Investigation launched after worker suffers injuries on rig off Canada

An investigation has been launched after an offshore worker has suffered injuries on a Transocean-owned drilling rig operating for Suncor Energy offshore Canada. 

Canadian regulator, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), reported on Monday it had initiated a formal investigation into an incident reported by Suncor Energy on September 6, 2019.

Earlier that same day, a Transocean employee on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Transocean Barents was injured while preparing the rig for forecasted weather. The worker was caught between a steel adapter weighing 1400kg and a rail during crane operations.

An “all stop” was immediately called and the medic and emergency response team were called to the scene. The injured worker was transferred by medevac to St. John’s on Friday afternoon. The worker is currently in stable condition and remains in hospital under observation. The incident had the potential for fatality, according to the regulator.

The regulator said that operations were suspended on the Transocean Barents following the incident and the area secured. Drilling operations remain suspended and will not resume until Suncor has received approval from the C-NLOPB to do so.

This is not the first time for Suncor and Transocean Barents to be put under investigation. Namely, the Canadian regulator in May 2018 started an investigation following a synthetic-based mud spill from the Transocean Barents rig.

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