Incident Disclosure 2019

Approval of plans to resume operations at Hibernia and update on follow up to recent offshore incidents

September 26, 2019

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has approved Hibernia Management and Development Company’s (HMDC’s) plan to resume drilling and production at the Hibernia platform, subject to conditions, following the suspension of operations after a second spill on August 17, 2019.

Since the August spill, the C-NLOPB has had extensive engagement with HMDC. A comprehensive investigation report by HMDC identifying root cause and causal factors of the spill has been accepted by the C-NLOPB and includes a suite of corrective actions. The spill was determined to have been triggered by a power outage due to a faulty fuel valve actuator on Main Power Generator B, while Main Power Generator A was offline for maintenance. The power outage resulted in a loss of instrument air pressure which led to a subsequent activation of the firefighting water deluge system. The high water rate from the deluge system flooded the hazardous drains system and tank (HODT) resulting in overflow and discharge of hydrocarbons contained in the HODT to the sea.

The conditions that are prerequisites to resumption of operations encompass required corrective actions that include procedural changes, training, Certifying Authority review and a Pre-start-up Management System Review. In addition, the C-NLOPB required that the Certifying Authority conduct a detailed review of their Certificate of Fitness activities for the Hibernia platform, including a review of the status of the maintenance system for open corrective maintenance, maintenance and inspections as well as Certifying Authority observations.

The C-NLOPB has completed an extensive review of HMDC’s management system, plans for the HMDC Pre-start-up Management System Review and associated risk assessments. The HMDC Pre-start-up Management System Review includes a detailed restart exercise, a review of the operational status of all systems and equipment, a review of maintenance systems, a review of personnel training and competency, and the submission of a new Declaration of Fitness.

The C-NLOPB is thereby satisfied with HMDC’s plan for restart and will be continuing enhanced oversight meetings with HMDC to monitor progress on corrective actions following from the July 17 and August 17 spill incidents. The investigations into the two recent spills up to this point indicate no connection between the two spills.

“Based on our due diligence and review of HMDC’s people, processes and equipment, I am confident that the restart of Hibernia operations can be done safely and environmentally responsibly,” said Paul Alexander, the C-NLOPB’s Chief Safety Officer.

Investigations

The C-NLOPB continues its formal investigations into the following five incidents:

  • the April 2018 discharge of synthetic-based mud from the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Transocean Barents;
  • the November 2018 spill by Husky Energy at the White Rose Field;
  • the July 2019 spill at the Hibernia platform;
  • the August 2019 spill at the Hibernia platform; and
  • the September 2019 incident on the Transocean Barents, which left one worker injured.

The injured worker has been released from hospital. Operations on the Transocean Barents remain suspended.

Decisions on enforcement actions will only follow the completion of each investigation under the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts. The C-NLOPB will report publicly as each of these investigations is completed.

Regulatory Oversight and Industry Performance

On August 30, senior officials of the C-NLOPB attended a meeting held by Natural Resources Canada and the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources to discuss recent incidents, steps the C-NLOPB has initiated to enhance regulatory oversight, and ways to drive enhanced industry performance through the legislative/regulatory regime. Some of the key actions arising from the meeting include:

  • continued discussions with local operators, to task them with tangible plans to improve performance;
  • conducting a global benchmarking exercise with a view to confirming areas of concern, identifying any new ones, and seeking out best practices;
  • holding a spill prevention and response forum; and
  • holding a climate change-focused roundtable with operators, looking at the changing offshore environment.

Media Contact:

C-NLOPB
Lesley Rideout
Communications Lead
c. 709-725-2900
lrideout@cnlopb.ca


Incident Disclosures 2019

DateUpdate
Dec 30, 2019Injured Worker on Terra Nova FPSO
Nov 25, 2019Helicopter Return to Base
Oct 15, 2019Near Miss on Terra Nova FPSO
Oct 3, 2019C-NLOPB approves resumption of drilling operations on Transocean Barents
Sep 26, 2019Approval of plans to resume operations at Hibernia and update on follow up to recent offshore incidents
Sep 9, 2019Injured Worker on Transocean Barents
Aug 21, 2019C-NLOPB Update on August 17, 2019 Discharge at the Hibernia Platform
Aug 18, 2019August 17, 2019 Discharge at the Hibernia Platform
Aug 16, 2019C-NLOPB approves re-start of production operations from final two drill centres at White Rose field
Aug 15, 2019C-NLOPB approves resumption of production operations at Hibernia Platform
Aug 1, 2019Update – Hibernia Oil Spill
Jul 18, 2019Hibernia Oil Spill
Jul 9, 2019Incident Bulletin – Near Miss with Potential for Fatality on Terra Nova FPSO
Jul 5, 2019Update – Follow-up to November 2018 Oil Spill at White Rose Field
Jun 4, 2019Near Miss on Hibernia Platform
May 24, 2019Flushing – South White Rose Extension Drill Centre
Mar 19, 2019Update on Plugging of Flowline and Recovery of Flowline Connector at the South White Rose Extension Drill Centre
Mar 14, 2019Near Miss Onboard Terra Nova FPSO
Mar 13, 2019Update on Plugging of Flowline and Recovery of Flowline Connector at the South White Rose Extension Drill Centre
Jan 30, 2019C-NLOPB Issues Approvals to Husky Energy
Jan 18, 2019Update – Status of Spill at White Rose Field
Jan 11, 2019Update – Status of Spill at White Rose Field
Jan 7, 2019Update – Status of Spill at White Rose Field