Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given consent to Gassco for major modifications at the Kårstø processing plant, which receives gas by pipeline from the North Sea and Norwegian Sea.
Kårstø is located at Tysvær in Rogaland county and is a processing facility for gas and condensate.
After the wet gas products have been separated out, the dry gas is piped to Germany, while the wet gas products are transported from the facility by ship. The plant is owned by Gassled and operated by Gassco with Statoil as technical service provider.
According to the safety authority, Gassco is to undertake a modification project, designated the Kårstø Integrity Project (KIP). This project comprises upgrades, improvements and the installation of new equipment.
The dimensions of the project mean that the modifications come under the regulatory definition for “major modifications” and accordingly require the operator to obtain consent from the PSA, which has now been given to Gassco,
The project also includes work outside of the facility’s boundary fence. The consent from the PSA does not apply to these parts of the work, which come under the authority of other agencies.