Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor has found deviations in welding quality and inspection of the FPSO for the Johan Castberg project in the Barents Sea.
The vessel is under construction at the Sembcorp Marine yard in Singapore.
Under the contract the yard is responsible for correcting all deviations in quality and costs related to repair of welding defects.
“To ensure learning and avoid similar situations in other projects or at other yards, we have carried out a thorough investigation,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for project development.
In the summer of 2019 Equinor’s team cross-checked Sembcorp’s ultrasonic inspection of welds in the moonpool area of the hull using its own personnel.
The team discovered a higher failure rate than had been reported. This led to a cross-check of all assembly welds, with unusually high failure rates in fabrication welds coming to light at a later point.
“We have therefore reassessed all structural welds on the hull,” Tungesvik said. “This is a very demanding job as the hull has already been built, however safety comes first.
“The vessel must meet the requirements incorporated in the plan for development and operation and obtain a DNV class certificate before sailing to the field,” Tungesvik said.
Cross-checking continues through use of non-destructive testing, including ultrasound.
The hull is due to be transported in late 2021 to Stord, western Norway, onboard the heavy-lift vessel BOKA Vanguard.
04/19/2021
