DNV carries out overhaul of ‘go-to standard’ for oil & gas, subsea, and offshore wind ops

As the offshore energy industry landscape evolves to adapt to the demands of the energy transition journey, DNV, a Norway-based classification society, has taken steps to undertake a significant revamp of the standard used for the design and planning of marine operations related to the transport, installation, and removal of oil and gas assets, offshore wind farms, and subsea cables in a bid to bring it up to code and ensure it will meet the fast-changing needs of the marine sector.

DNV’s first upgrade in five years of DNV-ST-N001, which is deemed to be a ‘go-to standard’ for marine operations, is said to reflect the winds of change that are sweeping across the offshore industry in line with its support of the energy transition. This revision future-proofs the standard, paving the way for it to keep on being relevant while aiding in the development of cost-effective marine operations during the shifts in the energy ecosystem due to the transition to low-carbon and green energy. 

Established as a result of the combination made up of DNV and Noble Denton legacy standards from the 1970s and 80s, this standard comes with a broad range of application opportunities, as it can be used for all marine operations and engineering requirements, concerning load-out, construction afloat, voyages, and installation, along with the loads that need to be addressed in the design of these marine operations. In addition, DNV-ST-N001 lays out the requirements from the perspective of the marine warranty surveyor (MWS), who reviews the marine operations.

Commenting on the implemented changes to the standard, Lucy Craig, Director, Growth, Innovation & Digitalization, Energy Systems at DNV, highlighted: “Following a high level of engagement from the industry, the latest revision of DNV-ST-N001 further reinforces its position as the de-facto standard used to safely undertake marine operations all over the world providing the needed assurance in the implementation of the energy transition.”

Since its creation in 2016, DNV-ST-N001 has undergone updates, but the latest one follows an external hearing exercise, during which more than 400 comments were received from the industry, of which over 350 were technical. This led DNV to undertake an overhaul of a body of work that spans almost 800 pages, with collaboration stretching across the organization’s global network of marine operations and marine warranty survey experts, working in its Noble Denton marine services area.

Ankor Raithatha, Global Service Area Leader for Noble Denton marine services at DNV, noted: “It was particularly encouraging to note the number of industry comments stemming from developers and contractors engaged in offshore wind farm construction activities, which demonstrates the importance of the standard to the industry and also influenced updates to numerous areas of the standard.”

Based on DNV’s estimates, offshore wind power will rise globally from 8% of total wind production in 2020 to 34% in 2050, totaling almost 2,000 GW to meet the energy transition demands. The Norwegian player’s outlook from October 2023 indicated that the energy transition was still in the starting blocks, as global energy-related emissions continued to climb.

Despite a rapid buildout of renewable capacity, renewables only met half, or 51%, of new energy demand during the five years from 2017 to 2022 while fossil sources took care of the remaining 49%. With the growth spurt of fossil fuel use in mind, DNV pointed out that renewables were just meeting increased demand rather than replacing fossil fuels. 

However, the report underlined that the lion’s share of primary energy supply additions from 2025 onward would come from non-fossil sources, primarily wind and solar, which would grow nine-fold and 17-fold between 2022 and 2050.