Two killed on rig in Dutch sector of North Sea
17 June 2013
Two people were killed and one was injured in an accident on a North Sea gas platform belonging to French oil and gas utility GDF Suez, the company said on June 14. At the time of the incident, the L5A platform, 103 kilometres north of Den Helder, was out of production and depressurised, the company said.
A GDF Suez spokeswoman in Paris said there had been an accident with a heat exchanger, which exploded while being tested under pressure. The platform was not evacuated, she added.
Dutch Coast Guard spokesman Peter Westenberg said a high-pressure hose shot loose during maintenance work, killing two workers and injuring a third, who was taken by helicopter to hospital. There was no fire after the explosion, he said.
GDF Suez E&P Nederland is one of the largest operators in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, with more than 30 producing platforms and a number of sub-sea wells, all connected via a system of underwater pipelines.
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