Page 12 - EurOil Week 20 2021

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Equinor completes internal

probe into fires

NORWAY NORWAY’S Equinor has completed its internal concluded its own probe into the Hammerfest
investigation into two fires that broke out at its LNG fire in late April, finding that dead insects
The company will add Hammerfest LNG plant and Tjeldbergodden within five-year-old air-intake filters and heat
more staff to its onshore methanol facility last year, pledging to hire and from anti-icing panels were behind the fire at
facilities and increase train more staff. one of the plant’s power turbines. The damning
training. The incidents were caused by both technical report said there were serious breaches of regula-
and human errors, Equinor said on May 12. The tions. It noted that Equinor had, as a cost-cutting
blaze at Hammerfest LNG happened last Sep- measure, changed its maintenance schedule for
tember, resulting in an 18-month expected out- air filters from annual replacements to inspec-
age, while the fire at the methanol plant occurred tion-based maintenance. The filters in question
in early December and led to two months of had not been replaced in six years.
downtime. Equinor disputed that filter maintenance was
“We are bolstering our recruitment of engi- a contributing factor, however.
neering resources within electrical disciplines “The investigation group does not believe
and up to 50 skilled workers are bound for the that the maintenance interval for exchanging the
onshore facilities,” Equinor said in a statement. filters that self-ignited is a contributing cause,”
The company has faced repeated calls from the company said.
labour units to increase staff and training. No one was injured in the incident, and
While the incident at Tjeldbergodden was Equinor said there was no major risk of personal
the result of a runaway steam turbine after its injuries. Both the company and the PSA con-
shutdown valve malfunctioned, the self-ignition cluded that the fire was unlikely to have spread
of filters in an air intake at the LNG plant was to other parts of the facility.
caused by several “direct and underlying factors.” The PSA is yet to publish its findings on the
Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) methanol fire. ™

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