ABSTRACT

On April 22, 1977, Norwegians found them confronted with an event that they had been allowed to believe was next to impossible. A blowout occurred on well number 14 on the Bravo platform of Ekofisk. At the time of the Bravo blowout, Phillips and the Oil Directorate had discussed a contingency plan for such an eventuality but none was in fact ready for use. The people at Ekofisk dealt with the immediate consequences of the blowout. In the Stavanger area, the main responsibility for coordination of the response to the blowout fell on the action center at the Sola air base. Both Phillips and the government, however, apparently decided to minimize the consequences publicly, while continuing to be privately concerned. The last British-Norwegian talks before Bravo took place in London in January 1977. A Shortly after Bravo, Norwegian Environment Minister Brundtland and Industry Minister Gjerde met with representatives from a number of North Sea countries.