International classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has extended its classification rules to include drilling equipment. Drilling operators can now turn to one body to assess the entire drilling unit and equipment and the integrated approach will increase overall safety and environmental protection.
The new rules now cover well control equipment including Blow-Out Preventers, marine risers, tensioning systems, heave-compensation systems, drawworks, mud circulating systems, cementing equipment, drilling derrick and supporting structures.
Full Review
The organisation has completed a full review of classification and certification for all types of offshore drilling rigs, drill ships and drilling equipment. For drill ships an entirely new set of rules has been created; NI 569. The rules include an update to the IMO MODU Code due to come into force in 2012.
Units classed under the organisation’s offshore rules can add the optional notation DRILL, published in NI 570. DRILL covers all safety-related drilling equipment and is applicable to all types of offshore rigs including drillships, semi-submersible, jack-up and Tension Leg Platforms.
NI569
The new structural Rules in NI569 cover the hull assessment with particular attention to the interface between the hull and structures supporting drilling equipment. Structural assessment is based on specific loading configurations considering typical operations of drillships, including transit, drilling preparation, BOP running, casing running, normal drilling, standby at the intended site and survival. New structural requirements are explicitly defined for moonpool area and moonpool structural details, including hydrodynamic effects. Prescriptive requirements for safety aspects are complemented by risk assessment techniques which are consistent with the requirements of various national regulations.
Recognised Standards
Both NI569 and NI570 DRILL Rules cover design assessment criteria, construction survey, qualification of novel technology and in-service survey. Technical requirements of recognised standards widely used by drilling industry, such as API, are taken into account in NI 570 as is on-going feed-back from BV’s industrial partners in the drilling industry to ensure the rules remain current with the latest technology and also expected changes to national requirements.
