Advanced capping equipment on standby for international use
Developed through unprecedented industry collaboration
Available to companies across the industry via OSRL
CAPE TOWN Saldanha Bay - Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), the global oil spill response co-operative funded by more than 160 oil and energy companies, today announced the opening of a new Base in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, to support regional and global response operations. The Base houses cutting edge well capping equipment designed to shut-in an uncontrolled subsea well, marking a major advancement in Africa's oil spill response capability.
The Saldanha capping stack is available to oil and gas companies across the industry through OSRL's Subsea Well Intervention Service (SWIS) which provides for swift subsea incident response around the world. The integrated subsea well intervention system includes four capping stacks suitable for international use and two hardware kits for debris clearance, BOP intervention and the subsea application of dispersant at a wellhead. The equipment can be used for the majority of known subsea wells in water depths up to 3000m.
The SWIS equipment is currently stored in three international locations - Stavanger, Norway; Singapore; and Saldanha Bay, South Africa; and is maintained ready for immediate mobilisation and onward transportation by sea and/or air in the event of an incident. Further capping and dispersant equipment will be delivered for storage in Brazil by the end of this year. A global containment solution is also being developed to supplement the intervention system and will be ready for use by the end of 2014.
SWIS is the culmination of unprecedented industry collaboration. In 2011, nine international oil and gas companies formed the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP), pooling resources to develop equipment that could enhance subsea well control capability. OSRL collaborated with SWRP to make this equipment available for the benefit of wider industry, and companies can now subscribe to SWIS to incorporate this essential subsea well contingency into their own incident response plans.
Robert Limb, Chief Executive of Oil Spill Response Limited, said: "SWIS represents a transformational addition to OSRL's portfolio of services, helping our members prepare for, and handle, potential subsea well control incidents on a global scale. Members benefit from world-class capping capability, supported by OSRL's industry-leading response and preparedness expertise. Our new facility at Saldanha has strategic significance in that we are now able to deliver an enhanced service in this region - a development that is wholly consistent with our mission to enable the most efficient, safe and effective response to oil spills wherever they may occur."
Keith Lewis, Project Manager, Subsea Well Response Project, commented: "The oil and gas industry faces continuous challenge to improve safety and must be in a position to respond effectively to a subsea well incident, wherever in the world subsea well operations take place. The delivery of world-class intervention equipment to Saldanha represents a major advancement for the region. As part of a package of measures, it is designed to enhance the international industry's capability to respond to a subsea well incident. Collaboration across the industry and around the world has made this possible."
Michael Engell-Jensen, Executive Director, International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, who attended OSRL's inauguration event at Saldanha Bay, added: "The industry must be prepared to control a flowing well with ever greater speed and efficiency in the unlikely event of an incident. The continuing collaboration between SWRP and OSRL to develop subsea well response capability through the provision of capping and related systems is of paramount importance both for the oil and gas industry and environmental protection."
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About Oil Spill Response Limited [OSRL] (www.oilspillresponse.com)
OSRL is a not-for-profit organisation and the largest international industry-owned co-operative and global provider of oil spill response and preparedness services. The Company operates from offices in the UK, Europe, Bahrain, Singapore, Africa, America and Indonesia. OSRL membership is representative of the majority of global oil production. With a distinguished reputation achieved by attending nearly all the major oil spill incidents for the past 25 years, OSRL is the industry leader in this field.
About the Subsea Well Response Project [SWRP] (www.subseawellresponse.com)
The Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP) was launched in May 2011 to enhance international capability to respond to a subsea well-control incident, and is a non-profit joint initiative between nine major oil and gas companies: BG Group, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Petrobras, Shell, Statoil and Total. The project team consists of technical experts and other senior managers from each company. SWRP is operated by an affiliate of Shell, on behalf of the members, with headquarters in Stavanger, Norway.
Launch Day Press Contact
Tom Gillingham, MHP Communications, tom.gillingham@mhpc.com / +44 (0) 7585 301 464
OSRL Media Contact
For more information or to gain access to the equipment, please contact:
Matt Clements, Oil Spill Response Limited, subseaservices@oilspillresponse.com / +44 (0) 2380 331 551/
+44 (0) 7880 888 098
© Press Release 2013
