Fatality on COSL Rig Confirmed
By Joseph R. Fonseca
Friday, January 01, 2016
Statoil and COSL have confirmed report from the police sources that one person has died as a result of the breaking wave that hit the drilling rig COSL Innovator today.
Two other people were injured and are receiving medical treatment ashore. The rig is now heading to shore under its own power, while evacuation takes place.
COSL and Statoil were notified at 5 pm on Wednesday 30 December that three people had been injured when a breaking wave hit COSL Innovator. Statoil and COSL have mobilized their emergency response organizations.
COSL Innovator is under contract to Statoil at the Troll field in the North Sea, west of Bergen. The rig had been taken off the well as a result of the bad weather before the incident occurred. The breaking wave also caused some damage to the rig's accommodation module.
The injured persons have been flown to shore by Sea King helicopter from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and by one of Statoil’s own rescue helicopters.
Statoil is assisting COSL with evacuation of the rig down to the safety crew. Evacuees are being flown ashore.
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One worker was killed and two others were injured after a large wave hit a semi-submersible rig owned by China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL) and operated by Statoil in the North Sea.
"It is with great sadness that Statoil and COSL have received confirmed information from the police that one person has died as a result of the breaking wave that hit the drilling rig COSL Innovator," Statoil said in a statement.
Statoil had originally reported three injuries, but issued a second release within a couple of hours updating the condition of one of the victims.
Two other people are receiving medical treatment ashore, Statoil said.
"The rig is now heading to shore under its own power, while evacuation takes place."
Reports said close to 50 of the 106 people on board had so far been evacuated from the rig.
The incident occurred in the Troll field west of Bergen on Wednesday at 5:00 pm local time when a heavy wave hit the rig. The rig had been taken off the well due to "heavy weather".
The wave also caused damage to the rig's accommodation module. The severity of the damage was unknown, nor was the extent of the worker injuries. Production at Troll was not affected.
Evacuees are being flown ashore by Sea King helicopter from the Norwegian Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
Emergency response organisations from both COSL and Statoil have been mobilised.
Statoil recently won approval from Norwegian regulators to use COSL Innovator for ongoing drilling, completion, intervention, workover and well plugging work at the Troll field.
It has the rig under contract until the second quarter of 2020.
The incident was the first fatal accident off Norway since a subcontractor working on the StatoilHydro-operated Oseberg B platform in the North Sea fell from scaffolding in 2009.