Hibernia’s Oil Leak 600 Times Bigger Than First Thought

Hibernia, the world’s largest offshore platfom, one that is able to withstand the impact of a one million ton iceberg. The field is located in the Grand Banks, 315 kilometers east-southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Image: ExxonMobil

The Chief Conservation Officer (CCO) for the Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) received notification on Friday from Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) that the estimated volume of oil leaked from the platform’s Northern Offshore Loading System (OLS) is far greater than what was initially reported earlier this month.

On 1 January, HMDC reported that the Hibernia platform leaked 10 liters of crude oil from their OLS however, HMDC now estimates that upwards of 6,000 liters were spilled during a connection attempt on 18 December 2013. HMDC has also reported that the leak stopped on January 1, 2014.

Hibernia is the world’s largest offshore structure and is located 315 kilometers from St. John’s, Newfoundland in 80 meters of water.  The field is operated by ExxonMobil.

The C-NLOPB comments that a full investigation into the incident is underway.

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