Fire erupted on Statoil’s jackup rig Statfjord A on the Statfjord offshore oil field in North sea. The fire started in loading pump in the utility shaft, which activated the automatic deluge system. The accident was reported to the local authorities and 20 from the crew were evacuated to nearby platform Statfjord B by SAR helicopter. The production on board of the burning platform was stopped due to safety reasons and the firefighting was started. At the scene of the accident were mobilized Statoil’s emergency response teams from Sandsli and Stavanger. According to the officials, the fire was put under control with no smoke and flames visible, but currently platform is under inspection. It is not yet clear when the production will be restarted.

“We are now working to confirm that the fire is abated”, said the spokesman of Statoil, Anders Skauby. “Production will continue to be shut down and we don’t know how long it will take to restart production”, added he.

According to the investigation by Statoil, the fire on board of Statfjord A started in a loading pump in the utility shaft and was restricted to one area that is separated by fire barriers. Its spreading was stopped and firefighters succeeded to extinguish the flames by CO2 firefighting equipment.

Statfjord A production platform has a concrete substructure and storage cells. It is located in the Norwegian part of the Statfjord field, located in blocks 33/9 and 33/12 in license 037 and contains both oil and gas.