Equinor has temporarily halted all regular flights on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) following the Feb. 28 death of an employee in a helicopter accident, Equinor said Feb. 29.
The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter owned by Bristow Group was carrying six passengers when it crashed into the sea off the coast of Norway while on a training mission for Equinor’s search and rescue service in the Oseberg area of the North Sea, Reuters reported.
According to Bristow, the search and rescue helicopter’s accident happened about 19:40 CET (12:40 CST) on Feb. 28 about 15 nautical miles west of Bergen, Norway, and all six people onboard, including the two pilots, were recovered and transported to a hospital in Bergen. Bristow said the other five crew members sustained varying levels of injuries.
Bristow said the full resources of its incident response team are being mobilized and that the company is contacting and providing assistance to family members of those onboard and fully cooperating with authorities responding to the incident.
As of this writing, the cause of the accident has not been reported.
Equinor said it was halting its regular NCS flights out of consideration for those affected by the accident and to get an overview of the situation. The company said it aims to return to normal helicopter operations soon and is making the necessary preparations to achieve this safely.
Anders Opedal, Equinor CEO, called the accident deeply tragic.
“We have now received the difficult message that we have lost an accomplished and dear colleague. It is also important for me to emphasize that everyone on board the helicopter was on assignment for Equinor. Our key task now is to help take care of those involved. We express our heartfelt thanks to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and everyone involved in the rescue operation and the ongoing work,” Opedal said in a press release.
Equinor has established a next-of-kin support line on +47 800 500 20 and has, in cooperation with the police, helped established a center for next of kin at the Scandic Kokstad hotel in Bergen.
Recommended Reading
Tech Trends: Halliburton’s Carbon Capturing Cement Solution
2024-02-20 - Halliburton’s new CorrosaLock cement solution provides chemical resistance to CO2 and minimizes the impact of cyclic loading on the cement barrier.
To Dawson: EOG, SM Energy, More Aim to Push Midland Heat Map North
2024-02-22 - SM Energy joined Birch Operations, EOG Resources and Callon Petroleum in applying the newest D&C intel to areas north of Midland and Martin counties.
Sinopec Brings West Sichuan Gas Field Onstream
2024-03-14 - The 100 Bcm sour gas onshore field, West Sichuan Gas Field, is expected to produce 2 Bcm per year.
TotalEnergies Restarts Gas Production at Tyra Hub in Danish North Sea
2024-03-22 - TotalEnergies said the Tyra hub will produce 5.7 MMcm of gas and 22,000 bbl/d of condensate.
Exxon Versus Chevron: The Fight for Hess’ 30% Guyana Interest
2024-03-04 - Chevron's plan to buy Hess Corp. and assume a 30% foothold in Guyana has been complicated by Exxon Mobil and CNOOC's claims that they have the right of first refusal for the interest.