Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA), has launched an investigation into a fire which broke out on the West Phoenix drilling unit on Monday, November 5, 2018.
The PSA reported that the incident took place in the mud laboratory on the rig. The fire was extinguished and no injuries to the personnel have been reported.
An investigation team from the PSA has now began work on the facility.
Namely, the objectives of the investigation include clarifying the course of events, describing the actual and potential consequences, and identifying the direct and underlying causes in order to contribute to learning lessons and experience transfer.
West Phoenix is a semi-submersible drilling unit,operated by North Atlantic Drilling. When the incident happened, it was drilling in the Norwegian Sea with Equinor as its operator.
Equinor and Statoil hired the West Phoenix drilling rig back in March 2018 for exploration drilling use both on the the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The semi-submersible rig would drill an exploration well for the Ragnfrid North license on the NCS, and then three wells on the UKCS.