Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority has carried out an audit of MOL Norge and site-specific analyses of load-bearing structures, in respect of the company’s first drilling operation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
PSA gave MOL Norge consent for exploration drilling of well 2/6-6 S in the North Sea and carried out an audit on 14 August. This is MOL Norge’s first own-operated drilling operation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The topic of the audit was site-specific analyses of load-bearing structures. By means of spot checks, PSA wanted to see how MOL Norge monitors structural issues relating to site-specific analyses at the drilling location.
No regulatory non-conformities were identified, but we observed certain improvement points, which we have asked MOL Norge to give their assessment of by 27 September of this year.
The improvement points included erosion around the legs, low collision frequencies of visiting ships, wave crest height and missing assessments of seismic loads.
The well is to be drilled in the southern sector of the northern North Sea, 45 kilometres east of the Valhall and Ekofisk fields and 20 km north of the boundary with Denmark. Water depth at the site is 70 metres.
Drilling is scheduled to begin in September 2018 and expected to last between 66 and 71 days.
