An oil and gas worker had to be flown off a North Sea platform earlier this month after being hit on the head by a crane hook.
This happened on January 17 on the pipe deck of the Equinor plant in Hedirun, about 109 miles north of the Norwegian municipality of Kristiansund.
A search and rescue helicopter was sent to the facility to fly the worker ashore for treatment.
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has now opened an investigation into the “serious lifting incident”.
The watchdog said the team had pulled out of its “specialist staff” and that work was already underway.
It is hoped to find out the causes of the accident and learn possible lessons which will then be shared with the broader industry.
The police have opened a separate investigation, supported by the PSA.
The Heidrun field at Halken Bank was originally discovered in 1985 by Conoco, which acted as operator for the exploration and development phase.
It started operating in October 1995 and produced oil and gas.
The gas from Heidrun is sent to Tjeldbergodden in central Norway, where it supplies the raw material for Equinor’s methanol plant.
In a statement, the PSA said: “The main aim of the investigation is to determine the causes of the incident and possible lessons, and to share this information with the industry.
“In carrying out its investigation, the PSA will:
- Clarify the course of events and the scope of the incident
- assess the actual and possible consequences of the incident
- identify direct and underlying causes
- Identification of deviations and improvement points in connection with the regulations
- Use the necessary enforcement powers to correct possible regulatory violations
- publish the results
- Contribution to the exchange of experiences and learning from other actors in the oil sector.
“The police have launched their own investigation into the incident, which is also receiving technical support from PSA.
“This field is on the Halt Bank in the Norwegian Sea. It is operated by Equinor. “
Equinor has been asked to comment.
