BG Group's Knarr Oil Field Shut Down After Fire

   By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland 

OSLO--Production at the Knarr oil field off Norway has been shut down following a fire at the floating production unit early Tuesday, BG Group, the operator of the field, said.

"The fire alarm went off around 0145 hours [local time] at the floating production unit on the Knarr field off Floro on Norway's west coast," said a BG Group spokesman Hans Olav Holmen. "The crew was mobilized, and a fire crew localized the fire and brought it under control."

Nobody was injured, Mr. Holmen said. The company planned to evacuate non-essential crew to nearby oil and gas installations, but evacuation wasn't necessary as the fire was put out relatively quickly, he added.

The 264-meter long Petrojarl Knarr floating production, storage and offloading vessel, built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea, has been leased by BG Group from Teekay Corp. The unit has a production capacity of about 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and a storage capacity of 800,000 barrels.

The Knarr field started producing on March 18, about 120 kilometers off the Norwegian coast. It is estimated to hold some 80 million barrels of oil equivalent and expected to produce for at least a decade. The Knarr partners are exploring the area in an aim to add more resources and further extend the field's existence.

BG Group is operator of the Knarr field with a 45% stake. Partners include Idemitsu Petroleum with a 25% stake, Wintershall AG with a 20% stake and RWE DEA AG with a 10% stake.

"We have shut down production, and it hasn't resumed yet. This is a serious event and we will find out what happened together with Teekay," Mr. Holmen said.

Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at [e-mail]

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