Codes

and
Standards
Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

 þ In-Spec Inc. 2002 Codes and Standards

Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

Table Of Contents
Section 16
Page

1. API Specifications 1

2. API Recommended Practices 2

3. Government Regulations 3

4. USA 3

5. North Sea 3

6. Britain 4

7. Norway 4

8. DNV

9. UK-HSE Information Source

10. Industry Recognized Sources

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

1) API Specifications and Government Regulations

The oil industry has formed industry standards through API committees of oil
company, drilling contractor and equipment manufacturer representatives. These
comities of industry experts have authored 2 types of API publications, specifications
and recommended practices.

Another unofficial class of standards is called “good engineering practices”. These

practices are procedures or inspections which, although not specified in API
publications, are widely accepted and based on solid engineering principles. Also
contained in this body of information would be the operational and maintenance
practices recommended by the equipment manufacturers.

Government regulations typically are either similar to API recommended practices or

they refer directly to API specifications and recommended practices. The difference
is that compliance to government regulations is required in the jurisdiction area while
compliance to API recommended practices is up to the discretion of the drilling
contractor and oil company.

a) API Specifications
In general API specifications dictate the standards to which a manufacturer must
conform in order to stamp the API monogram on his equipment (the monogram is
below).

Stamping the equipment tells the purchaser that the equipment meets API
standards. A published standard is an easy method for a purchaser to
communicate the critical requirements of the equipment to his vendor. An
obvious need for standards is apparent when you flange up a Cameron ram to a
Hydril annular and WOM outlet valves. Without standards the flanges and ring
grooves would not be compatible. Standards also address the minimum design
criteria, material selection, quality control and testing which the manufacturer
must comply to allow him to monogram the items he manufactures.

b) API Specifications which dwell on well control equipment are the following :

i) Spec. 6A provides detailed specifications for the material and dimensions of

flanges and studs for wellheads and BOPs. This spec give us the ability to
connect equipment from various manufacturers. The current revision of 6A is
the 16th dated April 1989

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

ii) Spec 16A, Specification for Drill Through Equipment, gives us detailed
requirements for the manufacturer of well control equipment. It discusses the
design of BOPs, the required manufacturing QA/QC controls, performance
testing, and in factory operating chamber and wellbore pressure testing
requirements of new equipment. . The current revision of 16A is the 2 nd dated
June 1998

iii) Spec 16C, 1 st edition, discusses Specifications for Choke and Kill Systems. It
is new as well.

iv) Spec. 16D, 1 st edition, is fairly new, March 1993. It is Specifications for
Control Systems for Drilling Well Control Equipment. Up until this time control
system manufacturers sized and constructed control systems according to
their own in-house standards. Many of these standards were incorporated
into the new spec when it was published.

c) API Recommended Practices

As the name implies there is nothing mandatory about a recommended practice.
There is no API police to ensure compliance to the recommendations. Published
standard practices do make it easier for an oil company to communicate the
standards to which the drilling contractor shall conduct his operations. Some
regulatory bodies have referred to API recommended practices as a basis for
their requirements when operating in areas under their jurisdiction.

Since recommended practices also are composed by a committee of industry

experts from oil companies, drilling contractors, and equipment manufacturers,
the final product is frequently a compromise. Commonly, drilling contractor and
oil company standard operating procedures are more demanding.

i) API recommended practices which dwell on well control equipment are the
following :

(1) Recommended Practice for Design, Selection, Operation, and

Maintenance of Marine Drilling Riser Systems is RP-16Q, which is
currently at the 1 st edition dated November 1993.

(2) RP-64, Recommended Practice for Diverter Systems Equipment and

Operations is at the 1 st edition and dated July 1991.

(3) The grand daddy of RP’s for well control equipment is RP-53,
Recommended Practice for Blowout Prevention Equipment Systems for
Drilling Wells. It is currently at the 3 rd edition dated March 1997.

