Husky to resume full production at White Rose offshore Newfoundland

CALGARY - Following an extensive investigation, flow line repairs, integrity testing and approval of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), Husky Energy announced it will resume production from the remaining two drill centers shut in following the November 2018 oil spill offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Husky will now begin an orderly restart and expects to reach full rates by early next week.

This restart of the North Amethyst and South White Rose Extension drill centers follows the safe resumption of operations from three other White Rose drill centers in the first half of 2019.

“We regret the spill last year,” said CEO Rob Peabody. “As a result of our investigation, we’ve enhanced our startup procedures, strengthened equipment and added more barriers to prevent failures. The lessons learned have also been shared broadly through the industry to try to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

Following the startup, Husky expects White Rose production to ramp up to approximately 20,000 bpd.

Husky’s investigation into the November spill found the source of the spill was a failed flowline connector near the South White Rose Extension drill center, which parted during startup operations. A replacement flowline connector with a higher load capacity was installed at the South White Rose Extension drill center in July 2019. Flowline connectors are designed to release under specified tension in the event of iceberg activity. Other production flowlines with similar connectors have also been enhanced to withstand a higher load capacity.

Husky has identified and implemented several process safety initiatives and has added additional oversight around critical activities and the process of restarting production. The Company has submitted an investigation report to the C-NLOPB.