Arctic platform evacuated

The platform lost power at 10.30 pm Friday night and 51 people were brought to land by helicopter.

«It was all in line with standard procedure», ENI informs in a press release. 

All essential personnel, together 69 people, remained on the installation, company press spokesman Jan Richard Radloff says to NTB.

Power returned at about 4 am and the situation on the platform subsequently normalized, the company says.

ENI does not yet know the reason why power was cut, VG reports. The Goliat is supplied with power through an underwater cable from the mainland. It also produces parts of its power on board.

Production was halted in the period, and was Saturday morning not yet restored. The platform is located about 80 km northeast of Hammerfest, the Norwegian Arctic town.

ENI Norway started production at Goliat in March this year, and the first tanker with Goliat-oil left the field late that same month. The field, which holds about 180 million barrels of oil, is run by a Sevan 1000 FPSO, a floating, cylindrical production facility.

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Company representatives now say to NRK that tankers loaded with 850,000 barrels of oil every 8th day depart from the installation and that daily production has reached 100,000 barrels.