Norway's PSA Expands Acknowledgement of Compliance System

The King in Council stipulated amendments to the Framework Regulations on June 16, 2006. The Regulations entered into force on July 1, 2006. The changes relate in part to the Acknowledgement of Compliance system (AoC).

The AoC is a statement from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) to the effect that a mobile facility's technical condition, the applicant's organization and management system have been evaluated and found to be in compliance with relevant requirements in the Norwegian shelf regulations.

Since January 1, 2004, the AoC has been one of the preconditions for allowing a mobile drilling facility to carry out petroleum-related activities on the Norwegian shelf.

Following the amendment of the Framework Regulations in June 2006, the AoC has been made mandatory for the following mobile facilities registered in a national ships' registry:

• Drilling facilities, living quarter facilities, facilities for production, storage and offloading, as well as well intervention facilities that are to carry out petroleum activities on the shelf.

This expansion will become effective on January 1, 2007. Mobile facilities operating under a consent granted prior to January 1, 2007 must have an AoC by January 1, 2008.