ExxonMobil in Canada is investigating an incident aboard the Hebron offshore platform in which a 6.8 kg piece of equipment was launched across the pipe deck and dropped 21 meters on the walkway on the deck below.
The company reported that on May 28, 2023, while completing maintenance on the knuckle boom crane on the Hebron Platform using a hydraulic pin puller, the hydraulic pin puller failed.
This resulted in the puller rod being projected approximately 19 meters across the pipe deck striking the top of the northwest pipe deck handrail, and then dropping 21 meters to the deck below, landing on a walkway. The rod weighed approximately 6.8 kg.
There were no injuries. No barriers were in place for the path the rod traveled to the handrail, or for the drop path to the deck and walkway below. The incident had the potential for fatality, Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board ( C-NLOPB) said.
"ExxonMobil immediately ceased work in the area and has initiated an investigation into the root cause of the incident. The C-NLOPB is monitoring ExxonMobil’s investigation of the incident," C-NLOPB said.
The Hebron oil field is located offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin 350 kilometers southeast of St. John's. Oil from the field is produced via a large concrete gravity-based platform.