The Grand Bahama-based oil company Equinor – formerly known as Statoil – has to determine how much oil, if any, has leaked into the surrounding environment after images surfaced of some of its storage containers at its South Riding Point storage and transhipment terminal missing their lids.
Erik Haaland, a spokesperson for Equinor, told The New York Times (NYT) that it was “mounting a safe and timely response to the situation”, confirming that there was damage to the tanks caused by Hurricane Dorian.
“Ahead of the hurricane we shut down the terminal as a precautionary measure and the terminal has been designed with hurricanes and storms in mind,” Haaland told The New York Times.
“The areas surrounding the tanks are also designed as barriers to contain oil spills. So far we have not received information that oil has been observed at sea.”
Equinor’s South Riding Point facility is located in Southeast Grand Bahama, which was severely impacted by the Category 5 storm that ravaged the island.
The terminal has 6.75 million barrels of crude and condensate storage and offers crude oil blending services, according to its website.
In a statement sent to the NYT, Equinor said road conditions and flooding has impacted its ability to get a complete overview of the situation and the scope of damage to the terminal and surrounding area.
