Norway reports oil spill after break-in at abandoned station

A suspected act of sabotage caused an oil spill near Oslo, with 50-60 tons leaking from a disused transformer station, Norwegian media reported. Authorities have contained much of the spill, but some oil has reached the Sandvikselva River, prompting ongoing cleanup efforts.

Tons of oil were discovered to have leaked following a suspected act of sabotage at a decommissioned electricity transformer station near Oslo, Norway, as reported by media on Monday.

A break-in at the Barum station on Sunday evening led to a spill of around 50-60 tons of oil, according to Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

Statnett, Norway’s national electricity grid operator, stated that its staff managed to address much of the spill, but some oil had already leaked into the Sandvikselva River.

To mitigate the impact, Statnett and Barum Municipality placed absorbent materials in the river, while the fire department deployed a temporary floating barrier to contain the spill.

Cleanup efforts, which began on Sunday, are still ongoing, the report added.

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