By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 21 -- Statoil SA has been fined 1 million kroner by the public prosecutor for Rogaland (county), Norway, as a result of a fatal accident on the semisubmersible Byford Dolphin drilling rig Apr. 17, 2002.
A 44-year-old worker lost his life while Byford Dolphin was drilling a well for Statoil in ExxonMobil Corp.'s Sigyn field on behalf of ExxonMobil's Norwegian unit, as Sigyn was to be tied back to Statoil's Sleipner East field in the North Sea.
In June 2002, Statoil terminated its charter with a unit of Fred Olsen Energy ASA for the Byford Dolphin, citing inadequate safety measures. The contract for the rig, which was owned by Dolphin AS, was originally to run until Oct. 8, but Statoil said that new safety measures adopted after the accident had not been satisfactorily followed up (OGJ Online, June 3, 2002).
Statoil said it now "will assess the basis on which the fine has been imposed and decide whether to accept it."