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§ 17 Instrumentation for monitoring and recording

Facilities shall be outfitted with instrumentation for monitoring and recording conditions and parameters that can be significant in verifying the results from analyses, as well as parameters of significance to the facility's further use.
Facilities shall also be outfitted with instrumentation for recording environmental data that can be significant to the petroleum activities. Facilities' instrumentation for flight weather service shall fulfil the requirements Section 37 in Regulations on helicopter aviation - use of offshore helicopter decks (in Norwegian only) and in the Civil Aviation Authority's Regulations relating to flight weather service (in Norwegian only).
The first facility of a new type shall be outfitted with instruments to collect data to verify the calculations. Fixed reference electrodes shall be installed on the first facility in areas where the corrosion conditions differ from areas where experience has been gained.
Section last changed: 01 January 2020

For requirements related to collecting and making data available, see Section 19 of the Management Regulations.
The instrumentation as mentioned in the first subsection, should be designed so that it can monitor and record:
  1. structural integrity for load-bearing structures and pipeline systems
    Monitoring of structural integrity includes recording parameters that result in significant tension or compression stress, or large movements as a result of waves and currents.
  2. critical degradation of materials
    Critical degradation may include corrosion and erosion. In order to monitor corrosion, multiple independent corrosion monitoring systems may be relevant if maintenance, including inspection, is difficult to perform.
  3. critical operational parameters
    Critical operational parameters can include the drilling fluid's properties, pressure and particle content in the production stream, pressure in seal oils in swivels and gas composition and pressure in facilities for manned underwater operations.
Data on natural conditions (environmental data) as mentioned in the second subsection, means data on oceanography, seismology and meteorology, including data that is of significance for the flight weather service.
In order to fulfil the requirement relating to instrumentation for meteorological and oceanographic data, the standard NS-EN ISO 19901 Part 1 should be used. Measurement of seismological data should be carried out on land or on the seabed, at a sufficient distance from the facilities to ensure that the recording of data can take place without significant interference from the activities on the facilities. The measurement station should preferably be located on land since this usually provides more reliable and better data than a measurement station on the seabed.
For instrumentation related to monitoring and registration of pollution, see Chapter X of the Activities Regulations. New type as mentioned in the third subsection, means a type that deviates materially from previous structural solutions, i.e. a prototype. When facilities have instruments to measure structural behaviour, environmental data should be measured simultaneously.