BREAKING: Tanker, Frigate Collision Shuts Down Norwegian Oil, Gas to Europe

By William Stoichevski
Thursday, November 8, 2018

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.

The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital, Haukland, but the tanker Sola’s 23 crew were all evacuated safely.

Spilling from the frigate is a slick of what is reportedly light oil and helicopter fuel, although Norwegian NRK reports there’s no immediate threat to the environment after oil barriers were put in place on Thursday morning. The coastal water where the stricken vessel lies is normally prone to heavy seas, but unseasonably calm conditions prevail.

“The frigate lost steering control and drove onto land with 137 people onboard,” Eirik Valle of the Norwegian Coastguard told NRK. The frigate could still capsize, the report said.

The Sture Oil Terminal processes about 500,000 barrels a day of North Sea oil, including oil from the Ivar Åssen, Grane and Edvard Grieg fields. The terminal, however, is linked by pipeline to the Kollsnes Gas Terminal, a major processor of North Sea and Norwegian Sea gas destined for receiving terminals in Germany and Belgium.

Heavy shipping traffic is the norm at Sture, where a quarter of all oil produced in oil-rich Norway is processed. The police, which investigate marine accidents in Norway, have cordoned off the area around the stricken frigate for fear of explosions.

Kollsnes, just west of coastal city Bergen, is also being shut down. Its plant processes gas from the Troll, Kvitebjoern, Visund and Fram fields, together about 135 million standard cubic metres of natural gas per day.

The Norwegian government shares ownership of the Sture terminal with some of the country’s largest oil producers, including Equinor.

Categories: Casualties Navy Oil Energy Ports Tankers Europe

Related Stories

Aker Solutions, PTAS JV Hooks Brownfield Services Extension off Brunei

CDWE Wraps Up Pin Pile Installation Job for Taiwanese Offshore Wind Farm

BW Opal FPSO Vessel set for Work off Australia

Keyfield Ventures into Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Market with New Partner

Velesto’s Jack-Up Rig Set for Drilling Job off Indonesia

Petronas, Inpex Secure Oil and Gas Exploration Rights off Indonesia

Mubadala Energy Open to Sell Andaman Gas for Domestic Use

ABS Greenlights SHI’s Multi-Purpose Deepwater LNG Floating Unit

Turkey Discovers New Black Sea Gas Reserve

Shell Predicts 60% Rise in LNG Demand by 2040 with Asia Leading the Way

Current News

MODEC, Carbon Clean to Advance FPSO-Mounted Carbon Capture Tech

Aker Solutions, PTAS JV Hooks Brownfield Services Extension off Brunei

CDWE Wraps Up Pin Pile Installation Job for Taiwanese Offshore Wind Farm

BP Expands Oil and Gas Scope in Azerbaijan with New Projects and Exploration Rights

Azeri SOCAR Plans New Agreements with Oil and Gas Majors

TPAO, SOCAR and BP to Ink Caspian Sea Oil and Gas Production Deal

Fugro Lands Deepwater Gas Field Job in Southeast Asia

OMV Exits Ghasha Gas Project off UAE with Lukoil Stake Sale

China's Sinopec Laucnhes $690M Hydrogen Venture Capital Funds

CIP, ACEN Partner Up for First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Philippines

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com