-Meiner it took too long for Equinor to discover the emission from the Njord platform on New Year’s Eve and that the follow-up of the pollution to the Norwegian Sea was completed too early. This is what Hilde Singsaas, director of the Environment Directorate, says in a press release on Thursday morning. The amount of oil that is the slap out – 75 cubic meters – responds to about what you can fit if you fill up an average Norwegian living room. The Environment Directorate writes that the uncovered four deviations at Equinor: Equinor Njord had a major oil spill 31 December 2024. Equinor’s emergency response response after the emission was deficient. The contingency plan for oil protection was not adapted to the right oil type. It has been overruns of oil concentration in produced water that was released to the sea. The picture is from Humlingsværet, north of Frøya, close to Vassholmen nature reserve where the largest colony with large cormorants in Trøndelag hedges. After the emission, oil was found, in the form of lumps of varying size. Photo: Sivert Holberg / The Norwegian Nature Inspectorate concluded for the early Directorate thinks the lack of internal communication was the reason why the response was ended too early. They will also report the case to the police. Earlier, Greenpeace and the Nature Conservation Association have also reported the company for the incident. This has also been done by the Norwegian Coastal Administration. Equinor has a deadline for June 30, sending a written feedback on how they have followed up the case. The map shows where the oil reached land. Photo: NOFO/Environment Directorate HARD FRAME FRØYA Mayor Kristin Strømskag thinks what the Environment Directorate has uncovered is serious. Frøya, Sula and Mausund were hardest hit after the emission from Njord 31 December. – It is serious when we cannot quite rely on such a large player as Equinor in such a case. It is the first time that a larger oil spill in Norway has reached land, and there are probably many players who have to learn from what has happened, she says to news. – I also think the Norwegian Coastal Administration spent a long time before they understood how serious it was. They should have traded faster than they did. We live by the sea through fishing and farming, and not least do we have the important conservation area in Froan. So I am concerned when the Environment Directorate has found such large deviations from Equinor, says Strømskag to news. Frøya Mayor Kristin Strømskag thinks it is serious what the Environment Directorate has revealed at Equinor. Photo: Morten Andersen / news Important area for bird life The Environment Directorate has previously stated that they are concerned about what consequences the oil spill can have. Ivar Myklebust, department head of the Environment Directorate, has told news that many of the areas along the coast of Trøndelag and Helgeland are areas with great natural values. The oil lumps have been found in several areas that are important hedging areas for seabirds, Myklebust explained. -The pollution from the Njord platform causes a great danger that seabirds coming to the area to breed can be damaged by oil. Gisle Ledel Johannessen says Equinor is in the final phase with his own report after the emission from the Njord field on December 31. Photo: Allan KLO / news will take responsibility Press spokesman Gisle Ledel Johannessen in Equinor says the company looks very seriously at the report from the Environment Directorate, and the spill on December 31. – This should not happen. We have worked systematically to handle the situation in the best possible way, and to clean up after us, Johannessen tells news. – We will clean up, and we have. We still have people in emergency preparedness, he says. In March, Equinor deployed 180 persons, drones and vessels in the survey and collection of the oil clumps. The company is now working on its own report on what happened. Johannessen will not go into detail about the criticism of the Environment Directorate until the report is completed. – The report is in the final phase, and we also include the Environment Directorate’s report in this work. We also promise to close the deviations that the Environment Directorate has found, says Gisle Ledel Johannessen. Published 08.05.2025, at. 07.38 Updated 08.05.2025, at. 10.34
ttn-69
