Probe finds room for improvement at Statoil’s Johan Sverdrup development

Norway’s offshore safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has identified several improvement points during its audit of the Johan Sverdrup export pipelines, offshore Norway.

The PSA said the audit was conducted on April 18 and 19 with the goal of establishing if Statoil has been carrying out the project in compliance with applicable regulations and recognized norms and that the requirements in HSE regulations are provided for.

Although no non-conformities were identified during the detail engineering audit of the export pipelines, several improvement points were noted.

The agency has identified improvement points regarding governing documents, verifications, and systems for pressure protection of oil pipes and analyses.

According to the PSA, Statoil must respond on how the improvement points will be dealt with by July 8, at the latest.

The Johan Sverdrup field is located in the North Sea, 155 kilometers west of Stavanger. First steel for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform was cut in February this year, and production is scheduled to start by the end of 2019. Statoil is the field operator with Lundin, Petoro, Det norske and Maersk as partners.