Production halted on Terra Nova FPSO over fire prevention system concerns

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB)has suspended production operations on the Terra Nova rig after issues were flagged withfire prevention systems.

In a news release Thursday, the C-NLOPBsaid its chief safety officer determined parent company Suncor is not compliant with regulatory requirements to "maintain and inspectequipment critical in the safe operation of the installation, to ensure repairs are carried out in a timely manner, and to ensure that mitigation measures are effective in minimizing hazards."

The safety officer found that the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel only had one of its two fire water pumps in operation.

In an email, Suncor said the pumpfailed on Nov. 7.

Since then, Suncorhad been using one fire water pump and a seawater lift pump as the backup.

"This alternative had been used in the past with permission from the C-NLOPB and certifying authority," a spokesperson said."Following an investigation into the fire water pump's failure, the C-NLOPB has determined the seawater pump is not sufficient as a backup."

Suncorsaid it is cooperating fully with the order.

Production related operations have been suspended until Suncor addresses the issues to the satisfaction of the chief safety officer.

In October 2019, before the pump failed, Suncor reported that there were 30 pieces of equipment that were not compliant and the company said it was committed to addressing the gaps by the end of January 2020.

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