BP denied request to keep using living quarter platform at Norway field

OSLO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Norway's oil safety watchdog, the PSA, has denied BP's request to extend the lifetime of the QP platform at the Valhall field, which provides living quarters for workers, due to safety concerns, it said in a statement.

The watchdog has said that the platform has sunk as the oilfield under it gets depleted and it is no longer tall enough to be safe against exceptionally high waves, the authority said in a statement.

BP has sought permission to use the QP living platform beyond this year as it needs more workers at the field and analysts earlier said that development work will have to slow down if its request is denied.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, editing by Terje Solsvik)