Equinor to restore production following remedied gas leaks on Sleipner field

Equinor has shut parts of Sleipner field in the North Sea following a gas leak.

A leak was reported the morning of July 11 and the incident—in a contained area related to a turbine on Sleipner A (processing, drilling, and living quarter platform)—was “quickly clarified,” the company said in a release July 12.

However, during the process of resuming production and depressurization, an additional gas leak occurred on the Sleipner R riser platform (for gas export and condensate export) late July 11.

No personnel were injured in any of the incidents and work is ongoing to safely resume normal operation, the company said in the release.

Authorities have been notified and the incidents will be further investigated to find the causal relation, the company said.

As Sleipner is a hub in Gassco’s gas transport system, the incident “has direct consequences for the gas flow from the Gassco-operated Nyhamna processing plant and the reception terminals Easington and Zeebrugge,” Gassco said in a separate release July 12.