UK Fines CNOOC $150K for Breach of Venting Consent at Buzzard Field

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has imposed a penalty of $154,000 on CNOOC Petroleum Europe for venting without consent at its Buzzard field, 60 miles north-east of Aberdeen, on two separate occasions in a two-week period.

On May 31, 2022, CNOOC detected a leak in the line which supplies fuel needed to keep the flame lit on Buzzard’s flare stack. CNOOC shut off the fuel line and began venting excess gas into the atmosphere unignited.

The company confirmed to the NSTA in June 1 that it had breached the annual consent for Buzzard, only to continue venting until a fault with a generator led to production operations shutting down on June 3.

Despite being fully aware that it did not have a valid consent for additional venting, CNOOC restarted production and export activities from Buzzard on June 9, then further venting took place due to a faulty valve on the fuel gas system, according to NSTA. CNOOC continued to produce, and therefore vent, through to June 13.

Between May 31 and June 13, CNOOC exceeded its annual venting limit for Buzzard by a total of 435.13 tonnes of gas, NSTA claims. A revised consent was granted on June 14, bringing