The audit was carried out between 18 October and 9 November 2023.
Objective
The objective of the audit was to assess how Equinor ensures compliance with regulatory requirements concerning the management of major accident risk and barriers at Oseberg Øst within process safety, technical safety and emergency preparedness.
In practice, this meant that we were to assess the organisation’s overview and control of factors that can:
- affect the risk of a major accident, and/or
- contribute to the development and escalation of an incident into a major accident
- influence the competence and capacity for handling hazard and accident situations
Result
Six non-conformities were identified during the audit. These comprised:
- Lack of passive fire protection
- Deficiencies in fire barriers for fire water and emergency power generators
- Missing headset for VHF in lifeboat
- Person weight and capacity of rescue equipment
- Training and drilling of the emergency response organisation on board
- Equipment in evacuation route
We also observed three factors that we have chosen to categorise as improvement points. These concerned:
- Operational barrier elements
- Safety of personnel during MOB operations
- Emergency preparedness analysis
What happens now?
We have asked Equinor to report to us by 17 January 2024 on how the non-conformities will be addressed, and for their assessment of the improvement points observed.