Incident Disclosure 2011

Loss of Containment on the GSF Grand Banks

April 11, 2011

The C-NLOPB is responding to a report from Husky Energy of a release of approximately 4000 litres of synthetic-based mud (SBM) onto the deck of the GSF Grand Banks on April 8. Operations were suspended when the incident occurred and clean-up response was initiated. It currently appears that little, if any, mud was spilled to sea. The Stand-by Vessel conducted a survey of the area around the rig during daylight hours and observed no sheen or discoloration on the surface. The C-NLOPB is following-up with the Operator.

SBM is a heavy, dense fluid used during drilling operations to lubricate the drill pipe and balance reservoir pressure. Because of its weight, the mud sinks rapidly in the water column and rests on the sea floor. The synthetic-based oil used in SBM is a food-grade oil of low toxicity. Because of this, effects of SBM spills typically are limited to within tens of meters of a well site and are associated with physical smothering due to seabed coverage by the mud.


Incident Disclosures 2011

DateUpdate
Dec 16, 2011Contact Between the Maersk Detector and GSF Grand Banks
Nov 25, 2011Contact Between the Maersk Detector and GSF Grand Banks
Nov 22, 2011Hydraulic leak identified on Cougar helicopter – Update
Nov 21, 2011Hydraulic leak identified on Cougar helicopter
Nov 21, 2011Choke and Kill Lines Impairment – GSF Grand Banks
Oct 13, 2011C-NLOPB Responding to SBM Spill from GSF Grand Banks
Oct 6, 2011Grand Banks Operators Managing Satellite Communications Problem
Sep 20, 2011C-NLOPB Responding to SBM Spill by Husky Energy
Aug 30, 2011Scheduled Flight Turnaround
Aug 26, 2011SeaRose Power Outage
Aug 26, 2011Hibernia Lifeboat Impairment (Update)
Aug 25, 2011Hibernia Lifeboat Impairment
Aug 11, 2011Cougar Flight 851 Departure from Normal Flight Regime (Update)
Jul 23, 2011Cougar Flight 851 Departure from Normal Flight Regime
Jul 17, 2011Scheduled Flight Turnaround Incident
Jun 6, 2011Lifting system failure on GSF Grand Banks
Apr 27, 2011Small Fire in the Electrical Switch Room on the Henry Goodrich
Apr 14, 2011Scheduled Flight Turnaround Incident April 14, 2011
Apr 11, 2011Loss of Containment on the GSF Grand Banks
Apr 1, 2011Minor Incident with Flight 521 April 1, 2011
Mar 28, 2011C-NLOPB responding to SBM Spill from the Henry Goodrich