and share this information with the industry.

In connection with the investigation, we will:

  • set out the chain of events and the scope of the incident
  • assess the actual and potential consequences of the incident
  • assess proximate and underlying causes
  • identify regulatory non-conformities and improvement points
  • assess previous similar events at Sleipner B and other facilities on the Sleipner field
  • assess the company’s own investigation
  • use necessary sanctions to rectify any breaches of the regulations
  • publish the results of the investigation
  • contribute to the transfer of knowledge and lessons learned to other industry participants.

The investigation will be summarised in a report to be published on havtil.no.