Safety issues uncovered at North Sea field

June 26 (UPI) -- A safety regulator in Norway said an audit of operations at the Edvard Grieg field, one of the region's largest, revealed potential risks to platform personnel.

The Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway said Monday it completed reviewing the results of an audit of operations at the Edvard Grieg field in the central waters of the North Sea.

"Three regulatory non-conformities were identified," the PSA said in a statement. "These related to health risks from benzene exposure, manning of the central control room, and discussion of and information about control measures."

Production from the field started in 2015. For 2017, Lundin said nearly all of its $1.1 billion in development spending for the year was targeting reserves in Norway and most of that was targeting operations tied to the larger fields like Edvard Grieg.

Apart from Russia, Norway is a top oil and gas exporter to the European market. Nearly all of its offshore oil and gas is designated for exports. The Norwegian subsidiary of Lundin announced the completion of the appraisal well in April, estimating the results would raise the reserve estimated at Edvard Grieg by up to 30 million barrels.

Six other "improvement points" were identified by the safety regulator, including the risk of chemical exposure and plans to man operations in the event of sick leaves.

The PSA's audit comes less than a week after a gas leak was reported in the by French energy company ENGIE at its Gjoa platform in the North Sea. The government started an investigation into the incident. ENGIE said the leak was caused by a weld fracture on a 3/4 inch pipe on the platform.

No injuries were reported. The exploration and production arm of the French energy company said no contamination of the surrounding environment occurred.