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

Subsea Supervisors should have these API reference manuals available for
resource.
API RP 53 3rd Edition, "Recommended Practices for Blowout Prevention
Equipment Systems for Drilling Wells" (American Petroleum Institute).
API RP 16Q 1st Edition, "Recommended Practice for Design, Selection,
Operation and Maintenance of Marine Drilling Riser Systems".
The rig should have these API manuals for ref also.
API Spec 16A 2nd Edition, "Specification for Drill Through
Equipment".
API Spec 16C 1st Edition, "Specification for Choke and Kill
Systems".
API RP 16E 1st Edition, "Recommended Practice for Design of Control
Systems for Drilling Well Control Equipment".
API Spec 16R 1st Edition, "Specification for Marine Drilling Riser
Couplings".
API Spec 17D 1st Edition, "Specification for Subsea Wellhead and
Christmas Tree Equipment".
API RP 64 1st Edition, "Recommended Practices for Diverter Systems
Equipment & Operations".

d) Government Regulations

i) USA

When drilling offshore the USA in federally leased waters, the Minerals
Management Service (MMS) of the Department of the Interior will ultimately
control your operations. The MMS has published guidelines in the Federal
Register in section CFR #250 similar to API RP-53. These guidelines specify
such things as equipment installation, stack arrangement, BOP response
time, and BOP testing frequency. An excerpt of the more useful areas of the
MMS guidelines is included in this section.

Other offshore areas such as Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and

Norway have their own government regulations. Most people consider
Norway’s regulations to be the most demanding.

ii) North Sea

In the North Sea compliance to government rules and regulations is

monitored by a government body in a different manner that is done in the
USA. In both the UK and Norwegian sectors the government uses the
assistance of Certifying Authorities. A certifying authority “certifies” to the
governing body that the rig is in compliance with the rules and regulations.

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

The Certifying Authorities recognized by both Britain and Norway are :

ABS
DNV
Lloyds
Bureau Veritas

iii) Britain

In the UK the Health and Safety Executive regulates our well control
equipment. In 1985 the British government declared that Statutory Instrument
#289 applied to well control equipment. This meant that the Certifying
Authorities now had to review well control equipment in a similar manner to
the rest of the vessel.

The government published Offshore Installations: Guidance on Design,

Construction and Certification. Section #43 deals with well control equipment.

Annual surveys by the certifying authority are required of well control

equipment. This typically consist of witnessed operating chamber and well
bore pressure tests, or “as required” by the surveying inspector.

SI #289 requires that every 5 years a “major survey” shall be conducted of the
equipment. A major survey is a dismantling of the equipment to renew
elastomers, verify critical dimensions, check surface finishes of critical sealing
surfaces and verify that the equipment is within the manufacturer’s
specifications.

iv) Norway

In a similar manner to Britain, Norway’s Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

(NPD) requires a certifying authority to verify the well control equipment’s
suitability to Norway’s regulations. The Norwegian regulation covering well
control equipment is “Regulation Concerning Drilling and Well Activities and
Geological Data Collection in the Petroleum Activities”, document #YA-002.

Major surveys are also required in Norway.

Norway has strict accumulator volume requirements :

• Accumulators shall be able to Close, Open, Close and 25% of the volume
to Close all of the BOPs with remaining fluid after the functions to be 200
psi above precharge or more.

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

• In separate operations the accumulators shall deliver adequate pressure

to shear drill pipe after closing and opening the annular.

• The accumulators shall deliver adequate pressure to shear drill pipe and
disconnect the LMRP (if it is a floating rig) after closing, opening, and
closing a ram.

All subsea BOP stack shall have acoustic back-up BOP control systems.

Subsea rams and annular BOPs shall close in 45 seconds or less.

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

Push buttons below to access the DNV documents -

Push "Ctrl, Shift and Left Arrow" to exit the document,
this will bring you back to this menu.

