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Exxon Mobil evacuates offshore rig in Hurricane Bill's path
Ottawa (AFP) Aug 21, 2009 Exxon Mobil is evacuating all 200 workers from its Sable gas platform off the Canadian east coast, ahead of Hurricane Bill's expected arrival on the weekend, a spokeswoman said Friday. "We're closely monitoring the progress of Hurricane Bill. Based on the current predictions of its severity and with the safety of our workforce as a priority Exxon Mobil has decided to evacuate all personnel from our Sable facility," spokeswoman Margot Bruce-O'Connell told AFP. As well, the company is monitoring the storm's approach to the coast of Newfoundland province, where Canada's three largest offshore oil fields, Hibernia, White Rose and Terra Nova, are located. Exxon Mobil is a partner in Hibernia, which was built to withstand fierce winds and tall swells, commented Bruce-O'Connell. "So, we're not expecting any impact there," she said. But Husky Energy and Petro-Canada are said to be keeping a close eye on the storm's advance toward their White Rose and Terra Nova oil rigs, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland. The Sable Project, located almost 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Halifax, Nova Scotia, produces between 400 and 500 million cubic feet of natural gas and 20,000 barrels of natural gas liquids every day. All 200 workers are to be evacuated by Saturday from the Sable facility, said Bruce-O'Connell. At 1200 GMT Friday, Bill's eye was 620 kilometers (385 miles) south of Bermuda, and 1,320 kilometers (820 miles) southeast of the US coastline at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the US National Hurricane Center said. The first hurricane of the Atlantic season, Bill was moving towards the northwest at nearly 28 kilometers (17 miles) per hour, and was forecast to gradually turn north roughly parallel to the US east coast. Projections show it passing within some 545 kilometers (340 miles) of Boston on Sunday morning before veering to the northeast up the Canadian coast. In February 1982, 84 crew died when a rig drilling in the Hibernia field about 267 kilometers (166 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, sank after being pummeled by 200 kilomters per hour (124 miles per hour) winds and 20-meter (65-foot) waves. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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