Irregularities found during Songa Enabler rig audit offshore Norway

Norwegian offshore safety watchdog the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has found irregularities during an audit regarding the use of the Songa Enabler rig on the Goliat field.

Songa Enabler; Image source: Lundin

The PSA said on Friday that the audit identified non-conformities and improvement points linked to the use of the rig on the Goliat field in the Barent Sea, off Norway.

The audit, conducted from June 8 to 18, was focused on whether Eni and Transocean and their contractors, were complying with the regulatory requirements for planning and execution of drilling and well operations and emergency preparedness using the Songa Enabler.

PSA identified non-conformities in connection with planning and risk management of drilling and well operations, management of change (MOC), and systematic emergency preparedness training.

The other non-conformities were in relation to the classification of safety-critical equipment, system for follow-up of competence and training of temporary employees, as well as training and exercises for drilling and well personnel.

Apart from the non-conformities, the PSA found six improvement points in connection with IWCF certification not carried out, employee participation, quality and language of procedures, robustness in the event of nurse’s absence, learning from well control incidents, and knowledge and use of Well Control Bridging Document.

The PSA told Eni and Transocean to report on how the non-conformities and improvement points would be addressed by September 21, 2018.

It is also worth noting that the PSA found irregularities during an audit of the Goliat FPSO earlier this week.

Goliat is an oil field in the Barents Sea, around 85 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest. The field has been developed using a cylindrical FPSO. The wells are drilled from subsea templates which are tied back to the FPSO. Production at the field began in March 2016.

As for the rig, the Songa Enabler is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the CAT D type. It was delivered by the Daewoo yard in South Korea in 2016 and is registered in Norway. The rig was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in July 2016.