Bloomberg reports that a marlin attacked BP’s Plutino oil facility off the coast of Angola in February:
BP declared force majeure on exports of Angolan Plutonio crude after a Marlin fish damaged a hose connected to the floating, production, storage and offloading facility, according to a company official.
The FPSO is not completely shut down and is producing at a reduced rate said Robert Wine, a London-based spokesman for BP. Force majeure is a legal step that protects a company from liability when it can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control.
Let the fish reckoning against BP jokes begin.
This isn’t the first billfish that has speared a pipeline. Forbes states “according to the Oil and Gas Journal, in 2010 French oil giant Total declared a force majeure (a superior force) at the Girassol field in Angola after a school of swordfish punctured oil hoses used in loading tankers. BP’s Plutino was also reportedly hit by swordfish in 2009.”
Bloomberg also reports that BP plans to shut down the Greater Plutonio project this month. The project has a capacity to pump 180,000 barrels a day worth about $20 million daily, for four weeks of maintenance.
_*Here’s a video to show some of the past damage that these billfish have brought upon oil companies. _
