5 HEALTH AND SAFETY
APPROVALS AND PERMITS GRANTED PURSUANT TO THE OFFSHORE SAFETY ACT IN 2008
The supervision of health and safety on fixed and mobile offshore units in the Danish sector of the North Sea also involves granting approvals and permits for design, com-missioning and modifications that impact the risk of major accidents, as well as for the decommissioning of offshore installations.
When designing an offshore installation, the operator must attempt to minimize the risk of accidents occurring during the operation of the finished installation. Before a fixed offshore installation is built, the DEA must approve the general design on the basis of an application that includes a Health and Safety Case (HSC) for the installa-tion; see box 5.6.
The HSC is updated concurrently with details about health and safety matters becoming available during the design, fabrication and installation phases. The DEA supervises the project throughout all these phases and subsequently supervises the operation of the installation.
In 2008, the DEA issued the following approvals:
The Halfdan Field
The general design of a new processing platform, Halfdan BD, was approved. Halfdan BD will be connected by a bridge to Halfdan BA and located approximately 100 m southwest of Halfdan BA. The Halfdan BD processing platform will be equipped with a control room and various processing equipment. The platform is expected to be commissioned in 2011.
Permits were issued for the installation of a new wellhead module on the Halfdan BB platform, the commissioning of a new crane, also on Halfdan BB, and increased man-ning on Halfdan BA and Halfdan BB.
The Dan Field
Following the commissioning of the well caisson (protection for the conductors), slots and wellhead module at the western flank of the Dan Field, a new operating permit was issued in March 2008 for the Dan F installation.
The Nini Field
Development and production from the Nini East accumulation was approved in January 2008. The approval also covers the general design of a new production plat-form and pipelines to the existing Nini platplat-form. The Nini East platplat-form and associ-ated pipelines are expected to be installed during 2009. The template for the Nini East wells was installed in November 2008.
The water-injection pipeline from Siri to Nini has been damaged, and in July 2008 the DEA permitted replacement of the pipeline, which is expected to be carried out in 2009.
The Tyra Field
Permission has been granted to strengthen the load-bearing structure and establish a new boat-landing facility for the Tyra East A platform.
Permission has been granted to operate at low pressure in the Harald Field.
The original permit to commission the unmanned production platform Valdemar BA was subject to the establishment of a bridge link between the Valdemar BA platform and the Noble Byron Welliver drilling rig, as the drilling rig was also used for accom-modation purposes for personnel working on Valdemar BA. In 2008, Noble Byron Welliver was moved from Valdemar BA, and a new operating permit without any condition concerning a bridge link to the drilling rig was therefore issued.
Mobile units
In 2008, an operating permit was issued for the ENSCO 71 drilling rig, and the opera-ting permit for the ENSCO 101 drilling rig was renewed. A five-year operaopera-ting permit was also granted for the Noble Byron Welliver drilling rig. In addition, an operating permit was issued for the completely new drilling rig Mærsk Resolute.
Moreover, the operating permit for the Safe Esbjerg flotel, which is located at the Gorm Field, has been renewed.
Box 5.6
Approvals and permits in the lifecycle of a fixed offshore installation A number of approvals and permits must be obtained from the DEA for the purpose of developing a hydrocarbon discovery into a field, commissioning the installation and finally closing down the field and decommissioning the installa-tion; see figure 5.5. In the interim period between approvals, the DEA supervises the operating company’s compliance with regulatory requirements and its own health and safety procedures.
Section 10 of the Subsoil Act stipulates that oil and gas production must be carried on in a manner that prevents any waste of hydrocarbons. To meet this require-ment, the operator must submit a development plan to the DEA for approval before starting to develop a discovery. The development plan must include a production plan and a description of the installations. The operator must submit a new development plan for approval if further developing the field. Approvals granted pursuant to the Subsoil Act in 2008 are described in chapter 2, Production and development.
The Offshore Safety Act stipulates that an approval must be granted before the development of an installation can be initiated. This approval is granted in pursu-ance of section 27 of the Offshore Safety Act and must ensure that health and safety aspects are factored into the general design phase. The pertinent application must include the Health and Safety Case (HSC) and an overall time schedule for fabrication and installation.
As a minimum, a Health and Safety Case must include:
à
A detailed description of the offshore installation and its operating conditions.à
A detailed description of the health and safety management system, which is to ensure and substantiate compliance with legislation in both normal and critical situations.à
An identification of the risks of major accidents and harmful effects on the working environment.à
An assessment of the risks and documentation showing that such risks are “as low as reasonably practicable” (ALARP).à
Documentation showing that employees can be evacuated to a safe place in an efficient and controlled manner in critical situations.The HSC must be updated whenever the health and safety conditions on the installation are changed significantly. In accordance with section 29 of the Offshore Safety Act, an application for permission to carry out any changes mate-rially affecting the risk of major accidents on the installation must be submitted beforehand. Such changes may consist of physical modifications of the installation or changes to the operational conditions on the installation.
Before commissioning the installation, the operator must obtain an operating permit in accordance with section 28 of the Offshore Safety Act.
When a field is ultimately to be closed down and the installation decommis-sioned, the operator must apply for a permit in accordance with section 31 of the Offshore Safety Act.
Fig. 5.5 Timeline for approvals and permits in the lifecycle of a fixed offshore installation
* The operator prepares and updates the Health and Safety Case (HSC) for the installation
** In addition, the DEA supervises the installation throughout its lifecycle 1 SA: The Subsoil Act
2 OSA: The Offshore Safety Act
The operator´s activities* The DEA´s activities**
Application for construction of a fixed offshore installation
General design Detailed design Fabrication Installation Commissioning
Approval pursuant to SA1 (s. 10) and OSA2 (s. 27)
Physical modifications or operational permit
Modification permit pursuant to OSA2 (s. 29) and possibly pursuant to SA1(s. 10) Application for
modification permit Production startup
Operating permit pursuant to OSA2 (s. 28) Application for
operating permit
Decommissioning
Decommissioning permit pursuant to OSA2 (s. 31) Application for
decommissioning permit
Time
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Possible approval pursuant to SA1 (s. 28)