MEDIA / Hibernia Evacuated As Precaution
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - Everything was back to normal on the Hibernia production platform Monday, after the discovery of a gas leak Sunday forced the evacuation of all non-essential personnel.
More than 100 crewmembers were ferried by helicopter to an oil rig about 40 kilometres from Hibernia when a gas leak was discovered in a shaft.
Two helicopters transferred 107 crew members to the floating oil rig, Bill Shoemaker. All workers were moved to a fireproof module, located on the opposite side of the platform, in the event that the gas ignited.
Most the crew had been brought back to the platform by early Monday, with the rest to return throughout the day.
Hibernia officials said the transfer was only precautionary. Paul Durdle, a spokesman for the company, said specialist personnel stayed aboard to assess the leak and try to stop it.
Alan Brown, Hibernia's general production manager, said the gas leak was caused by the transportation of crude oil between "cells" of the rig.
He said it was not flammable, and the platform was not in production at the time.
The leak was found on the second level of the utility shaft, one of the four giant, hollow legs that join the production platform to the base of the structure which is stationed 315 kilometres off the east coast of Newfoundland.
Brown said the gas is associated with the oil as it comes out of the ground and is very similar to natural gas.
"What we were able to determine very clearly is that the gas levels had stabilized," Brown said. "(Personnel) were able to very quickly lower these gas levels by starting up our ventilation equipment."
The concentration of gas was never high enough to represent an ignition danger, he said.
Officials said all of the 274 people on board the rig were accounted for and safe. |
