Classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has extended its classification rules to include the items of drilling equipment that are essential for the safety of offshore drilling operations.
BV undertook a full review of classification and certification of offshore drilling rigs, and devised new set of rules to cover the classification of new-generation drillships. The rules cover well control equipment including blow-out preventers, marine risers, tensioning systems, heave-compensation systems, draw-works, mud circulating systems, cementing equipment, drilling derrick and supporting structures. The rules include an update to the IMO MODU Code due to come into force in 2012.
"The Deepwater Horizon incident has shown the offshore industry that dividing responsibility for the safety assessment of offshore vessels from that of the equipment they use is not the best way to drill safely offshore," said Dan Frorup, BV's vice-president (offshore deep sea global business). "A holistic approach which assesses the drilling equipment and well control equipment along with the floating unit they are deployed from will deliver safer offshore drilling."
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