Korpfjell Under Safety Scrutiny
Thursday 29 June 2017
Statoil has been subjected to an audit by Norway’s safety watchdog of its planning for a high-profile wildcat in the Barents Sea that is part of an ongoing exploration effort in the Arctic play as it faces heightened scrutiny over its activities after an earlier string of incidents.
The audit carried out by the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) examined the planning process and preparations for the 7435/12-1 probe to be drilled at the Korpfjell prospect in the newly opened south-east Barents.
The keenly-watched wildcat, which will be the northernmost well drilled to date off Norway when it kicks off later this summer, is targeting resource potential estimated by research firm Rystad Energy at as much as 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Although the PSA found no regulatory non-conformities in the recent audit, it identified improvement points related to risk reduction and decoupling from the blowout preventer in the event of an incident, as well as ice-managementrocedures.
Statoil is required to provide feedback on how it intends to tackle these issues by 21 August.
The state agency said it had carried out the audit as the south-east Barents, which was opened up for exploration with awards in last year’s 23rd licensing round, is a new area for exploration without any drilling track record.
It said long distances from shore in the Barents and harsh Arctic conditions could present special challenges for planning and execution of exploration drilling.
The audit entailed dialogue both with Statoil and rig contractor Songa Offshore to document the planning process, including risk assessments for “preparing robust plans for exploration drilling” in the virgin play.
Statoil will use semi-submersible Songa Enabler to sink the Korpfjell probe in its operated production licence 859 near the Russian maritime border.
It is among at least five wells to be drilled by the state-controlled player as part of the current Barents campaign, with the rig now drilling at the Kayak prospect.
Statoil suffered a near-blowout while drilling with sister rig Songa Endurance at the Troll field in the North Sea last year.
It was one of a catalogue of incidents that prompted industry concerns that cost-cutting was affecting safety and criticism of the PSA for failing to prevent such incidents through more stringent checks.
Statoil is also under environmental pressure over its Barents campaign and the controversial Korpfjell well could be the target of a Greenpeace protest given the proximity of drilling to the Arctic ice boundary.
The activist group has meanwhile filed a lawsuit attempting to overturn the 23rd round licence awards - including PL859 - claiming they run counter to constitutional law.
Statoil has also run into technical issues with its campaign, having been forced to halt using so-called Cap-X subsea wellhead technology in favour of conventional equipment due to a patent infringement dispute.