The UK safety regulator has warned CNOOC over its inspection routines for process equipment on board the North Sea’s Buzzard platform.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Chinese state-backed operator had failed to properly inspect the integrity of drainage equipment on the asset, having deferred it four times.
The failure to sufficiently examine the system for possible deterioration could lead to a loss of containment of the hazardous liquids and gases, and a potentially “dangerous situation”, it said.
In an improvement notice HSE inspectors noted the company had failed to inspect a closed drain drum – a system used to collect drained liquids and hazardous fluids from process vessels, keeping them out of contact with the atmosphere.
The design of the Buzzard system means some portions of the equipment cannot be inspected through non-invasive means, though the HSE contended that an invasive inspection – typically a physical examination beyond visual assessment alone – would be “reasonably practicable and in-line with industry good practice.”
It found that CNOOC had deferred an invasive inspection on four separate occasions, justifying the decision via risk assessments. The HSE found these justifications were “insufficient” to support the move to a different inspection strategy.
CNOOC later stated that an invasive inspection would be undertaken at an opportune point but did not specify a date. The regulator argued that this would not allow the operator to validate the condition and integrity of corrosion-resistant alloy liner within the vessel and ensure its continued safe operation.
“As such these deterioration mechanisms may not be detected and remedied in good time,” it warned.
It comes amid a sharp focus on North Sea maintenance after documents unearthed last year showed the HSE had catalogued a string of safety failings across more than a dozen platforms, including a “shocking” maintenance backlog, though CNOOC assets were not mentioned.
CNOOC has until the end of September 2024 to comply with the notice. The company has been approached for comment.
Rumoured North Sea sell-off
Lying some 62 miles off Aberdeen, Buzzard was the largest discovery in UK waters for 20 years when it was found in 2001. Still one of the UK’s highest-producing fields and a major production hub, it ranked fourth in the basin terms of per-barrel production in 2021.
CNOOC operates the field with a 43.2% stake, alongside Equinor (29.89%), Harbour Energy (21.73%) and ONE-Dyas UK Limited (5.16%).
It also operates the Golden Eagle and Scott platforms among stakes in other sites.
However, reports in recent years suggest the company has been looking for buyers for its assets as it looks to exit the region.
At the time, Harbour Energy (LON: HBR), NEO and Waldorf Petroleum were all viewed as “likely” candidates to pick up CNOOC’s installations.
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