Equinor: We will clean up the Bahamas oil spill
In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian there are reports of widespread devastation across the Bahamas. Equinor will clean up the spills from the South Riding Point oil terminal. Resources are being mobilized as quickly as possible to safeguard people, the environment and the facility.
At the time of arrival of the hurricane, Equinor had 54 personnel on Grand Bahama. All are confirmed safe and accounted for. Employee relief is being provided, including water and food.
The South Riding Point oil terminal has sustained damage from the hurricane and oil has been observed on the ground at the terminal site and in neighboring areas. The size of the spill is not yet clear.
Based on current visual assessments, there are no indications of continued oil leakage from the tanks or of oil spills from the terminal to sea or beaches. Further examination is ongoing to assess the full impact of the spill.
Security personnel is on site at the terminal working to secure the area and identify potential hazards.
Equinor has secured vessels and equipment for oil spill response in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and from various ports across southeast Florida. Some are now en-route, while some are pending customs to be en-route as soon as possible. Upon arrival, clean-up and remediation will start immediately.
The equipment mobilized includes skimmers, oil containment booms, absorbents, pumps, pressure washers and boats.
The situation is complex and challenging, with damage to infrastructure hampering progress in relief and response efforts.
Equinor has almost 100 members of its incident management organization in Norway and the US now working in coordination with our people on Grand Bahamas Island.
Equinor will come back with more updates as work continues and more information becomes available.
Related pages
- Equinor owns the South Riding Point storage and transshipment terminal on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas.
- The terminal has a storage capacity of 6.75 million barrels of crude and condensate. At the time the hurricane hit 1.8 million barrels were stored in three tanks. The other tanks had residual oil.
- The South Riding Point terminal has a total of ten tanks. Nine of these had roofs, and five of those are gone due to the impact of Hurricane Dorian
- At the time of the hurricane, Equinor had 54 employees on Grand Bahama Island.