Offshore Safety Watchdog Orders BP to Review Its Risk Management Measures (Norway)

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway today submitted a notification of order to BP in relation to the oil leak which occurred on the P platform at Ula Field in the southern section of the Norwegian part of the North Sea in September 2012.

The oil safety watchdog requested BP to review its management system for the NCS with a view to evaluating whether it is adequate for identifying and managing risk, including an assessment of why the system has not been adequate for identifying and dealing with the nonconformities identified in the investigation of the leak on Ula.

Additionaly, BP has been ordered to assess whether measures planned and initiated after the fire on Valhall in 2011 and other improvement activities are relevant and collectively adequate in light of the nonconformities identified following the leak on Ula. The deadline for completing this review is set at 1 September 2013.

To remind, in September last year, a substantial hydrocarbon leak occurred on the production (P) installation on the Ula field at the southern end of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) on 12 September 2012.

The investigation has revealed that the leak was caused by fracturing of the bolts holding together a valve in a separator outlet.

Production was shut down for 67 days as a result of the leak. No people were injured in the incident.

The PSA has concluded that the incident had the potential to become a major accident, with the risk that a number of lives might have been lost and substantial material damage caused.