Wintershall Norge AS (Wintershall) is the operator on the Brage field, which is an oil field in the northern North Sea, approx. 13 kilometres east of Oseberg. Brage has been developed using a fixed, integrated production, drilling and accommodation facility. Oil from the field is transported by pipeline to Oseberg and from there on to the Sture terminal. Production at Brage began in 1993.
From 17 to 19 November 2014, the PSA carried out an audit of the Brage facility, focused on emergency preparedness and radio and telecommunications systems. The audit was carried out with technical assistance from Telenor Maritim Radio's radio inspection agency.
Objective
With regard to emergency preparedness, the purpose of the audit was to assess the dimensioning, handling and follow-up of emergency preparedness on board. Particular emphasis was attached to rescue equipment, personal life-saving equipment and competence and capacity relative to the tasks that the response teams face.
With regard to communications, the purpose was to verify the technical condition, maintenance and use of radio and telecommunications systems in relation to relevant regulatory requirements.
Result
The audit revealed non-conformities relating to:
- Governing documents and antenna diagrams
Improvement points were identified in connection with:
- Testing of radio equipment
- Communications equipment
- Training and drills
- Procedure in the event of facility black-out
- Maintenance of rescue equipment and labelling
- Headcount method when mobilising for lifeboat
- Updating of governing documents
Non-conformity:
Entails that a condition is assessed as not complying with a regulatory requirement.
Improvement point:
Entails that we have identified a deficiency or weakness, without there being sufficient grounds for determining a breach of regulatory requirements.