HSE inspectors have complained that redundant alarms flagged on Repsol Sinopec’s Auk platform in 2021 have not been addressed two years later.
A trio of improvement notices were issued for the platform, which lies around 150 miles south-east of Aberdeen, after Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors found alarm issues had gone unresolved and servicing windows for turbine equipment had been routinely missed.
A spokesperson for Repsol Sinopec confirmed receipt of the notices and said the company was working with the HSE to address the issues.
Inspectors reported that Repsol Sinopec had committed to removing over 50 redundant fuel gas standing alarms from a total of 72 standing systems, in a written response to a previous inspection dated 26 July 2021.
However, as of 16 May HSE officials said the alarms had yet to be be removed and that the operator had offered no timescale in which it would do so.
The operator has since told Energy Voice the matter would be addressed by the end of October 2023.
Further notices found that critical maintenance windows for two of Auk’s gas turbines had been forgone “without any adequate justification.”
During an April 2023 visit, HSE inspectors found that a GT3 560 Ruston Turbines generator had run for 65,301 hours since June 2010 without either of its required services undertaken at 24,000 hours or 48,000 hours.
A second unit, a GT1 550 had been in service for even longer – operating for 78,179 hours since January 2008 – again without maintenance at the same intervals.
In both cases, the HSE noted that the platform operator had “failed to ensure that work equipment was maintained in an efficient state”.
Repsol Sinopec has until mid-October to bring the first unit up to code, though servicing of the GT1 must occur before the end of August, according to the improvement notices.
In a statement, the company said: “We can confirm that the standing alarms associated with the redundant fuel gas package will be removed by the end of October with our plan meeting the expectations of the HSE.
“We are working with the HSE regarding the reserve gas turbines and will implement the necessary changes to meet the requirements of the Improvement Notice.
“Safe operations in all company activities are a priority and we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all personnel who work on our sites.”
The Auk field was discovered in 1970, with the main platform installed in 1974 and production brought online a year later.
Last year the platform was the site of a six-and-a-half-tonne oil spill – one of the largest in 2022 – which saw hydrocarbons jettisoned into the Fulmar Marine Conservation Zone – an area designed to protect rare, important or threatened undersea species.
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