One person has died and two more were injured after a breaking wave hit the COSL Innovator semisubmersible drilling rig around 5pm local time on 30 December, Statoil announced.
The rig, which is under contract with Statoil for the Troll field in the North Sea, was being taken off a well as a result of bad weather before the incident occurred. Statoil said the breaking wave also caused damage to the rig's accommodation module.
According to the Industri Energi (IE) union, Rune Morten Narvåg died when a wave hit the living quarters of the rig.
"Rune was on the stateroom when suddenly a giant wave broke the walls in the living quarters. He was just 53 years old," the union said in a statement.
Narvåg was a team leader in the subsea sector for Aker Solutions and had worked for the company for 37 years.
The injured have been flown to shore; the rig is heading to shore under its own power while evacuations are taking place, Statoil said. A reception facility for evacuees has been established at Kokstad, Norway.
On 7 December, the Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway granted Statoil consent to use the COSL Innovator for drilling, completion, intervention, workover, and well plugging operations on the Troll field.
Troll recently celebrated its 20th year in production this September, even though it was originally discovered by Shell in 1979. Statoil took over as operator for the Troll field in 1996. The field comprises the main Troll East and Troll West structures in blocks 31/2, 31/3, 31/5 and 31/6.
In October, Statoil announced the field would receive two giant compressors for Troll A, as part of a US$121 million project aimed at boosting field recovery some 533 MMboe and extending the life of the field to 2063.
The field, considered to be the one of the largest on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, lies in the northern part of the North Sea, around 65km west of Kollsnes, near Bergen, Norway. According to Statoil, as of September, the field produced 1.56 billion bbl and $52 billion (NOK 460 billion) in income.
Statoil operates the Troll A, B and C platforms with 30.58% interest. Partners are Petoro (56%), Norske Shell (8.10%), Total E&P Norge (3.69%), and ConocoPhillips (1.62%).
Image: COSL Innovator/Statoil
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