Offshore safety audit finds flaws related to Visund’s flexible risers

Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found several issues related to flexible risers during an audit of the Statoil-operated Visund field off Norway. 

Visund is an oil and gas field in blocks 34/8 and 34/7, 22 kilometers north-east of the Gullfaks field in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea. The field has been developed with a floating production, drilling and quarters platform.

The PSA said on Monday it had carried out an audit of integrity and barrier management of flexible risers and associated safety equipment at Visund.

The objective of the activity was to follow up on issues linked to flexible risers detected, notably, during investigation of flexible risers at Visund and Njord in 2011, and to verify that integrity and barrier management for flexible risers and associated safety equipment comply with the company’s own and regulatory requirements.

According to the safety agency, two non-conformities were identified in connection with process fires and system for emergency shutdown.

In addition, six improvement points were identified in connection with testing of overpressure safety system, emergency preparedness manual, reporting and follow-up of valves in the maintenance system, composite deck gratings in evacuation routes, competence, and depressuring of risers.

Statoil has been given a deadline of December 8, 2017, to report on how the non-conformities and improvement points will be addressed.

Statoil’s partners in the field are ConocoPhillips, Petoro, and Total Norge.