In the 21st licensing round, additional requirements have been introduced with regard to the qualifications of the licensees that will undertake particularly demanding deep-water drilling operations or drill in areas in which high temperature/high pressure (HTHP) conditions are expected. Under these licences, there must be at least one competent partner in addition to the operator. The partner must have drilled at least one well as an operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, or have similar relevant experience from another offshore petroleum province.
I had never thought about a requiring a partner, and specifying the qualifications that the partner must have. This makes some sense in that the operator will not only have internal oversight, but also oversight by the partner(s). The result is a verification program administered by competent partners who have an incentive to ensure safe operations. Interesting approach.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 