North Sea Oil Struck by Coronavirus

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--People have been banned from travelling to North Sea oil and gas rigs and platforms by the U.K.'s industry association, OGUK.

The ban was announced a day after Norwegian oil major Equinor revealed the oil industry's first coronavirus infection on the Martin Linge offshore installation. OGUK said that personnel will not be permitted to travel offshore if they have travelled from, or transited through, affected countries in the last 14 days, been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days or if they have experienced symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath.

"Given the challenges of managing any confirmed case of COVID-19 on an offshore installation, industry policy is to have restrictions on workers travelling to offshore installations," the OGUK stated. "OGUK has convened an industry Pandemic Steering Group, which is made up from representatives from across the sector and is tasked with identifying and addressing the particular challenges faced by those working to maintain offshore operations at industry-level and ensuring communication with relevant stakeholders and government agencies."

Equinor stated that the one person at the Martin Linge field in the North Sea has tested positive on the coronavirus but that the "person is not seriously ill." The person, who arrived on the platform on March, had recently been to Austria and was quarantined after Austria was listed as a high-risk destination. Industrial Info is tracking three Equinor projects worth $1.73 billion that are tied to the Martin Linge field. Click here for a list.

"Equinor is in dialogue with the Norwegian health authorities about further measures," the company confirmed. "The infected person has been in isolation in his cabin since 9 March. Measures to prevent further contamination for offshore installations has been introduced. It has not been decided when the person will be brought ashore. Tests have been conducted on two further persons at the field, who have also visited high risk destinations. The results of these tests are yet not available."

Since then the company has also revealed that it is "responding to a suspected case" of coronavirus on board its Mariner platform in the U.K. North Sea. Mariner A is located in the Mariner Field, approximately 80 miles east of Shetland. A company spokesperson said: "The individual reported mild symptoms at approximately 06:20 on 11 March 2020. The individual is receiving advice from the onboard medic and our medical services provider is taking advice from Health Protection Scotland. Our main priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of all people in the Mariner Field. Equinor's isolation procedure has been activated and we have mobilised emergency response support."

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