Updated Press Statement re Thistle Alpha

Petrofac, as duty holder of the Thistle Alpha installation on behalf of Lundin Britain Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Lundin Petroleum AB), confirms that all personnel have been returned to the platform following the incident yesterday.

Commenting on the incident, John Methven, Petrofac Group HSSE & Integrity Assurance director, said: “We have to praise the offshore installation manager and his crew on Thistle for carrying out a text book response to the incident. This and the support gained from the Coastguard, RAF, Bristow and other field operators demonstrated the levels of preparedness that exist in the industry.”

Following the incident yesterday morning 116 non essential personnel were down manned to the nearby Murchison and Dunlin platforms. 63 stayed on the Murchison platform overnight but returned to the installation earlier today. Production remains shut down.

Alan Curran, managing director of Lundin Britain, said: “An independent, internal investigation into the cause of the incident is now underway, we know that the safety systems and response processes worked well, now we have to identify the cause of the incident. Thistle is an installation with a significant future and we are investing heavily in its refurbishment and upgrading. We also would like to thank all the organisations that supported the response yesterday.”