Equinor told to fix issues on two Norwegian projects

Norwegian offshore safety agency, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found nonconformities following audits of the Equinor-operated Johan Castberg and Kristin projects in Norway.

The PSA on Friday released two reports following audits of Equinor projects.

The audit of the preservation of equipment and systems for Johan Castberg at the construction sites at Stord and Egersund was conducted from 14 to 28 September 2020.

The objective of the audit was to verify that the preservation of equipment and systems complies with the regulatory requirements.

Two non-conformities were identified in connection with governing documents (Stord and Egersund) and non-conformity handling (Stord and Egersund).

In addition, four improvement points were identified relating to historical recording (Stord and Egersund), own follow-up (Stord and Egersund), maintenance programme (Stord), and preservation (Egersund).

The safety authority asked Equinor to report on how the non-conformities will be addressed and for the assessment of the improvement points observed. The deadline for this is set for 4 December 2020.

The Johan Castberg field is situated approximately 100 kilometres north of the Snøhvit-field in the Barents Sea. The field is expected to come on stream in 2023 and will produce for 30 years.

Furthermore, the PSA conducted the audit of Equinor and the company’s integrity and barrier management for flexible risers and selected safety systems at Kristin.

The audit was conducted on 30 August and 1 September 2020.

The objective of the audit was to monitor that integrity and barrier management at Kristin, including flexible risers, piping, valves and selected safety systems, complies with the regulations and company’s internal requirements.

Three non-conformities were identified, relating to non-conformity handling, incident reporting, and risers.

Two improvement points were also identified in connection with maintenance management and follow-up.

Equinor has been asked to report on how the non-conformities will be addressed. The PSA has also asked for the company’s assessment of the observations it has categorized as improvement points. The reply deadline is set for 1 December 2020.

The Kristin gas and condensate field is located in the south-western part of the Halten Bank in the Norwegian Sea. The field came on stream on 3 November 2005.