Acknowledgement of compliance (AoC)

An Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) is a decision by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway that expresses the authorities' confidence that petroleum activities can be carried out using the facility within the framework of the regulations.

The decision is based on information provided in the AoC application relating to the facility's technical condition and the applicant's organisation and management system, as well as the authorities' verifications and other processing.

Mandatory AoC
An AoC in itself confers no right to conduct petroleum activities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Securing an AoC is essential, however, if a mobile facility registered in a national register of shipping, is to work in the petroleum activities, and is mandatory for the following facilities:

Drilling facilities, living quarters facilities, facilities for production, storage and offloading, facilities for drilling, production, storage and offloading, as well as well intervention vessels which are to conduct petroleum activities on the NCS.

An applicant may be the owner of a mobile facility or another party who is in charge of day-to-day operation of such a facility, with the exception of operators, when said party participates in petroleum activities subject to Norwegian shelf jurisdiction.

Basis for documentation
An AoC is of significance as a basis for documentation in connection with subsequent consideration by the authorities, particularly in connection with the facility-specific part of an application for consent.

An AoC will be issued on the basis of the authorities' assessment of the condition of the facility, measured against the rules and regulations applying to the use of mobile facilities on the Norwegian continental shelf at the time of the AoC. For further details, see the regulations on the PSA website and 065 - Handbook for application for AoC.

Use of such an acknowledgement in the event of a subsequent application for consent for use, shall be seen in light of how the regulations or the facility's technical condition, the applicant's organisation and management systems have changed after the acknowledgement was issued.

An AoC encompasses technical matters, relevant parts of the applicant's management system, analyses performed, maintenance programme and upgrading plans.

An Aoc will be issued based on the authority's follow-up of the applicant and the information that the applicant has provided about the facility and the organisational conditions.

The PSA will, in consultation with other authorities that we co-operate with in connection with AoC, in each individual case decide on the extent of necessary processing. See the current agreement between the PSA and the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (in Norwegian only).

For further information about the contents of applications, see the Guidelines for application for AoC etc. (the AoC Guidelines).

AOC in connection with applications for consent
In connection with an application for consent for petroleum activities involving the use of a mobile facility, the operator may make reference to the acknowledgement of compliance issued by the PSA for that facility.

As regards facilities with no AoC prior to submitting an application for consent, one may apply for an AoC concurrently. The application may then comprise two parts: one part which contains factors specific to locality and activity, and one part containing factors specific to the facility, i.e. technical condition, the applicant's organisation and management system. The latter part constitutes the AoC application.

The Guidelines for application for AoC etc. (the AoC Guidelines) describe who may apply for an AoC, expand on the status given to an AoC and give guidance on how to structure the application for such an acknowledgement.

An AoC may also be applied for on an independent basis.

If an exemption from the rules and regulations has been granted, it is granted in respect of the mobile facility. At the outset it will not be necessary to apply for a new exemption for the same circumstance in connection with an application for a new consent, unless else follows from special conditions and prerequisites of the exemptions granted. See the Framework Regulations Section 70 with guidelines. The operator must, however, as part of his planning of activities, consider the consequences of such an exemption.

When applying for consent at a later stage, an overview shall be provided of previously granted exemptions according to the legislation relating to health, safety and the environment, cf. Regulations relating to management and the duty to provide information in the petroleum activities and at certain onshore facilities (the Management Regulations) Section 26 first paragraph litera e.

Mobile facilities that have submitted applications for AoC
When applying for consent subsequent to the rig owner having submitted an application for AoC, the operator may make reference to documentation already submitted.

Prior to an AoC being issued by the PSA, the operator is the main addressee for all correspondence and decisions related to the consent processing.