Rules For Classification of Offshore Drilling Support Units

Verification For Compliance With UK Shelf Regulations

DNV-Classification Services Publications

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

OIL INDUSTRY - UK HSE Health Safety Executive Information Sources

Series no Title Published ISBN Price
Guidance on multi-skilling in the petroleum industry Revised 1998 0 7176 1582 0 £9.95
Guidance on permit-to-work systems in the petroleum industry 1997 0 7176 1281 3 £8.50
Play your part How offshore workers can help improve health and safety 1994 0 7176 0786 0
Offshore health and safety law leaflets: What you should know 1997 0 7176 1473 5 £4.95
Priced packs of 50 leaflets
HSG125 A brief guide on COSHH for the offshore oil and gas industry 1994 0 7176 0851 4 £6.75
HSG142 Dealing with offshore emergencies 1996 0 7176 1037 3 £7.50
HSG171 Well handled Offshore manual handling solutions 1997 0 7176 1385 2 £15.50
HSG181 Assessment principles for offshore safety cases 1998 0 7176 1238 4 £9.95
L30 A guide to the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992 1998 0 7176 1165 5 £12.50
Guidance on Regulations Revised
L65 Prevention of fire and explosion and emergency response on 1997 0 7176 1386 0 £9.50
offshore installations Offshore Installations Regulations 1995
Approved Code of Practice and guidance
L70 A guide to the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works 1995 0 7176 0938 3 £8.50
(Management and Administration) Regulations 1995
Guidance on Regulations
L72 A guide to the Borehole Sites and Operations Regulations 1995 1995 0 7176 1007 1 £9.50
Guidance on Regulations
L82 A guide to the Pipeline Safety Regulations 1996 1996 0 7176 1182 5 £9.00
Guidance on Regulations
L84 A guide to the well aspects of amendments of the Offshore 1996 0 7176 1194 9 £8.50
Installations and Wells (Design and Construction etc) Regulations 1996
Guidance on Regulations
L85 A guide to the integrity, workplace environment and miscellaneous 1996 0 7176 1164 7 £8.50
aspects of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and
Construction etc) Regulations 1996 Guidance on Regulations
Management of occupational health risks in the offshore oil and 1996 0 7176 0886 7 £8.00
gas industry
The safe isolation of plant and equipment 1997 0 7176 0871 9 £10.75
L110 A guide to the Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and 1998 0 7176 1549 9 £8.50
Safety Committees) Regulations 1989 Revised
L123 Health care and first aid on offshore installations and pipeline works 2000 0 7176 1851 X £6.00
(first aid) regulations 1989 approved code of practice and guidance
INDG119 Safety representatives and safety committees on offshore installations 1999 0 7176 1637 1 Code A
Revised Priced packs of 15 leaflets Single copy available free
INDG189 Safety zones around oil and gas installations in waters around the UK 1995 Single copy available free
Notice to fishermen
INDG219 How offshore helicopter travel is regulated 1996 Single copy available free
INDG239 Play your part! How you can help improve health and safety offshore 1996 Single copy available free
INDG250 How HSE assesses offshore safety cases 1997 Single copy available free
INDG277 Health and safety leadership for offshore industry 2000 0 7176 1579 0 Code A

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

e) Industry Recognized Standards

Government regulations often refer to industry recognized standards as a way to

fulfill the functional requirements in the regulations. International standards, like
ISO, IEC and EN standards, will normally not be available in full-text on the
Internet. These standards can be ordered from the national standardization
organization. This will also apply to most industry standards, like API-standards.
On the other hand, some petroleum-related standards, e.g. those issued by
NORSOK, DnV and OLF, are available in full-text on the Internet. Below you will
find links to websites where you can order or download standards that are
referred to in the guidelines.

The Norwegian Standards Sells and markets EN, NS, ISO og IEC
Association (NSF) standards

NORSOK NORSOK standards. An excellent

source for all types of standards and
guidance.

Det norske Veritas (DnV) DnV OS standards

The Norwegian Oil Industry OLF guidelines

Association (OLF)

American Petroleum Institute (API) Lists of API standards, copies of the

actual standards must be purchased.

International Maritime Organization IMO codes and resolutions

(IMO)

Nordtest (NT) NT methods

The International Marine Contractors AODC publications

Association (IMCA)

AGA, American Gas Association

ASTM International (ASTM)

The International Organization of

Legal Metrology (OIML)

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Subsea Engineer’s Handbook Section 16

Petrotechnical Open Software

Corporation (POSC)

NPD The Norwegian Petroleum

Directorate

HSE Health Safety Executive UK HSE Published information

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