STATOILHYDRO is in the firing line at Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), which found a number of regulatory violations in its investigation of lifeboat incidents on the Veslefrikk B and Kristin platforms in December, 2008, and January, 2009. An order will now be served on the company.
The PSA said problems with releasing FF1000S-type freefall lifeboats were identified and that these incidents led to lifeboats of this type on both installations being taken out of service on January 7, with a consequent workforce reduction on Veslefrikk B and a workforce reduction and production shutdown on Kristin. Besides faulty mechanisms, a catalogue of issues has been cited by the PSA. This includes deficient management of activities for replacing and improving lifeboats on Kristin and Veslefrikk B; also that changes had been made without any analysis of the risk associated with new lifeboats as a complete evacuation system.
PSA added that there had also been inadequate follow-up of safety-critical faults and that the testing and maintenance programme was deficient.