Goliat FPSO. Photo: Eni Norge
Eni Norge has resumed oil production on its Goliat floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit in the Barents Sea after the facility was shut for more than two months as it worked to fix electrical safety issues flagged by Norway’s offshore regulator.
Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority ordered Eni to cease production at the Goliat field on October 5 due to serious safety deficiencies related to the ignition threat of faulty hazardous area (Ex) motors installed at the field. The order prevented production from resuming until all issues had been rectified.
Eni said it resumed production at Goliat on 17 December 2017 after receiving notice from the NSA on 8 December that it could bring the field back on stream. In addition to the order, Eni said it simultaneously completed extensive maintenance and modification work on the FPSO that had been planned for this fall.
The Goliat FPSO, located at the Goliat Field about 55 miles northwest of Hammerfest, Norway, within the Arctic Circle, has been touted as the largest and most sophisticated floating cylindrical FPSO concept in the world. The unit, which designed specifically for Arctic operations, has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and storage capacity of 950.000 barrels. The FPSO is powered from shore through a subsea electrical cable.
Production at Goliat started on March 12, 2016.
As operator, Eni holds a 65% stake in the Goliat field, with Norway’s Statoil holding the remaining 35%.
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