Irregularities found during emergency preparedness audit of Valaris rig

Norwegian offshore safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found several irregularities regarding the emergency preparedness on the Valaris-owned Valaris JU-292 rig, formerly known as the Rowan Norway.

The PSA said
on Thursday that the audit was carried out with the assistance of the Norwegian
Maritime Directorate between 31 January and 6 February 2020. The company in
focus was Valaris’ Norwegian subsidiary – Rowan Norway Ltd.

The
objective of the audit was to verify the company’s compliance with the HSE
regulations within the domain of emergency preparedness for the rig.

The offshore
safety body identified non-conformities relating to fire protection, lifeboats,
helicopter deck, signage and marking of evacuation routes, and escape from
lifts.

The PSA also
found improvement points regarding emergency preparedness documentation, arrangements
for safety service, and the transfer of experience.

Valaris’ subsidiary was told to report on how the non-conformities would be addressed and for the company’s assessment of the improvement points observed. The reply deadline is set on 25 June 2020.

Clearing up the possible confusion about the name difference between the subsidiary and main company might be in order.

Namely, Valaris is the new name the EnscoRowan company took following the merger of Ensco and Rowan in April last year.

ConocoPhillips recently received consent from the PSA to use the Valaris JU-292 on the Ekofisk field offshore Norway.

The consent
applies to the plugging and abandonment of six wells and the removal of
conductor casings for five wells that have already been plugged and abandoned
at Ekofisk.

As for the
rig, it is a jack-up drilling rig built in 2011. The rig has been under
contract with ConocoPhillips in Norway since November 2019. The contract end
date is set for February 2021.