According to the Canadian offshore petroleum regulator, the Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC), is pleading guilty to an oil spill from a platform off St. John’s Newfoundland, which occurred in July 2019.
In particular, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), had filed charges in August 2022 against the company after its investigation into the July 2019 incident which released an estimated 12,000 liters of a crude oil and water mixture into the Atlantic Ocean.
After the incident, an operator responded within eight minutes to an alarm that sounded shortly after midnight and stopped the displacement of fluid from the affected cell into the deballast water system.
As informed, the Hibernia Platform was permitted to resume production on August 15, but two days later on August 17, there was a second incident when an estimated 2,184 liters of oil were released into the ocean.
HMDC said it regretted the incident and has taken actions to address the lessons learned.