The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority notice said that an incident had occurred on July 14 when two electricians inadvertently cut a de-energised 690V power cable supplying a temporary sea water lift pump.
The Ichthys Explorer arrived in Australian waters in late May to begin hook-up and commissioning work, and it was joined recently by the floating production storage and offloading vessel Ichthys Venturer.
An inspector for NOPSEMA said that, based on the evidence provided by Inpex there were multiple failures of work place risk controls and the facility's integrated permit to work system.
It was an inauspicious start to the operations of one of the world's largest offshore facilities.
The review found there were a number of observed failures, including there being no clear work instruction or procedures for the task being undertaken; a lack of task level job hazard risk assessments; inadequate implementation of controls against identified hazards and supervision of workers, and an inadequate critical review of permit paperwork.
Additionally, the facility permit to work review process failed to recognise that the work location under the false floor of the switch room as a restricted work space with limited access, or that the electricians would be working next to live cables.
No emergency response and rescue plan taking account of these factors was implemented prior to commencement of the work.
The inspector found that Inpex had dropped the ball by not taking all reasonably practicable steps "to implement and maintain systems of work at the facility that are safe and without risk to health" and "to provide all members of the workforce, with information, instruction, training and supervision necessary for them to carry out their activities in a manner that does not adversely affect the health and safety of persons at the facility".
With a serious risk to worker safety being posed on the Ichthys Explorer Inpex has been given 60 days to address its deficiencies.
It is required to complete a review of all permit to work systems and procedures and apply any changes that will improve competence of all personnel involved in permit processing, upgrade its hazard analysis systems, and address all other shortcomings required to reduce the level of risk.
An Inpex spokesperson told Energy News this morning that safety was the "number one value" for the Ichthys development.
"The project has a strong track record of proactive safety leadership and management," the spokesperson said.
"We will continue working closely with Australian industry regulators to ensure all reasonably practicable steps are taken to ensure the safety and health of all our workers."
Production at Japan's first ever operated offshore development is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.
The massive 336m-long Ichthys Explorer FPSO was successfully moored in 250m of water in the Browse Basin last week using 21 pre-installed mooring chains, each weighing more than 15,000 tonnes.
The 1.2 million barrel FPSO has been designed to process and store most of the condensate delivered from the Ichthys Explorer, which is moored 3.5km away.
Gas from the CPF will be sent through an 890km-long subsea pipeline to the onshore LNG facility at Bladin Point near Darwin for processing.
Each of the facilities is expected to operate for 40 years.
The Ichthys improvement notice has been the first issued by NOPSEMA for the development.
Inpex has been contacted for comment.
