Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Norway attacks Shell for near spill

Gwladys Fouche,Reuters
Monday 23 May 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Norway's oil-safety watchdog criticised Shell yesterday for an oil-well incident it said had the potential for a major accident and could have caused a leak.

The incident took place last December at the Draugen platform in the Norwegian Sea when engineers attempted to replace a gas-lift valve in the well.

Shell was the operator and the oilfield-services firm Seawell was the contractor. During the procedure, a separate piece of equipment got stuck, leaving only one of the two barriers in the well that is needed to prevent an oil spill.

The watchdog ordered Shell to revise its procedures. It said the firm had breached several regulations and had inadequate management, risk assessment, well barriers, well controls and daily reporting.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in