Serious breaches found during ‘Rowan Stavanger’ audit

Norway’s safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found serious breaches during an audit of Rowan Norway and the mobile drilling unit Rowan Stavanger.

The PSA said on Thursday that the audit, conducted from October 17-20, was directed at emergency preparedness and maintenance management on Rowan Stavanger.

The audit identified non-conformities related to maintenance management concerned faults and deficiencies in the maintenance management system.

The goal of the PSA’s audit was to verify that the regulatory requirements related to management of emergency preparedness and maintenance were being followed up.

The safety body followed up on findings from earlier supervisory activities directed at Rowan with regard to the management of emergency preparedness and maintenance, and to the company’s new system for maintenance management.

Notice of order

The PSA added that the non-conformities represented a serious breach of the regulations, and Rowan was given a notice of order as a result.

The safety watchdog told Rowan that the company must review the maintenance system, including competence with and training in its use, to ensure that it complies with the regulatory requirements. This work must include an analysis of why important deficiencies in the maintenance system have not been identified and followed up.

Also, the company must prepare a binding and scheduled plan to ensure that necessary training and maintenance required by the regulations are planned and implemented for all facilities within Rowan’s area of responsibility in Norway. This plan must be submitted to the PSA by November 27, together with the response to the audit report.

To clarify, an order is an administrative decision and a strongly preventive instrument which is legally binding on the recipient, in this case, Rowan. Before the PSA issues an order, it usually sends a notice of order to the affected companies which is neither an instrument nor a notice of sanctions.

PSA concluded by stating that a scheduled plan must be presented by December 11.

Rowan Stavanger

The rig is a jack-up unit of the KFELS N class, delivered in 2011 by Keppel Fels Shipyard in Singapore and operated by Rowan. The PSA issued Rowan Stavanger with an acknowledgment of compliance (AoC) in 2012.

After being laid up for a lengthy period, Rowan Stavanger is now back in operation. The rig started operation on the Varg field for Repsol at the beginning of September 2017, with an expected duration of approximately 208 days.