News / Council seeks reassurance on terminal safety
SHETLAND Islands Council is seeking reassurances that Sullom Voe Terminal is operated in a safe manner following a “minor defect” that shut down a significant part of the northern North Sea oil production.
Following the discovery of oily water emerging from the process pipework within the terminal on Tuesday, operator EnQuest said it had carried out a controlled shutdown of the incoming Brent and Ninian pipeline systems to allow immediate repair work to get under way.
EnQuest only took over the ownership of the terminal from BP in December last year.
Interim leader of Shetland Islands Council Steven Coutts said on Friday that relevant officers at the local authority had been made aware of the incident and were kept informed of developments.
He said: “EnQuest defines this as a minor defect but for the community we are seeking assurances that the terminal is safe and the environment is being protected,” he said.
“The council has been informed of the incident. But we will be looking for a full de-brief on the circumstances around this incident.”
His views were echoed by development committee chairman Alastair Cooper, who lives near the terminal, and – as a council officer – has worked closely with the oil and gas industry for more than four decades.
He said he was particularly concerned about the age of the facility, which had initially been designed for a 25-year lifespan and has now operated for more than 40 years.
This, he said, has also led to a valuable loss of knowledge and expertise as all the staff working at the terminal during peak production have now retired.
“The community has to be concerned and we need reassurance that EnQuest is on top of the business and the maintenance schedules are designed to prevent the likes of that from happening again,” he said.
EnQuest has so far not responded to further media inquiries, but a spokesperson said on Thursday that the pipeline systems were expected to be restarted again on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said the organisation had been contacted by EnQuest and made aware of the controlled shutdown.
“The HSE are making further enquiries,” she said.
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