Repairs to the Mongstad refinery following the fire on 12 July will soon be finished. As long as there are no unforeseen delays in the final phase, production should be in full swing again early in week 31.
The total output capacity of 180,000 barrels per day was reduced to roughly half as a result of the fire in the crude oil plant.
“The extent of the damage was less than expected," reports Mongstad vice president Bjørn Kåre Viken. "And thanks to swift access to spare parts and an impressive effort on the part of all involved, the repairs necessary to get the plant back in operation have been carried out quickly and efficiently.”
Some minor follow-up tasks will be carried out over the next few weeks.
Mr Viken explains that the financial consequences will be reported on at the beginning of August, and emphasises that the most important thing was that nobody was seriously injured in the fire.
Statoil is now waiting for the police’s conclusions regarding the cause of the fire. The group’s internal commission of inquiry has not finished investigating the matter – its report is expected to be ready in the middle of August.