Gassco Told to Improve Karsto Safety

Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority has given state gas grid operator Gassco until January 30 to rectify problems found during a November audit of its Karsto gas processing facility, where gas from the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea is landed, wet products separated out, and dry gas piped to Germany.

In a statement issued January 3, PSA said it audited major accident risk and electrical plant between November 8 and 11 at Karsto, where Gassco is the operator and Statoil the technical service provider. The audit revealed non-conformities that included: arcing in electrical equipment; protection against ignition and the spread of fire; emergency lighting; maintenance of explosion-proof equipment; and notification of hazard and accident situations.

Based on the audit, the PSA November 16 issued an order to Gassco and Statoil to implement measures to secure personal safety in connection with work on, and operation of, electrical installations at Karsto. Gassco now has a deadline of January 30 to report how the non-conformities will be tackled.

Mark Smedley