The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has released the final Enquiry Report into the March 29, 2017 Ice Incursion Incident of Husky Energy’s SeaRose Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The Board’s expectation is that all Operators reduce risks to levels that are as low as reasonably practicable and place the highest priority on worker safety and environmental protection. The C-NLOPB is satisfied that all findings from the Enquiry have been addressed, and are confident that safety and environmental protection will remain at the forefront of Husky’s operations going forward.

The Board’s Enquiry was thorough and detailed and conducted as per the Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts. Interim measures by the Board following the incident and subsequent to the preliminary Enquiry Report were undertaken to ensure the safety of offshore workers and the protection of the environment.

Along with the public issuance of a C-NLOPB Incident Bulletin on March 30, 2017, the C-NLOPB’s Chief Safety Officer (CSO) issued a Notice of Non-Compliance to Husky for failing to comply with its Ice Management Plan (IMP) and an Order to Comply on April 7, 2017. Husky submitted its Final Investigation Report into the incident on April 27, 2017. A formal Enquiry was launched by the C-NLOPB on May 9, 2017 and was conducted by C-NLOPB Safety and Environmental Compliance Officers.

Following Board approval of the preliminary Enquiry Report and the suspension of petroleum-related operations conducted by the SeaRose FPSO vessel on January 17, 2018, findings from the preliminary report were shared with Husky, as the Board wanted to ensure concerns with Husky’s management system were addressed prior to the 2018 ice season. Once the CSO and Chief Conservation Officer (CCO) were satisfied that Husky had addressed the preliminary findings, the suspension was withdrawn on January 26, 2018.

The findings and contributing factors of the final Enquiry Report released today are the same as those in the C-NLOPB’s preliminary report:

Summary of Findings

• Husky did not follow its IMP, of particular note, failing to disconnect when required;
• Husky senior management did not ensure the IMP was followed, as evidenced by their failure to support the Offshore Installation Manager’s (OIM) desired course of action to disconnect; and
• the OIM failed to disconnect in accordance with the IMP.

Contributing Factors

• Husky’s IMP was not fully incorporated into their emergency response process;
• there was no record that the SeaRose OIM or the onshore personnel recognized when the iceberg entered the zones in order to employ the actions as required in the IMP;
• the IMP did not clearly define threatening ice or when it was reasonable to conduct a tow;
• the situational awareness of the SeaRose’s OIM included inaccurate information regarding the iceberg’s position as well as its tow status; and
• the onshore support teams stood up to support the OIM but contributed to miscommunication and confusion during the incident.

All Contributing Factors identified to Husky in the preliminary Enquiry Report were addressed to the satisfaction of the CSO and CCO, enabling the withdrawal of Husky’s suspension.

Responsive Actions

Actions taken by Husky in response to the Principal Findings of both reports included:

• a comprehensive review of Husky’s ice management and emergency response plans with improvements made and implemented;
• the completion of an emergency response drill, observed by the C-NLOPB, industry partners and the offshore facility’s Certifying Authority;
• significant organizational changes including the appointment of Trevor Pritchard as Senior Vice President, Atlantic Region;
• changes communicated to onshore and offshore employees with an emphasis on the importance of following procedure;
• numerous presentations made to partners and internal Husky staff, regarding lessons learned;
• a presentation at the C-NLOPB’s Spring Safety Forum, outlining the incident and lessons learned;
• two independent third party reviews, at both the local and corporate levels of the Husky organization; and
• plans by Husky to discuss their 2018 ice management initiatives at the upcoming Norwegian Energy Partners Harsh and Cold Climate Solutions Seminar in October, so the improvements from past ice seasons can be shared more broadly.

In addition to its Notice of Non-Compliance, Order to Comply, Enquiry and the January 2018 suspension of petroleum-related activities onboard the SeaRose FPSO, actions taken by the C-NLOPB included:

• shortly after the suspension was withdrawn, the C-NLOPB released its Policy Respecting Public Disclosure of Incidents and Related Information. Due to feedback received during the suspension of the SeaRose’s petroleum-related operations, Board staff added Section 5.4 to ensure that Notices of Non-Compliance and/or Orders to Comply will be posted publicly; and
• Scott Tessier, Chair and CEO of the C-NLOPB, also presented to the International Regulators Forum (IRF) during its Annual General Meeting in June 2018, where he shared the C-NLOPB’s regulatory oversight during the incident, subsequent Enquiry and lessons learned by both Husky and the C-NLOPB. The IRF is a group of regulators from 10 countries, who focus on the health and safety of their offshore upstream oil and gas industries.

Production During a Controlled Shutdown

As part of the January 2018 suspension of petroleum-related activities onboard the SeaRose FPSO, a controlled shutdown of production was undertaken. In the interest of transparency and the public interest, Husky’s daily production and certified monthly production numbers from the date Husky was ordered to suspend the SeaRose‘s petroleum-related operations (January 17, 2018) until three days after the suspension was lifted (January 29, 2018) are now available at the above link. This table shows production gradually decreasing and coming to a full-stop in accordance with Husky’s suspension plan, approved by the Board. Once the C-NLOPB was satisfied with Husky’s response to the preliminary findings, production resumed as of January 29, 2018.

Proper regulatory oversight of production activities requires the daily monitoring of computer generated metering systems that measure well information, and allows the Operator and C-NLOPB the ability to effectively manage the resource. Each well is required under regulation to be tested and certified monthly for each Field. Monthly certified production reports are available on the Board’s website.

Media Contact:

Lesley Rideout
C-NLOPB Communications Officer
(709) 778-4224
(709) 725-2900 (cell)
lrideout@cnlopb.ca

News Releases 2018