December 1, 1997
(Mines and Energy)

The following statement was issued today by Charles J. Furey, Minister of Mines and Energy. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

At approximately 1:50 p.m. yesterday afternoon gas detector equipment near the base of the utility shaft on the Hibernia platform detected a small quantity of gas and a General Platform Alarm sounded.

In response to the alarm, personnel on the Hibernia platform immediately enacted the approved Emergency Response Plan which is part of Hibernia's overall Operational Plan. Within 25 minutes of the alarm sounding, all personnel were moved to a muster or safe area of the platform. At around 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon, Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC) began a precautionary transfer via helicopter of non-essential personnel to the Bill Shoemaker drilling rig, located 40 kilometres southeast of Hibernia. In total, 93 personnel were transferred from the Hibernia Platform before the precautionary down manning was halted at approximately 7:30 p.m. yesterday evening.

The successful management of this situation can be attributed to the comprehensive program of drills and exercises which all HMDC employees participate in on an ongoing basis in order to ensure high levels of competency of all possible emergency situations on the platform.

To date, HMDC has conducted numerous exercises to test the adequacy of their Emergency Response Plan and will continue to do so in order to maintain a high level of competency.

I would like to add that, while the safety of personnel on the Hibernia Platform was at all times HMDC's foremost concern, it is important to point out that during this situation personnel family members were kept informed of the situation.

The gas leak has been stopped and ventilation fans were used to extract the gas from the utility shaft. Officials from my department and the Department of Environment and Labour have been in contact with HMDC and the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NOPB). The Hibernia Operational Plan, approved by the C-NOPB and in effect on the platform, contains safety and environmental management systems designed to mitigate, measure and control hazards. The C-NOPB, which regulates operations offshore on behalf of the federal and provincial governments, continues to be in close contact with HMDC on this matter to ensure that the cause of the problem is understood and that appropriate corrective measures are taken. Officials from the C-NOPB and Mr. Harvey Smith, President of HMDC assure me that this will be the case.