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“So far, we have found no reason to raise any objections to remote control technology,” PSA spokeswoman Inger Anda said, adding that ultimate responsibility rested with the companies.

Meanwhile, Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), which has to approve new ways of controlling offshore operations, said there had been no incidents related to remote controls. “The combination of human competence and technology provide the best solutions also as we see it with regards to maintaining safety and reducing risks,” a spokesman for Equinor, Norway’s largest oil and gas firm, said. “There will be fewer offshore jobs available in the future, and we, as union, don’t like it.”Īker BP and Equinor both said they have been seeking to address concerns by moving controls onshore gradually and by ensuring that workers on the platforms can take over control if needed, with emergency response available nearby. “When the technology takes over 100% control, we have to rethink the way forward,” he said.

While Ingard Haugeberg, the Industri Energi union’s representative at Aker BP, said there were no indications that workers at Ivar Aasen felt unsafe, there were concerns about fully-automated platforms in the future. There are, on average, about 50 people working on the rig, which is operated on land by about 14 people. “Of course, there is always a risk and things can go wrong, so you have to be focused on safety even during your spare time,” he added.Īker BP took a step further last year when its Ivar Aasen field became the first manned offshore platform to be managed remotely. I don’t think anybody feels uneasy about it today,” Eide told Reuters, speaking on a phone from the Valemon platform where he is part of a 19-member crew deployed there for a two-week shift. “People were initially sceptical, but gradually you get used to it. Jarle Eide, a representative of the Industri Energi union at Equinor, said workers were more confident than before in the use of remote controls. Production is managed in a control room in Bergen but its operators have to spend two weeks offshore every year to make sure they are familiar with the rig. It has living quarters and a control room, but most of the time has no crew.

Some 160 kilometres (99 miles) from land, Equinor’s Valemon oil and gas field became the first in Norway to be operated entirely onshore in 2017.

Brick rigs how to change the flying controles