Norway’s safety watchdog has raised concerns after carrying out an audit of the engineering and fabrication work for the Johan Sverdrup’s drilling facility.
The Petroleum Safety Authority carried out inspections at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, where the Drilling Support Module (DSM) is being constructed for the mega-project.
The audit is part of a series focused on Statoil’s management and follow-up and Aibel’s design engineering of the DSM and Main Support Frame (MSF) for the Johan Sverdrup.
Although no regulatory non-conformities were discovered, a number of improvement points were identified.
They concerned the quality-auditing of the supplier of welding personnel and the basis for qualifying welding procedures.
Statoil is to report back on how these improvement points will be assessed by April 28.
Johan Sverdrup is an oil and gas field under development at Utsira High in the North Sea, around 160 kilometres west of Stavanger.
Statoil is the field’s operator. The field will be developed using four fixed facilities with bridge connections. Water depth at the site is 110-120 metres. Production is scheduled to start in late 2019.