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§ 26 Documentation in the early phase

When a decision has been made to start planning an exploration drilling activity, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority shall be informed of when this planning starts. The plans shall document how the work will be organised, managed and carried out, as well as include information on the competence required to carry out the work.
When a decision has been made to prepare plans with a view toward approval or consent pursuant to Sections 4-2 and 4-3 of the Petroleum Act, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority shall be informed of when this planning starts. The plans shall document how the work will be organised, managed and carried out, as well as include information on the competence required to carry out the work.
If, with a view toward approval or consent pursuant to Sections 4-2 and 4-3 of the Petroleum Act, the plan calls for the use of a completely or partly pre-designed or pre-fabricated facility to carry out the petroleum activities, an account of which measures will be implemented to qualify the facility for use in these activities shall be provided, in addition to documentation as mentioned in the second subsection.
Documentation of the plans, as mentioned in this section's first and second subsections, shall be available for submission to the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority as needed.
Section last changed: 01 January 2011

In the first subsection, a new provision has been included requiring that the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority be informed of the scheduled start-up for planning an exploration drilling activity. The provision will ensure that the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority can, in ample time, follow up how the operator is organising, managing and planning the activities towards submitting an application for consent to carry out exploration drilling. For operators with experience from carrying out exploration drilling on the Norwegian shelf, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority has sufficient information to follow up the companies' planning, and the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority will receive the necessary information through the continuous follow-up of the individual operator. The provision is therefore primarily directed towards new operators planning their first exploration drilling. It is important that the individual company contacts the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority as early as possible to clarify the estimated start-up of planning in relation to the time of submission of the application for consent to carry out exploration drilling.
The second subsection clarifies the legal basis for the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority to carry out supervision of the safety in the activities from the time a decision is made to prepare a Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) of petroleum deposits or a Plan for Installation and Operation (PIO) of facilities for transport and utilisation of petroleum. The provision clarifies the Petroleum Act's assumption that this primarily concerns documents that companies have already prepared for themselves. However, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority can request additional documents or special documentation. Such documentation shall be related to matters the business itself has chosen to consider. Reference is also made to the comments regarding Section 9-6 (previously 9-5) of the Petroleum Act, see Odelsting Proposition No. 43 (1995-1996), pages 58 and 59.