Havtil investigates oil spill at Njord A

The spill from Njord A occurred via the produced water system on the facility, resulting in approximately 75 cubic meters (m³) of oil being released into the sea.

The operator for the Njord field is Equinor.

Subsequently, the oil spill reached the shore, and an oil spill response action has been initiated along parts of the Norwegian coast, from Frøya in Møre og Romsdal and northwards.

Havtil does not have a direct role in oil spill response. Our regulatory responsibility covers petroleum activities, and our role is to regulate and follow up that operating companies conduct their activities in a manner that prevents spills.

Investigation

We consider the incident at Njord A to be serious and have now initiated our own investigation.

We will, as part of the investigation:

• set out the chain of events and the scope of the incident
• assess direct and underlying causes
• identify regulatory non-conformities and improvement points
• assess the operator's own investigation
• use necessary sanctions to correct any regulatory breaches
• present the investigation results to the public
• contribute to the transfer of knowledge and lessons learned to other actors in the petroleum industry.

The investigation will be summarised in a report to be published on havtil.no.