Background and Objective

Total E&P Norge AS (Total) is the operator for the Martin Linge field, a gas and condensate field in the North Sea, 42 kilometres west of the Oseberg field. 

Martin Linge is being developed using an accommodation and production unit (PU) with a steel jacket, and a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit for oil storage. The wells are to be drilled using a mobile jack-up drilling facility. The facility will be powered from onshore.

Production is scheduled to start in late 2017.

The PSA has carried out an audit of how Total is ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements for barriers and maintenance in the Martin Linge PU development project.

The audit was conducted in two parts, firstly on 8 and 9 March at Total's Stavanger premises, and then from 14 to 16 June 2016 at the build site at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

Result

The audit revealed non-conformities relating to:

  • Maintenance management and preservation
  • Electrotechnical system analyses

In addition, improvement points were detected in connection with:

  • Barrier management
  • Selectivity of uninterruptible AC systems (UPS)
  • Arc discharge performance
  • Mechanical completion of heating cable installations
  • Requirements in the ATEX Directive
  • Equalizing connections/equipotential bonding
  • Switchgear thermography

Total has been given a deadline of 1 September 2016 to report on how the non-conformities and improvement points will be dealt with.