The recent decision by the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) overruled a previous order as the COSL Innovator did not have a sufficient air gap of 1.5 metres and its topsides were not dimensioned for horizontal wave loads at the time of the incident in stormy seas at Statoil’s Troll field.
Statoil terminated its contract for the semi-submersible rig after the incident, citing its contractual right to do so, though COSL’s Chinese parent China Oilfield Services Ltd is pursuing possible legal action against the Norwegian state-owned operator as it disagrees the move is legitimate.
However,
