Safaniya offshore field is located some 250 km north of Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.
There was a “minor leak” at Safaniya offshore oil production pipeline earlier this week, industry sources familiar with the story told Arab News.
They were not specific as to quantities spilled or the spill’s duration, saying only the leak was contained “in no time” without disruption to Saudi Aramco’s daily production quotas.
Safaniya oil field was discovered in 1951 and has a producing capability of more than 1.2 million barrels per day. When it was first put in production in 1957, it flowed 50,000 barrels per day of crude oil from 18 wells. At the beginning of 1962 it possessed the facilities to handle 350,000 barrels per day from 25 wells.
According to the sources, the leak was insignificant, but the company did activate extensive damage control mechanisms to be safe. The company maintains specially equipped vessels and aircraft to enable quick response throughout its offshore operations.
Sources said the company even has the mandate to requisition help from outside in the event of any major disaster. “There was no such need in the case of Safaniya leak,” the sources added.
Leaks, such as the one at Safaniya, are uncommon. Saudi Aramco follows international safety standards and has personnel dedicated for quick response to any potentially hazardous incident.
