PSA Issues Order to BP in Connection with Hydrocarbon Leakage

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has issued an order to BP Norge AS. BP was notified in a letter to the company on June 24, 2005. The order is related to a matter in connection with preventing hydrocarbon leakages.

During our audit in connection with preventing hydrocarbon leakages at Valhall in weeks 20 and 22 we identified, among other things, that the established system for maintenance of operational documentation is not being followed up sufficiently to ensure that the operational documentation in the paper archives on the field is up-to-date at all times.

This is a deviation from the regulatory requirement in Section 18 of the Activities Regulations.

The PSA issued the following order to the company:

Pursuant to Section 18 of the Activities Regulations relating to start-up and operation of facilities, BP is ordered to ensure that governing documents for operation - including P&ID and C&E diagrams - are maintained in such a way that ensures that an up-to-date version is always accessible and that operations personnel are aware of such documents.

The order also includes identifying the cause(s) of why the existing system for updating documentation for operation is not fully observed in the Valhall organization. The deadline for implementing the activities encompassed in the order is set at 8 August 2005.

A description of the measures implemented shall be provided to the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, either in the form of a letter or by means of a meeting.