The audit was carried out on 14 November 2019.
Background
Under the regulations, the Oseberg H facility is defined as a simple facility, i.e. a facility without living quarters and which is normally unmanned.
When there are personnel on Oseberg H, a vessel with a gangway will be continuously connected and act as living quarters and a means of evacuation.
This is the first facility on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) based on manning by means of a gangway-equipped vessel, known as "walk to work" (W2W).
Oseberg H represents a new operating concept on the NCS and the audit was planned to verify that the safety of personnel working on the facility is ensured.
Objective
The objective of the audit was to verify that the preparations for operating Oseberg H using a vessel with a gangway comply with the regulatory requirements, so that safety is properly ensured.
Result
The audit identified four improvement points. These included the competency requirements of the Offshore Operation Manager, activation of emergency shutdown of Oseberg H, assessment of fire on the gangway-equipped vessel and competency requirements of gangway operators.
What happens now?
We have asked Equinor for their assessment of the improvement points we observed. The deadline for feedback is set at 10 January 2020.
Oseberg Vestflanken II
Oseberg is a field in the northern part of the North Sea. The water depth in the area is 100 metres. Oseberg was discovered in 1979, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1984. The field has been developed in multiple phases. Production started in 1988.
A PDO for Oseberg Vestflanken II was approved in 2016 and included an unmanned wellhead platform (UWP), Oseberg H, and new wells from the existing G4 template on the western flank.
Source: norskpetroleum.no