UK oil and gasoline regulator the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) introduced in an announcement posted on its web site this week that Chrysaor has been fined GBP 150,000 ($200,591) for “vent breaches”.
The NSTA famous in its assertion that the corporate exceeded its consent by greater than 145 tons and that breaches occurred the Armada hub within the central North Sea. The NSTA added within the assertion that Chrysaor “didn’t establish after which inform the NSTA of the breach for seven months, regardless of the regulator’s repeated messaging to business that manufacturing must turn into more and more clear”.
In its assertion, the NSTA highlighted that Chrysaor, which it identified was acquired by Harbour Power in 2021, blamed the breach on excessive winds stopping it from relighting the flare on the Armada platform. The Armada processing hub serves Hawkins, Fleming, Drake, Maria, and Seymour fields and has a capability of greater than 20,000 barrels per day, the NSTA famous.
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“In January 2022 an unplanned shut-in led to 1 vent occasion,” the NSTA stated within the assertion.
“This was adopted in August the identical yr when there was an extra occasion after a start-up from a shutdown; in October excessive winds brought about the flare to extinguish with the operator being unable to relight the flare for 3 days,” it added.
“And in November, the flare was extinguished as a result of a depressurization and there was a delay in relighting as a result of climate circumstances. This venting continued for 3 days,” it continued.
“In complete, Chrysaor vented 370.046 tons at Armada from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022, exceeding its consent by 145.566 tons, nearly 65 p.c. Venting consent was breached in October 2022 and Chrysaor failed to tell the NSTA till Might 2023, which indicated that it was unaware of the quantity that it had vented,” it went on to state.
The NSTA stated in its assertion that it has “repeatedly warned licensees that complying with regulatory obligations is vitally vital – each to assembly the goal of web zero by 2050 and retaining public confidence within the business”.
“Security is at all times the primary precedence. It’s important that when a state of affairs is made secure, operators should return to regulatory compliance on the earliest alternative and may interact with the NSTA to hunt the related approvals and consents,” the NSTA added.
In its assertion, the NSTA highlighted that the latest Emissions Monitoring Report famous a 28 p.c discount in manufacturing emissions between 2018-2023.
The NSTA additionally identified that it has “signaled its willpower to crack down even tougher when there are breaches within the OGA Plan, which emphasised that operators ought to take motion and price range to cut back flaring and venting, and in an Open Letter to business revealed in December 2024 which made clear that the beginning quantity to think about the fantastic for breaches of flaring and venting consents occurring after 1 January 2025 can be GBP 500,000 ($668,670)”.
The GBP 500,000 start line didn’t take impact on this case because the investigation was began earlier than the Open Letter was revealed, the NSTA famous in its assertion.
“In figuring out the dimensions of this fantastic, the NSTA took into consideration that Chrysaor was unaware that it had exceeded for roughly seven months; indicating that it was not monitoring its venting, and had poor methods and processes in place to watch its venting volumes,” the NSTA stated.
“Nevertheless, the truth that Chrysaor did deliver the breach to the NSTA’s consideration, totally co-operated with the investigation, had no earlier sanctions and has taken steps to forestall future vent consent exceedances have been among the many mitigating elements thought-about,” it added.
Within the NSTA assertion, Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation, stated, “decreasing the emission of dangerous greenhouse gases is significant, and the NSTA will proceed to assist business in its efforts to achieve web zero by 2050”.
“Within the few instances the place corporations fail to adjust to necessities, the NSTA won’t hesitate in making use of robust sanctions,” de Lozey added.
Rigzone contacted Harbour Power for touch upon the NSTA’s assertion. In response, a Harbour Power spokesperson advised Rigzone, “we acknowledge the choice of the North Sea Transition Authority in relation to Armada platform venting in 2022”.
“As an operator, we acknowledge the significance of sustaining the very best requirements of emissions compliance. The regulator has confirmed that the incident was self-reported to the NSTA as soon as recognized, and we totally cooperated throughout its overview,” the spokesperson added.
“Following this incident, we carried out a radical overview and took steps to make sure all our operated belongings proceed to function safely and in full compliance with regulatory necessities,” the spokesperson went on to state.
On March 31, 2021, Premier Oil plc introduced that the all share merger between Premier and Chrysaor Holdings Restricted was accomplished. On that very same day, Premier introduced that it had modified its title from Premier Oil plc to Harbour Power plc.
In accordance with its web site, the NSTA licenses, regulates, and influences the UK oil and gasoline, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage industries.
“We assist UK power safety, drive emissions discount from UK provides, and assist speed up the transition to web zero to appreciate the potential of the North Sea as an built-in power basin,” the NSTA web site states.
To contact the creator, electronic mail andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
