Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway – Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has issued ConocoPhillips notification concerning the pressure relief system on the Tor 2/4 E platform in the southern Norwegian North Sea.
Due to non-conformity with regulatory requirements, ConocoPhillips has been ordered to stop using all processes that require a functioning pressure relief system on Tor 2/4 E until a satisfactory solution is in place.
The Tor oil field came onstream in 1978, and has been developed with a combined wellhead and processing installation tied back to the Ekofisk complex.
The system on Tor 2/4 E requires manual operation in the field in order to achieve full pressure relief, which according to PSA is not acceptable. Because of the non-conformance, it adds, full pressure relief cannot be achieved in certain emergency situations.
In 2008, ConocoPhillips sought exemption from technical requirements in the regulations, including the pressure relief system, when it applied for consent to extend the producing life of Tor 2/4 E.
The PSA granted a temporary exemption to the end of 2010, but the operator had not corrected the non-conformity by that date. PSA turned down ConocoPhillips’ subsequent two exemption applications in 2011 and earlier this year.
4/23/2012
