The audit was carried out on 3 and 4 September 2020.

Background

Hod is in the south of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 13 kilometres south of Valhall. Production began in 1990, but the original well head facility has since been shut down.

The licensees now want to redevelop the field, and in the summer of 2020 submitted a new plan for development and operation (PDO). The plan involves development with a new, unmanned wellhead platform tied to the Valhall field, with production start-up in 2022.

The motivation for the audit was the PDO for Hod. We wanted to monitor the follow-up of the design engineering at Aker BP, and the design engineering at Kvaerner.

Objective

The objective of the audit was to ascertain, by means of spot checks, whether the analyses, checks and verification of analyses were being carried out in conformity with applicable regulations.

Result

The audit identified two non-conformities and one improvement point. The non-conformities concerned verification of analyses and follow-up of other participants, while the matter categorised as an improvement point concerned arrangements for inspections during the operational phase.

What happens next?

We have asked Aker BP to report on how the non-conformities will be addressed and for their assessment of the improvement point observed. The deadline for reply is set at 23 November 2020.