Another Week, Another Oil Spill

Suddenly another week cannot go past without another oil spill. Recently, we have had spills in Russia, California, South Korea and now Norway.
Yesterday, about 25,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Norwegian sector of the North Sea at the Statfjord oil field. It is Norway’s second worst oil spill, and yet it is hardly making any news.

To make matters worse, StatoilHydro said the weather was so harsh cleanup vessels headed for the site couldn’t scoop up the oil. “Observations from aircraft and helicopters indicate that the oil slick is currently about eight kilometers long by one wide,” the Norwegian energy group said.

The spill occurred as oil was being loaded from a storage unit to a tanker and has been halted, safety officials said. “Four vessels are on the way out with skimming equipment but unfortunately because of the weather we cannot collect the oil right now,” StatoilHydro spokesman Kai Nielsen said. “There is too much wind, too high waves.”

But don’t worry, neither the output nor exports from Statfjord, would be affected, StatoilHydro said. It is the season to be cheerful after all.