Incident Disclosure 2019

Hibernia Oil Spill

July 18, 2019

Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC) notified the C-NLOPB yesterday, July 17, 2019 of an oil slick observed on the water near the Hibernia platform, located 315 kilometres (kms) from St. John’s, NL. All workers are safe and HMDC has undertaken a controlled shut-in of production operations. To date, no affected marine life or seabirds have been seen by government or industry observers in the vicinity of the spill and its trajectory.

The C-NLOPB has been in continuous contact with HMDC as well as partnering government agencies, including the National Environmental Emergencies Centre of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) in monitoring the operator’s response and the deployment of resources related to oil recovery. The C-NLOPB is the lead regulatory authority as per the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts. The response to the incident is the responsibility of HMDC.

The initial slick size was estimated by HMDC to be 900m x 20m. Below is a picture of an observed slick taken by a CCG observer on the overflight yesterday afternoon, July 17, 2019. The slick in the image below was estimated to be approximately 4.6 kms at its widest part. Based on visual observations from the overflight of the area conducted yesterday, the preliminary estimate of the amount of oil expressed on the water could be in the order of 12,000 L. Satellite imagery taken as of approximately 9 a.m. NST today, July 18, 2019 shows two slicks:  the first being 1.71 km2 and 3.27 km in length and the second being 6.64 km2 and 3.78 km in length. A second surveillance flight was deployed this afternoon. HMDC and the C-NLOPB are awaiting results from this and other sources of information to verify the estimated size of the release.

HMDC is investigating the cause of the spill, which along with the confirmed amount, will be communicated publicly. The C-NLOPB will determine its next steps as more information becomes available. The safety of workers and environmental protection continue to be our priorities.

For additional updates, please follow the C-NLOPB on Twitter: @CNLOPB.

Media Contact:

HMDC
Lynn Evans
Lynn.evans@exxonmobil.com
(709) 273-1583

C-NLOPB
Lesley Rideout
lrideout@cnlopb.ca
(709) 778-4224

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

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