Statoil Reports More Corrosion at North Sea Platform

A Statoil platform on one of Norway's largest-producing gas fields remains closed as tests revealed further gas tank corrosion. 

It will be "a few days" before the Norwegian oil major is even able to give an estimate as to how long production will remain shut in at the Troll C facility following the earlier corrosion was found.

Statoil revealed on Thursday that it had halted production at the semi-submersible platform after a scheduled inspection unearthed corrosion in the glycol system, an auxiliary system for treating gas. The company then began tests on a similar tank in a parallel gas treatment system.

A Friday statement said: "Statoil has now inspected the other tank in a parallel gas treatment system on the platform, and corrosion has been found there as well.

"Work is now being done to qualify the repair method and scope of work on the tanks. In a few days we will be able to give more information about the expected duration of the production stop."

Statoil said such corrosion under insulation "is a well-known problem which is handled in scheduled inspection programmes".

On Thursday, the company announced an expert team had been called in to determine the extent of the problem and decide on appropriate action.

North Sea-situated Troll C has daily production of around 120,000 barrels of oil and 10.5 million cubic metres of gas, of which the Fram licence owns 50,000 barrels and 2 million cbm of gas.