Workers removed from oil platforms as hurricane threatens heavy rain, winds
HALIFAX — ExxonMobil removed some of its workers from offshore oil platforms Wednesday as hurricane Chris advanced toward Atlantic Canada.
The Category 2 storm, which was churning out winds in excess of 155 kilometres per hour, was expected to track south of Nova Scotia early Thursday before possibly making landfall in eastern Newfoundland later in the day.
ExxonMobil said in a statement that an unspecified number of non-essential employees was taken off the Sable Offshore Energy facilities, which are near Sable Island, about 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax.
“We continue to monitor, but based on current forecasts we do not expect the storm to affect our offshore operations,” ExxonMobil spokesman Merle MacIsaac said in an email, referring to the Sable project.