Objective

From 8 to 11 November 2016, the PSA carried out an audit of major accident risk and electrical plant at Kårstø, where Gassco AS (Gassco) is the operator and Statoil ASA the technical service provider (TSP). The purpose of the audit was to assess the activities being undertaken to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements for electrical plant.

Result

Serious breaches of the regulations were identified.

Non-conformities and improvement points

The audit revealed non-conformities relating to:

  • Arcing in electrical equipment
  • Work in and operation of electrical installations
  • Protection against ignition and the spread of fire
  • Emergency lighting
  • Maintenance of explosion-proof equipment
  • Notification of hazard and accident situations
  • Non-conformity handling

In addition, improvement points were detected in connection with:

  • Heating cable installations
  • Test routines for safety equipment in switchrooms
  • Maintenance programme
  • Electrotechnical system analyses

Gassco has been given a deadline of 30 January 2017 to report on how the non-conformities will be dealt with and how the improvement points will be assessed.

Based on this audit we have issued the following order to Gassco and Statoil:

Pursuant to section 69 of the framework regulations on administrative decisions, see section 60 of the technical and operational regulations concerning work on and operation of electrical installations, sections 13 and 15 of the management regulations on work processes and information respectively, and sections 11 and 16 of the regulations for electrical equipment on marking and conditions of service respectively, the following order is issued to Gassco AS and Statoil ASA.

- Clearly inform all relevant personnel about the identified personal protective equipment (PPE) levels, and the hazards which these can involve in the event of an accident. At the same time, ensure that personnel obtain the necessary knowledge of correct protective clothing when working on and operating electrical installations/equipment in accordance with identified PPE levels.

- Incorporate work processes and routines to ensure personal safety when working on and operating electrical equipment in accordance with identified PPE levels.

- Adequately clarify, mark and provide information about the electrical equipment where PPE levels exceed normal protective clothing.

The deadline for compliance with the order is 31 December 2016. We must be notified when the order has been complied with.

Explanation of the terms "order" and "notification of order":
An order is an administrative decision made pursuant to the regulations. Before we issue an order, we generally send a "notification of order" to the affected companies.

A notification of order is neither an instrument nor a notice of sanctions, but a step in the PSA's case processing in which we request the party to assess the factual basis. The notification is only the first step before an administrative decision is made.

An order is a strongly preventive instrument which is legally binding on the recipient.