PSA Norway conducted an audit of design engineering and verification of sea ice loads on the Johan Castberg facility, on 24 and 25 May 2018. The audit did not find any non-conformities , but it found some points that need to be improved.
The objective of the audit was to make sure that the design engineering and related verification of ice loads on the hull complied with the regulations.
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No non-conformities were identified, however, improvement points were identified regarding:
- Quality controls of analyses;
- Verification of specifications;
- The probability of collision with sea ice and icebergs;
- Combinations of sea ice loads with hydrostatic pressure.
Equinor has until 12 July 2018 to report on how the improvement points will be addressed.
Earlier in June, the Norwegian Parliament approved the plan for development and operation of the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, on Monday 11 June. The plan will now be submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for formal approval.
The field will be operated by Equinor, and its first oil scheduled for 2022. The field development includes a production vessel and a subsea system, 30 wells distributed on 10 templates and 2 satellite structures. This is currently the largest subsea field under development globally.