The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has set up a working group to examine possible means of reducing costs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf associated with rig movements between the shelves in the North Sea.

The group’s reporting is to include suggestions for measures to help streamline movements of rigs onto and off the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The impact of the measures on occupational health and safety will also form part of the assessment.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has asked the PSA to undertake this work. The basis for this undertaking is the Government’s policy announcement that it will work to reduce costs on the NCS, notably by following up on the Åm and Reiten committees’ proposals.

“The present HSE regulations and auditing arrangements have been developed over time and have yielded good results in occupational health and safety on the NCS. It is nonetheless important to evaluate existing regulations and enforcement to see if it is possible to come up with improvements based on a cost perspective too,” says PSA Director General Anne Myhrvold.

Stakeholder input

According to the PSA, the industry stakeholders are invited, through the Regulatory Forum, to explain what they see as critical OHAS obstacles to rig movements between the shelves, and to propose measures.

The report will be ready by July 1, 2015 and will be followed up by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

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