Norway Orders Shut Down of Goliat FPSO Due to Electrical Safety Issues

The Goliat FPSO in the Barents Sea. Photo: Eni Norge

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority has ordered Eni Norge to immediately shut down production from its Goliat floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit in the Barents Sea after an electric audit of the FPSO revealed potential safety issues.

The PSA said order was issued to minimize the ignition threat posed by possibly faulty Ex motors on the Goliat Field, which is located within the Arctic Circle about 55 miles northwest of Hammerfest, Norway.

The PSA issued the order on October 6 following an audit of electrical safety and the person in charge of the electrical facilities at Eni on board the Goliat FPSO from September 19-28, 2017, the PSA said in a statement.

The order requires Eni Norge, as the operator of the Goliat, to complete a systematic survey of potential ignition sources related to electric Ex motors and, based on the survey, implement the necessary technical, operational and organizational measures to reduce as far as possible the threat of ignition from all faults which represent an ignition source, according to the PSA.

The Goliat FPSO will not be able to resume production until the order has been complied with.

The Goliat FPSO has been touted as the largest and most sophisticated floating cylindrical production and storage (FPSO) concept in the world. The FPSO, 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, and was followed by a rapid production ramp-up of all wells.

As operator, Eni holds a 65% stake in the Goliat field, with Norway’s Statoil holding the remaining 35%.

The PSA said Eni has three weeks to appeal the order.

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