PSA to investigate fatal rig accident as soon as weather allows

Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has begun an investigation of an incident on the Maersk Interceptor rig where one person died and another suffered serious injuries.

Offshore Energy Today reported on Thursday that two offshore workers were injured in an incident on the Maersk Interceptor working on the Aker BP-operated Tambar field offshore Norway.

According to Aker BP, one of the workers fell into the sea. On Friday, the company confirmed that one person passed away following the accident.

The deceased, a Norwegian citizen and employee of Maersk Drilling, fell into the sea during maintenance work on the rig. The person was picked up from the water by a standby vessel and transported by helicopter to the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen.

The other worker, also an employee of Maersk Drilling, was injured during the incident but not critical. The person was transported to Stavanger University Hospital, and is in stable condition.

PSA said on Friday that the investigation by the safety body would include clarifying the course of events and identifying the direct and indirect causes of the incident to contribute to learning and experience transfer.

When asked if the PSA inspectors were already aboard the Maersk Interceptor, a Petroleum Safety Authority spokesperson told Offshore Energy Today that they would board the rig “as soon as the weather allows it.”

“We are doing everything we can to help both family and crew as much as we can in this difficult time,” Maersk Drilling CEO

According to a weather forecast by Yr.no, the weather at the Tambar field is rainy with northwest gale winds at speeds of 18 m/s (64.8 km/h).

During a press conference on Friday Maersk Drilling CEO Jorn Madsen extended condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues who knew the deceased worker.

“It is of great importance to Maersk Drilling to get to the root cause of the incident. The authorities will be travelling to the rig along with representatives of both Aker BP and Maersk Drilling as soon as weather conditions allow. Maersk Drilling and Aker BP will do everything they can to assist both the authorities and the internal audit,” Madsen said.

Tambar

The Tambar installation is located 16 kilometers southeast of Ula in 68 meters water depth. It is a normally unmanned wellhead platform (NUI), remotely controlled from Ula. The Ula field center serves as an area hub for the satellite field Tambar, and as a third-party host for the Oselvar and Blane fields.

Aker BP is currently working on a redevelopment project on the Tambar field which consists of two additional wells and gas lift. This is expected to extend the production period from the field by about ten years. The gas lift is being installed because the reservoir pressure at Tambar is no longer sufficient to ensure satisfactory production.

As for the Maersk rig, it was hired to drill and complete two new wells on the field, designated 1/3-K-4 and 1/3-K-2.