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The following is being distributed at the request of the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board: Board announcing two decisions
related to the Terra Nova FPSO
The C-NOPB Chief Conservation
Officer (CCO) announced today that the suspension order put in place because
of the spill from the Terra Nova FPSO has been lifted. The lifting of the
suspension order is subject to the mitigation plan submitted by Petro-Canada
on November 27, 2004 as well as a number of conditions on the lifting of the
suspension put in place by the CCO.
"On the basis of an
extensive examination over the past 10 days, we believe the primary causes
for the spill have been identified and measures have been put in place to
ensure, within the acceptable risk parameters, there will be no
recurrence," stated CCO Wayne Chipman.
"From an environmental
perspective, there is no longer a compelling reason to continue with the
production suspension as long as each corrective action identified by Petro-Canada
in their investigation report to us is completed by the target date and
Petro-Canada complies fully with the conditions that I have outlined."
The decision to issue a
suspension order and the decision to lift the order is based on the
authority of the Chief Conservation Officer. It cannot be over-ruled by the
board.
The CCO recognizes there is
ongoing interest for additional information surrounding the lifting of the
suspension and the board�s perspective on the factors surrounding the
spill, but because of the ongoing investigation, no further information
about the suspension, the mitigating measures or the CCO conditions can be
released.
At the same time, the C-NOPB has
given a 60-day extension to the Terra Nova Production Operations
Authorization (POA) with a condition that the FPSO may not resume
hydrocarbon production until certain outstanding maintenance work on safety
systems is complete.
In order for any oil and gas
activity to go ahead in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area,
permission, in the form of authorizations, must be given by the C-NOPB.
"Terra Nova�s POA, which
is essentially the authorization for the FPSO to conduct work, was due to
expire at the end of August 2004. A safety audit by the board in June 2004
indicated there was a maintenance backlog at the FPSO," explained C-NOPB
acting Chair and CEO, Fred Way.
There were discussions with
Petro-Canada on the results of the audit and the importance placed on
clearing the backlog. It became clear the board would not issue a new
three-year POA until this issue had been addressed in a meaningful way.
"At its meeting of August
16, the board decided to not approve Petro-Canada�s application for a
three-year POA but to give a 90-day extension with specific work
requirements. At that time we believed Petro-Canada was trying to address
the issues raised by the audit so we wanted to give them some time � 90
days in fact � to refocus their efforts on addressing the outstanding
maintenance issues."
While significant progress on
the outstanding issues has been made at the end of the 90-day extension, a
number of issues remain incomplete. In September, the board conducted an
additional safety audit. We also requested Lloyds Registry, the FPSO
certifying authority to do a special audit. While both audits raised issues,
the Lloyds audit did confirm the integrity of the facility for safe
operations.
However, as an extra measure of
safety and environmental protection, the board requires that no production
take place until the required maintenance is done.
During this period, Petro-Canada
will be permitted to bring additional people onboard the FPSO to focus on
this issue," Mr. Way said. "In that way, we can be confident that
the FPSO will continue to meet the high standard of safety we have
set."
Petro-Canada has recognized
there are a number of items outstanding and have indicated their commitment
to addressing these maintenance items. C-NOPB safety officers and
conservation officers will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Media contact: Simone Keough,
Manager, Communications, (709) 778-1418 or (709) 687-7429
BACKGROUNDER
In order for any oil and gas
related activity to go ahead in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area,
permission, in the form of authorizations, must be given by the
Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NOPB).
One such authorization is the Production Operations Authorization (the POA) which allows an oerator to conduct production operations in the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area. The POA is an umbrella-type authorization that indicates regulatory compliance. A POA can be issued when a number of prerequisites are met. Specifically, these prerequisites include verification by C-NOPB staff that all items such as the Operating Licence, Production Licence, Canada-Newfoundland Benefits Plan, Certificate of Fitness, Safety Plan, Environmental Protection Plan, Declaration of Fitness, Financial Responsibility Requirements and Resource Conservation issues have all been satisfactorily addressed. In addition, a systematic and comprehensive safety assessment of the proposed program is undertaken by C-NOPB staff, as prescribed by the Atlantic Accord legislation, to confirm that the operator has adequately addressed all identified safety hazards and has in place an adequate safety program to manage all such hazards. Petro-Canada�s production operations authorization for the Terra Nova field was first issued on July 26, 2001 and expired on August 31, 2004. It was extended for 90 days. It has been extended for a further 60 days, however, production operations cannot resume until the board is satisfied that outstanding maintenance items surrounding a number of safety systems have been addressed.
2004 12 01 2:35 p.m. |
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