Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway -- StatoilHydro has consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the semisub Scarabeo 5 for production drilling and partial completion of two wells in the central Norwegian Sea. The rig, operated by Saipem, was built at Fincantieri Shipyards in Genoa, and completed in 1990.
The wells are part of production licence PL 094, in a water depth of around 300 m (984 ft). Activity is scheduled to start in mid-August, with an estimated duration of 112 days.
PSA also is assessing the suitability of another Saipem drilling semi, the newbuildScarabeo 8, to fulfil a program by Eni in the Barents Sea. The audit targeted technical safety, crane and lifting operations, working environment, and maintenance management.
The audit aims to increase understanding of the regulations through advice and guidance on some of the challenges the PSA has experienced during reviews for other newbuild projects. PSA says there is a need for such guidance, particularly among contractors building new facilities at yards with little or no experience with Norwegian regulations.
PSA says its investigations found causes for concern. Orderliness and tidiness on the facility were poor, it claimed, and the preservation of equipment and components was substandard. PSA is worried this may have consequences for safety and the working environment during the start-up and operations phase, leading also to higher maintenance costs in the future.
Scarabeo 8 is a dynamically positioned drilling facility of the Moss CS 50 MKII type. The hull was built at the Sevmash shipyard in Severovdinsk, Russia. Fabrication and outfitting is being performed at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo.
The project is behind the set schedule. During the audit, it emerged that no decision had been taken as to whether the facility would be completed as fully winterized. PSA also discovered that panels, cable trays, and other equipment in electrical rooms, the engine, and pump rooms were placed so as to obstruct access for maintenance and evacuation. Using the 3D model, it identified blind zone problems in connection with handling of materials using the cranes.
07/29/2009
