Italian oil firm Eni said Dec. 8 it planned to restart production at its Goliat oil field in the Arctic Barents Sea within a few days, following a green light from Norway’s safety watchdog.
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) said earlier on Dec. 8 the company could bring back on stream the 100,000 barrels-per-day field, which has been shut since Oct. 6 due to safety issues.
“Following an overall assessment, the PSA has determined that the order which required a shutdown of Goliat has now been complied with,” the PSA said in a statement.
The oil field had experienced a series of safety incidents and production shutdowns since its startup in 2016 prompting the PSA to initiate closer scrutiny of its operations.
“We are currently completing pre-startup checks... and will restart when these are complete. This will take a few days,” Eni’s spokesman said.
In November, the PSA sent staff to check the latest changes made by Eni on the platform, an unprecedented step in Norway’s offshore safety system under which operators are trusted to carry out promised measures.
“Goliat has been an extraordinary case on the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Eileen Brundtland, a spokeswoman for the PSA.
Eni, the operator, has 65% and Norway’s Statoil holds the remaining 35% stake in the field.
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