The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NOPB) has begun an investigation into a spill from the Terra Nova FPSO reported to the Board at 4:30 p.m. today, December 20, 2004. Petro-Canada, the operator of the FPSO, estimates the spill to be approximately 300 litres (2 barrels) of crude oil. The Terra Nova FPSO is located 350 kilometers east southeast of St. John’s in the Newfoundland & Labrador offshore area.
The Board has been advised by Petro-Canada that the oil likely came from the produced water treatment system. Petro-Canada has shut-in the produced water treatment system and production is limited to wells that do not produce water. The produced water treatment system cannot be restarted without the prior approval of the C-NOPB Chief Conservation Officer.
On-water oil recovery efforts are not possible at this point because of weather conditions at site. A storm warning has been issued for the Grand Banks area with winds averaging over 40 knots and seas expected to reach 6 meters by mid-morning.
At this time, it is not known if today’s spill is associated in any way with the larger spill from the FPSO that occurred on November 21, 2004. The investigation into that incident is still active.
Media Contact:
Simone Keough APR
Manager, Communications
(709) 778-1418
(709) 687-7429 (cell)