MAR Consulting AS has been contracted to provide functional safety support to a jack-up drilling rig update of a major drilling contractor. The drilling rig will enter a new contract on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), where requirements for functional safety are considerably stringent when compared to other parts of the world. MAR Consulting will support the client to achieve a level of functional safety adequate to operate a drilling rig on the NCS. MAR Consulting has extensive experience with Norwegian rules and regulations regarding functional safety. Namely the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) “Application of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry (Recommended SIL requirements)” guideline, commonly known as NOG OLF-070.
In Norway, it is typical to follow NOG OLF-070 guideline when implementing functional safety on rigs and platforms operating on the NCS. NOG has released a new revision, in June 2018, of the prescriptive guideline. It is noted, however, that these are recommended SIL requirements based on general assumptions and typical reliability performance. The requirements should be adjusted to the existing risk case by case, based on the IEC 61511 functional safety international standard.