Production curtailed at Hibernia, Hebron due to weather, shuttle tanker shortage

ExxonMobil Canada has reduced oil production at the Hibernia and Hebron platforms in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, blaming a shortage of shuttle tankers and harsh weather for the interruption.

The company is not offering any further details.

It's the latest fallout from a Jan. 22 incident in Placentia Bay when the 300-metre long shuttle tanker Altera Thule — filled with crude oil — slammed into the wharf at the Whiffen Head transshipment terminal, significantly damaging one of the two jetties that allow ships to load and offload their bulk cargos.

Now, there's a perfect storm of challenging weather conditions, fewer shuttle tankers, a transshipment terminal that's operating at half-capacity, and three producing oilfields with onboard storage capacity that is quickly filling up.

The Thule is one of four tankers owned by U.K.-based Altera Infrastructure that shuttles crude from the offshore on behalf of Basin Wide Transportation and Transshipment System (BWTTS), a joint venture of oil companies with ownership interests in the offshore.

The crude is stored in large tanks until it can be collected by a second tanker and shipped to the market for refining.

The Thule has a gash in its bow well above the waterline, described by a spokesperson for the shuttle tanker fleet as "minor," and is still anchored in Placentia Bay with its full load of crude.

"The vessel will commence repairs at anchorage after it has offloaded its present cargo," Pat Adamson, on behalf of Altera, wrote in an email. He did not say how long the Thule will be out of service and where it will go for repairs, but said there are no plans to bring in a replacement vessel "at this time."

The Thule is scheduled to offload at the Whiffen Head terminal later today, if the weather allows, said Paul Durdle, president of Newfoundland Transshipment Limited.

As for the cause of the collision, Adamson said the investigation is ongoing.

ExxonMobil offering few details

ExxonMobil is the lead owner and operates the Hebron project, and is lead owner of the Hibernia field, which is operated by a joint venture called Hibernia Management and Development Company Limited.

When asked about the extent of the effect on production in the two fields, ExxonMobil Canada spokesperson Shelley Sullivan wrote in a statement that "it is not our practice to discuss specifics of operations at our facilities."

There were nearly 7.5 million barrels of oil produced at the Hibernia, Hebron and the Suncor-operated Terra Nova fields in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin in December, or an average of nearly 250,000 barrels per day.

Suncor has not yet commented on the status of operations aboard the Terra Nova FPSO, which has been producing in the offshore since 2002.

The Cenovus Energy operated SeaRose FPSO, meanwhile, has not produced oil in the White Rose field since early 2024, and is "mobilizing to field," according to a report last week on the offshore regulator's website.

Terminal shut down for 22 days

The incident at Whiffen Head forced operations at the transshipment terminal to be suspended for 22 days while the wharf and related infrastructure was inspected, which disrupted a critical link in the movement of crude oil from the offshore.

As a Plan B, ship-to-ship transfers are underway in Placentia Bay involving shuttle and second leg tankers, but this can only be safety done in favourable weather conditions, which has been rare in recent days.

Five ship-to-ship transfers have taken place, and a sixth is underway, said Durdle.

On Thursday, one of the two jetties — which was undamaged during the collision — reopened to shuttle and second leg tankers, but it's becoming clear that a bottleneck has formed.

Just one second leg tanker has loaded a cargo of crude since Thursday, and no shuttle tankers have offloaded at the terminal since the Jan. 22 incident.

Last year, there were 90 cargos offloaded at the Whiffen Head terminal by shuttle tankers, delivering more than 76 million barrels of crude.

"Safety is the primary consideration for all activities. All tanker operations — whether at the terminal, ship-to-ship and at the offshore fields — take place under strict conditions, including weather limits," said McConnell.

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