The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Design notification and safety case for non-production installation to be converted

19.—(1) Where a non-production installation is to be converted to enable it to be operated as a production installation, the owner shall—

(a) prepare a design notification in respect of the proposed conversion containing, subject to paragraph (5), the particulars specified in Schedule 6 not contained in any current safety case for that installation; and

(b) send the design notification to the competent authority.

(2) The duties in paragraph (1) shall be completed at such time before completion of the design of the proposed conversion as will enable the owner to take account—

(a) in the design, and

(b) in the safety case prepared pursuant to regulation 17,

of any matters raised by the competent authority within three months (or such shorter period as the competent authority may specify) of that time.

(3) The competent authority shall respond to the design notification—

(a) with comments to be taken into account by the operator in the safety case; or

(b) where it has no such comments to make, with a statement to that effect.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation the particulars specified in Schedule 6 have effect as if any reference to the operator were a reference to the owner of the non-production installation to be converted.

(5) Paragraph (1) only requires the design notification to contain the particulars referred to in that paragraph to the extent that it is reasonable to expect the duty holder to address them at the time of sending the design notification to the competent authority.

(6) Where there is a material change in any of the particulars notified pursuant to paragraph (1) prior to the operator sending—

(a) a safety case to the competent authority in accordance with regulation 17(1); or

(b) revisions to the current safety case to the competent authority in accordance with paragraph (7),

the operator shall notify the competent authority of that change as soon as practicable.

(7) Where a non-production installation operated pursuant to a current safety case is converted to a production installation, the operator of that production installation shall ensure that it is not operated as a production installation in external waters unless—

(a) the operator has prepared revisions to the current safety case for that installation containing the particulars specified in regulation 16 and Schedule 7 not contained in that current safety case;

(b) the operator has sent a version of the current safety case which incorporates the proposed revisions, showing clearly where they are to be made, to the competent authority at least three months (or such shorter period as the competent authority may specify) before commencing the operation; and

(c) the competent authority has accepted those revisions to the current safety case.