One person has died following the helicopter crash outside Bergen in Norway on the night of Wednesday 28th February. The helicopter was on a training assignment for Equinor ’s SAR service for the Oseberg area in the North Sea.
Search and rescue service is critical to offshore safety, and North Sea operators have excellent SAR capabilities. Sadly, one person died and five were injured (two seriously) when a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, owned by Bristow and under contract to Equinor, crashed offshore Bergen last night. The crew was training to serve offshore workers in need.
The National Academies have released Oil in the Sea IV, which updates estimates of oil entering North American seas. This is the third update since the publication of Oil in the Sea in 1985.
The updated inputs and seeps summary tables are pasted below. Some comments:
The Oil in the Sea reports are important in that they provide perspective on natural inputs and those associated with man’s activities. The estimates generate informed discussion about the relative significance of the various inputs.
The estimate for land-based sources, which far outweigh all other sources, increased dramatically from the previous report.
The oil seepage estimate was reduced by 37.5%, owing to methodology.
The difference between the itemized seepage total in Table 3.2 (109,000 mta) and the seepage total in Table 3.1 (100,000 mta) is not explained.
The estimate for platform spills (excluding Macondo and the MC-20 seepage) was significantly and inexplicably increased from the previous report, and is well above what BSEE data indicate for that period. No data or justification are provided.
The statement (p. 58) that “spills occurred more frequently in offshore waters than nearshore waters” is puzzling and unsubstantiated.
The vessel was conducting research for a proposed offshore wind project. The Coast Guard rescued the 2 crew members, one of whom tragically died. Why has the Coast Guard still not issued an investigation report more than 13 years after the incident? An inquiry was sent to the Coast Guard but no response has been received.
There are serious questions regarding the positioning of a liftboat in the Mid-Atlantic for several months beginning in March when major storms are likely. There are also important questions about the liftboat’s failure mechanisms, the operator’s authority to be conducting this research, and the actions that were taken in preparation for storm conditions.
One worker died and another was seriously endangered. 13 years after the incident, we are still wondering what happened and why.
Per the latest update from the Unified Command, a total of only 75 barrels of oil have been recovered (up from 29 bbls reported on Sunday). The 75 bbls no doubt includes some water. It’s unclear as to why so little oil has been recovered (unfavorable offshore conditions? response focused on the shoreline?). Perhaps the volume of oil spilled was less than the 3000 barrel estimate. A few hundred barrels of oil can generate a very large slick.
The Orange County District attorney seems unhappy with the possibility that (1) the pipeline was struck by an anchor and (2) the leak was in Federal waters:
The Orange County district attorney, Todd Spitzer, said he has investigators looking into whether he can bring state charges for the spill. Spitzer said his jurisdiction ends 3 miles offshore.
Spitzer also said Amplify’s divers should not be allowed near the pipeline without an independent authority alongside them.
The DA’s insistence that independent divers accompany the company’s divers may be a first in the history of the US offshore program. Isn’t video documentation sufficient? Diving is not risk free.
This comment by the late John Borne, an outstanding USGS and MMS engineer/philosopher, reflects on the persistent vessel allision incidents over the years. The reporting of these incidents was spotty, but some could not be denied. Pictured below is the State Command arriving in Morgan City (~1973?) topped by a platform deck. Fortunately, the platform was unmanned and there were no injuries to vessel personnel. You could say this was the first floating production platform 😃
The troubled past of Platforms Hogan and Houchin extends into California State waters. In the 1990’s, Signal Hill and affiliates launched plans to drill directionally from Hogan into adjacent State leases 4000, 7911, and 3133 (see map above). These plans were dubious from the outset given MMS (Federal regulator) concerns about Hogan’s structural integrity. The planning process was never successfully concluded and the 3 State leases were terminated in 2019. For full details see this California State Lands Commission report:
In a related action, the State is suing Signal Hill for unpaid rentals on the pipeline lease that carried production from Hogan to shore. The amount due is approximately $287,000.
In light of the projected storm track for Ida, forecasting uncertainty, and the need to err on the side of caution in making evacuation and shut-in decisions, particularly for deepwater facilities, look for at least 75% of Gulf of Mexico oil production (approximately 1.3 million BOPD) to be shut-in temporarily.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 