Safety issues found in Norwegian oil field audit

STAVANGER, Norway, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A Norwegian energy group has until February to address issues at one of its offshore assets, including evacuation routes, a safety regulator said.

The Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway published the results of an October audit of operations at the Ivar Aasen field in the national waters of the North Sea. Aker BP, a merger of Norwegian energy companies and a national subsidiary of BP, is the field's operator.

"The PSA has carried out an audit of Aker BP's arrangements for the administration and management of emergency preparedness and materials handling," the safety regulator said.

The PSA found non-conformities related to instructions for heavy equipment and material handling. Improvements were recommended for evacuation routes.

Aker BP started production at the Ivar Aasen field in the Norwegian waters of the North Sea in December. The field has a peak production capacity of 68,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and will be connected to infrastructure associated with the nearby Edvard Grieg field.

There have been few safety issues in legacy operations with the Edvard Grieg field or for Aker BP itself.

The company has until Feb. 1 to address non-conformities and improvement points.

Norway is among the European leaders in oil and gas production.