By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 23 -- The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) notified Statoil that it required the company to prepare additional assessments regarding the well-control incident that occurred while drilling Well 34/10-C-06A from the Gullfaks C platform.
PSA also said that the deficiencies identified in Statoil's report on the incident sent to PSA largely coincided with PSA's findings (OGJ Online, Nov. 5, 2010).
The well drilled from November 2009 to July of this year experienced several serious well-control incidents before being plugged and temporarily abandoned.
PSA ordered Statoil to do the following:
• Review and assess compliance with the work processes established to safeguard drilling on Gullfaks.
• Conduct an independent assessment of why measures adopted after earlier incidents, including the gas blowout on Snorre A in 2004 with similar causes did not have the desired effect on Gullfaks.
• Assess the results of the work done under the first two orders and, on that basis, implement measures in the rest of the company.
• Prepare a plan to PSA for executing these items.
PSA said the deadline for Statoil to implement the four items is Jan 1, 2011, for the first item; July 1, 2011, for the second and third items; and Dec. 10, 2010, for the fourth item.
Rendering from Cedar LNG.
US Government Accountability Office.
