This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/world/europe/bp-conocophillips-oil-platforms-north-sea.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Adrift Barge Secured After Evacuation of North Sea Oil Platforms | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — A 360-foot-long barge that was set loose by violent weather in the North Sea was secured on Thursday, after the oil companies BP and ConocoPhillips evacuated hundreds of workers from two oil platforms and temporarily halted production. | LONDON — A 360-foot-long barge that was set loose by violent weather in the North Sea was secured on Thursday, after the oil companies BP and ConocoPhillips evacuated hundreds of workers from two oil platforms and temporarily halted production. |
| The barge drifted past one of the oil installations as it moved toward the Norwegian coast, said Borghild Eldoen, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Stavanger, Norway. “It was a dramatic situation for some hours,” she said. | |
| Georg Eide, the chairman of Eide Marine Services, the Norwegian company that owns the barge, said the vessel was brought under control and was being towed toward Norway. | Georg Eide, the chairman of Eide Marine Services, the Norwegian company that owns the barge, said the vessel was brought under control and was being towed toward Norway. |
| The barge, which is used to transport cargo, was returning to Norway from Tunisia after the completion of a project carried out on behalf of the German Navy when the tow line broke in “extreme weather” in the North Sea on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Eide said in an email. | The barge, which is used to transport cargo, was returning to Norway from Tunisia after the completion of a project carried out on behalf of the German Navy when the tow line broke in “extreme weather” in the North Sea on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Eide said in an email. |
| “The weather was so bad that it was impossible to reconnect it to the emergency tow line,” Mr. Eide said, adding that the company’s emergency response team had been “working through the night to coordinate and source other vessels and resources to help us in retrieving the barge.” | “The weather was so bad that it was impossible to reconnect it to the emergency tow line,” Mr. Eide said, adding that the company’s emergency response team had been “working through the night to coordinate and source other vessels and resources to help us in retrieving the barge.” |
| As a precaution, BP evacuated staff members at its giant Valhall oil field on Wednesday night after learning that the barge was heading toward the complex, said Toby Odone, a spokesman for the company. | As a precaution, BP evacuated staff members at its giant Valhall oil field on Wednesday night after learning that the barge was heading toward the complex, said Toby Odone, a spokesman for the company. |
| About 235 employees were airlifted from the oil field on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, he said. The company said Thursday afternoon that the barge had missed hitting the oil field by less than a mile, and that operations there — gross production is around 50,000 barrels a day — would resume. | |
| ConocoPhillips, which has two oil fields, Eldfisk and Embla, farther away, also halted production and evacuated 145 employees, of whom 95 were taken to shore and the rest to other installations, said Stig S. Kvendseth, a company spokesman. | ConocoPhillips, which has two oil fields, Eldfisk and Embla, farther away, also halted production and evacuated 145 employees, of whom 95 were taken to shore and the rest to other installations, said Stig S. Kvendseth, a company spokesman. |