Norwegian energy company Statoil said Monday it found major risks with drilling at the Gullfaks oil and gas field, echoing a government report.
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway said in its most recent report that planning and drilling operations at the oil and gas field were implemented with serious deficiencies.
Oystein Michelsen, a vice president of exploration and production for Statoil, said the PSA findings were mainly consistent with his company's own reporting.
"The report findings are serious and show how we must make improvements in management, compliance and risk assessment," he said in a statement.
The company announced Nov. 10 that it shut operations at the field to "double-check" that operations were proceeding according to the appropriate regulations.
Statoil in May reported that one of the wells at the field was at risk of a major blowout. Offshore oil work is under scrutiny after an April well failure in the Gulf of Mexico led to one of the worst oil spills in the history of the industry.
The company added, however, that in the last decade, the number of "serious incidents" on the Norwegian continental shelf declined by 80 percent.
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway said in its most recent report that planning and drilling operations at the oil and gas field were implemented with serious deficiencies.
Oystein Michelsen, a vice president of exploration and production for Statoil, said the PSA findings were mainly consistent with his company's own reporting.
"The report findings are serious and show how we must make improvements in management, compliance and risk assessment," he said in a statement.
The company announced Nov. 10 that it shut operations at the field to "double-check" that operations were proceeding according to the appropriate regulations.
Statoil in May reported that one of the wells at the field was at risk of a major blowout. Offshore oil work is under scrutiny after an April well failure in the Gulf of Mexico led to one of the worst oil spills in the history of the industry.
The company added, however, that in the last decade, the number of "serious incidents" on the Norwegian continental shelf declined by 80 percent.
