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

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

French Oil Major Acquires Interests in Multiple Blocks in Southeast Asia

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Testing Capabilities in Indonesia

Azeri SOCAR Plans New Agreements with Oil and Gas Majors

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Borr Drilling Bags Three New Assignments for its Jack-Up Drilling Rigs

Current News

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Petrovietnam, Partners Sign PSC for Block Off Vietnam

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

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