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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
June 2009

Vol. 14, No. 24 Week of June 14, 2009

Norway’s small companies get rules reminder

Smaller oil companies that have been awarded licenses to operate on the Norwegian continental shelf for the first time heard presentations about their roles and responsibilities at a meeting with the Petroleum Safety Authority June 2. Representatives from more than 20 companies participated, PSA said in a release.

“New companies starting from scratch seem to be dominated by very qualified subsurface personnel with little knowledge (and interest?) of operational aspects, e.g. drilling, lifting operations, marine aspects, working environment,” said one of the slides in a presentation by PSA’s Olav Hauso. Companies with a parent company have a better understanding of the requirements for integrated organizational needs than new companies do, Hauso noted.

PSA believes that an operator in the Barents Sea should have drilled at least one well in the Norwegian continental shelf as an operator, or have similar and relevant experience from elsewhere, Hauso said.

“Learn to crawl before you start walkin’,” his presentation concluded.

None of the smaller companies have yet carried out exploration drilling or other petroleum-related activities in the Barents Sea, PSA spokesman Ole-Johan Faret told Petroleum News by e-mail. “We have thus far received no concrete notifications of plans that will be carried into effect in the near term,” he said.

“Understanding of the regulatory requirements is generally good in the petroleum industry, but new and smaller companies in particular need to take their time in the establishment stage to acquaint themselves very well with the responsibilities they have taken on,” Faret continued. “It is also up to the industry itself to produce prudent routines and guidelines to comply with current regulatory requirements.”

—Sarah Hurst






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