There is no estimate for a return to normal operations after a fatality at the Maersk Interceptor rig, shown here docked in harbor before deployment. Photo courtesy of Maersk Oil
Dec. 11 (UPI) -- There's no date set for the resumption of production from the Tambar field in the North Sea following a fatal accident last week, the operator said.
Aker BP reported one fatality Friday and another serious injury following a "serious accident" on the Maersk Interceptor drilling rig, contracted to tap into the Tambar oil field in the North Sea. The deceased was a Norwegian citizen working for Maersk Drilling who fell into the sea while conducting maintenance work on the rig.
A spokesperson for Aker BP told UPI on Monday that production from Tambar was still down and the situation was still a work in progress. No date was set for a return to production.
"Investigation teams arrived at the rig yesterday," the spokesperson said.
The company announced plans in March to develop the Tambar field using the Maersk Interceptor, which had two wells planned for the fourth quarter. When announcing the $204 million investment, the company said it was a major milestone that would extend the life of the field to 2028.
The spokesperson said production before the accident was only around 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
When christened in 2014, the Maersk Interceptor was the largest rig of its kind in Norway. Built in 2013, the rig is designed to operate in extremely harsh environments.
Maersk had no comment on the incident. Units of the Danish company were among those targeted in a ransomware cyberattack from the so-called Petya or NotPetya bug that targeted thousands of government and private corporate servers across the globe in June.
