1st LD Writethru: Drilling rig fire in Norwegian Sea under control: Statoil
Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:
There are no longer visible flames or smoke at the site of the fire on board a drilling rig in the Norwegian Sea and the situation is under control, Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil said Tuesday.
The company said earlier that the fire was reported at 5:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in an engine room on board the drilling rig Scarabeo 5, which is located at the Njord field in the Norwegian Sea, and all the 106 personnel on board have been accounted for.
A total of 33 persons have been transported from the rig by helicopter, Statoil said in an updated statement, adding that 14 of them were flown to a nearby installation and 19 others to shore in Kristiansund.
At 6:45 p.m. (1745 GMT), 73 persons remained on board and there are no plans currently to move more people from the rig.
Personnel are no longer mustered at the lifeboat stations, but are able to remain indoors and can return to their cabins.
Work is under way to achieve final clarification and normalization, the company said.
No drilling operations were underway at the time of the incident and there are no other installations on the Njord field at the present time, according to the statement. Endit