Statoil Evacuates North Sea Platforms Ahead of Storm

Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil is moving some workers off seven North Sea platforms in anticipation of a weekend storm, but production should not be affect, a spokesman said on Friday.

"We are partly unmanning the Statfjord B and C, Troll B, Snorre B, Veslefrikk, Huldra and Heimdal platforms, but production should not be affected," Statoil spokesman Oerjan Heradstveit said.

"We plan to move people back as soon as weather conditions allow, which could be as early as Saturday evening."

Statoil did not say how many workers would be moved.

Wind speeds could reach hurricane levels of 35-45 metres per second, resulting in 10-12 metre high waves, the Norwegian meteorological institute said.

The storm will also hit Norway's southwestern coast were several gas processing plants are located, potentially disrupting power supply across the region.

Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis