Offshore watchdog finds irregularities in ‘West Bollsta’ AoC application

Norwegian offshore safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found irregularities regarding an application for the Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) for the West Bollsta drilling rig.

The PSA said on Thursday that the audit, conducted from February 17 to 19, looked at how Seadrill managed the logistics on the West Bollsta.

According to the offshore safety body, the objective of the audit was to verify the technical condition and relevant documents in the management system to monitor compliance with the petroleum regulations.

Seadrill has already applied for an Acknowledgement of Compliance for the drilling rig. During the audit, the facility was in the process of being prepared for operation on the NCS.

The PSA added that it found non-conformities relating to offshore cranes – the crane operator’s view of loading areas, certification of lifting equipment in the drilling area, communication, and unclarified aspects of logistics. The safety watchdog didn’t identify any improvement points.

The safety watchdog told Seadrill to report on how the non-conformities would be addressed by April 17, 2020. It is also worth noting that before we issue an AoC, the company must correct all known safety-critical non-conformities, and the rig must have been issued with maritime certificates from the appropriate flag state.

The West Bollsta semi-submersible drilling rig is capable of operating in harsh environment areas and in ultra-deep waters of up to 10,000 feet.

The West Bollsta, formerly known as the Bollsta Dolphin, was bought by Northern Drilling from Hyundai in December 2017. The original client for the rig, Fred. Olsen Energy canceled the order in 2015 as a result of the delays in the delivery date. The West Bollsta is managed by Seadrill during its contract with Lundin.

Namely, Northern Drilling won a 10-well contract in Norway for the West Bollsta with Lundin back in late February 2019.

Under the terms of the contract, the drilling program for the rig included the development of the Luno II field and the Rolvsnes discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea with the contract start expected in the second quarter of 2020.

It is also worth reminding that Semco Maritime has recently been awarded a contract by Seadrill for preparation and modification of the West Bollsta rig prior to starting its ten-well contract with Lundin.

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