OSLO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Energy companies operating in theNorwegian sector of the North Sea are moving some staff ashorebecause of an approaching winter storm but production is so farunaffected, they said on Tuesday.
ConocoPhillips has moved 157 people off its hugeEkofisk field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea while BP moved around a 120 people off Valhall in what itdescribed as standard procedure.
"We have brought a limited amount of personnel - 157-onshore out of an abundance of caution," ConocoPhillipsspokesman Kris Sava said. "Operations at this point have notbeen affected."
The first major winter storm of the season is expected tobring heavy snow to parts of southern Norway on Thursday andNorth Sea waves are expected to reach up to 10 metres, themeteorological office said.
Statoil, the biggest operator in the Norwegiansector of the North Sea, could not immediately comment while theNorwegian unit of Royal Dutch Shell said it had noplans to move any personnel from platforms.
Nexen, which operates Britain's biggest oilfield, Buzzard,the largest contributor to the Forties stream, and Taqa, which operates the Brent pipeline system and a numberof platforms and fields in the UK sector of the North Sea, didnot immediately respond to requests for comment.