Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found several non-conformities during an audit of Wintershall’s qualification and follow-up of the West Phoenix drilling rig.
The PSA said on Thursday that the audit, conducted on March 1, 2018, was in connection with Wintershall’s use of the West Phoenix rig to drill the Balderbrå exploration well in production license 894 in the Norwegian Sea.
The objective of the audit was to examine and verify Wintershall’s processes and specific activities as an operator in connection with the contract signing and the rig acceptance procedure.
The agency added that non-conformities were identified relating to the supervisory duty and compliance with Wintershall’s rig acceptance procedure, including follow-up of internal procedures.
Also, deviations from procedural requirements that were not handled as non-conformities in the company’s management system were also identified.
The PSA told Wintershall to report on how the non-conformities would be dealt with by April 12, at the latest.
To remind, the PSA gave North Atlantic Drilling Limited, the owner of the rig, a notice of order following non-conformities and improvement points revealed during an audit of the West Phoenix conducted on January 9 – 11.
In late March Wintershall made a gas discovery with the 6604/5-1 well some 115 kilometers southwest of the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea, using the West Phoenix.