NZOG operators fined for spill

Field operators and contractors for the Tui oilfield face total fines of $105,000 relating to a systems failure that resulted in a three minute oil discharge into the sea in October 2007.

The spill happened on the Umuroa, a floating oil production and storage offtake vessel operated by the Tui joint venture, when a staff member was distracted from manually monitoring a process normally governed by an automatic shut-off system, which had earlier failed.

Tar balls washed up along a 13 kilometre stretch of the Taranaki coast three days after the spill, and the Tui partners contributed substantially to clean-up costs.

AWE, as field operator, and Prosafe Production, as owner/operator of the Umuroa, were fined $52,500 each in the District Court, Tui partner New Zealand Oil and Gas informed the NZX today.

Participants in the Tui field are NZOG (12.5%), AWE (42.5%), Mitsui E&P Australia Pty (35%), and Pan Pacific Petroleum NL (10%).

Businesswire.co.nz

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