THE flagship vessel of troubled Northern Oil and Gas Australia is now sitting unmanned in the Timor Sea after the last of its crew was taken off over the weekend, the day after a creditors’ meeting to consider if the company should be liquidated was delayed.

A spokesperson from the Commonwealth regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, told Energy News de-staffing the Northern Endeavour floating storage production and offloading vessel was allowed under the vessel's approved safety case and the move had reduced immediate safety risks to zero. 

"The facility is now unmanned, in ‘lighthouse' mode, with navigational aids operational, the wells suspended, and other controls being applied," the spokesperson said. 

"While the facility is not producing and with the wells suspended, any immediate environmental risks are reduced." 

The FPSO had been run with a small skeleton crew since production was shut in last year.  

NOPSEMA's spokesperson said crew removal may occur for maintenance reasons, to avoid cyclone disturbance in the area, or for other emergency management reasons.  

"For cyclone avoidance, facilities typically de-man for the period that is necessary for weather conditions to subside and facility crew to be safely transported to the facility," he said. 

For other reasons, such as this case, the spokesperson said the period would vary and was determined by the operator in accordance with the safety case.

Source: Energy News Bulletin

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