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The bug in the software that was discovered in connection with the Johan Castberg project also affects other facilities on the Norwegian platform.
The same data error has been discovered for lifetime analyzes on the ship Norne in the Norwegian Sea as in the Johan Castberg project.
Paul Kleiven / NTB Scanpix
Published:,
– When we discovered the bug in Stofat, we immediately began to see if this could have consequences for our other facilities. So far, we have not seen the error have consequences for other facilities, but we do not have a final conclusion as to whether it may have affected Norne’s retests related to long service life, explains press contact Fredrik Jebsen Bråten at Equinor to Aftenbladet.
After the extensive problems with the Johan Castberg project were revealed this summer, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority requested a list of other facilities that this software bug could affect (see list below).
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It was at a meeting on August 11 between Equinor and the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority that an overview of other facilities emerged (see below). Here, Equinor was clear that the bug primarily affected Norne:
“Overall, Equinor sees that other facilities are little affected by Stofat errors,
with the exception of Norne. »
Equinor has marked Norne in yellow in the overview, where the following is indicated:
«Analysis in two phases; 2014 and 2017. Global model ok; most local models are affected (11 of 14). Ongoing reanalyses of affected models, RBI and inspection plans will be updated as necessary. “
From the minutes of the meeting between Equinor and the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority on August 11, 2020.
Errors discovered in 2016
As early as 2016, the rating and risk company DNV GL became aware of bugs in the Sesam Stofat software, but did not understand the extent of the bug until spring 2020. Therefore, the bug continued into 2018 in Johan’s project Castberg. This error in the computer program that performs the fatigue analysis has led to errors in the calculations of the useful life of the Johan Castberg ship that is under construction in Singapore.
Fredrik Jebsen Bråten at Equinor emphasizes that the data error applies to extended life reanalyses at Norne beyond 2022, that is, it is not errors in the design that was done in 1995, long before the discovery was made. error.
The Norne field also entered production in 1997, and the field is located north of Haltenbanken in the Norwegian Sea, about 200 kilometers off the coast of Helgeland.
Equinor is currently in the process of obtaining an overview of the consequences of data error for Norne’s life extension analysis.
– We do not have a final conclusion on whether the software error has a consequence for the reanalysis, says Fredrik Jebsen Bråten in Equinor to Aftenbladet.
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Secret DNV GL
Equinor has therefore provided an overview to the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority of the facilities the company has where the failure may have been implemented, but it is first and foremost on the Norne ship that there is still additional mapping to establish. the reaching.
DNV GL, for its part, has kept a secret overview of other FPSOs that may be affected by the same bug. As far as Aftenbladet has been confirmed by the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority, the authority has also not received an overview of this type from DNV GL.
– As we have made clear before, we are unable to comment on details on individual projects due to contractual obligations to our clients, Stig Grøndahl, head of marketing and communication at DNV GL, responds in an email to Aftenbladet.
Grondahl further writes:
– As previously reported, the bug only affects a few projects, and all clients have been contacted and action taken. We would like to emphasize that the problem mainly applies to FPSO structures that revolve around a “weather barrier” and can affect the estimated service life of the discharge, which has no immediate consequences for the safety of the structure.
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PSA: – Can change Norne inspection plans
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority has been asked how the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority handles failures at facilities other than Equinors.
In an email, Øyvind Midttun responds that the PSA received information from DNV GL on May 26, 2020 about errors in the software for the calculation of fatigue. At a follow-up meeting with DNV GL in August, the PSA was informed that the bug in the software was introduced in June 2016 and was identified in April 2020.
– Equinor, which is the operator of the Norne field, has informed us that the software version containing the error was used in connection with the update of the Norne FPSO fatigue analyzes in 2017. Equinor has further stated that the reanalyses may give lead to changes in facility inspection plans.
– The PSA’s assessment is that the use of the software that contained the error in the fatigue life reanalysis does not weaken the overall integrity of the Norne FPSO, but may lead to a larger inspection program and subsequent local detail repairs.
The PSA is unresponsive if there are facilities other than Equinors that are affected by similar bugs affecting Norne.
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