ONAC Compliance for Inspection Service Providers
NDT and inspection contractors in Colombian oil and gas: drill pipe and tubing inspection at pipe yards, tank and pipeline integrity work, and flare-efficiency and leak-detection inspection at production facilities. Personnel are qualified under employer-based certification, so a contracted Level III can sign the written practice and administer examinations for the firm.
It binds firms selling into the Ecopetrol group, Frontera, Parex, Geopark and the drilling contractors, and any firm that puts an accreditation mark on an inspection report. ONAC is the Colombian state's accreditation body and its inspection body scheme, coded OIN, is where NDT sits. Scopes are granted against ISO/IEC 17020:2012 under inspection field code 22, "Equipos y elementos a través de ensayos no destructivos — END", and the annexed scope names the exact activity, the execution criteria and the acceptance and rejection criteria down to the clause and table, plus the inspection body type A, B or C. Two hydrocarbon inspection scopes have been made effectively compulsory by regulation: flare efficiency measurement and natural gas leak detection and quantification at production facilities, under Ministerio de Minas y Energía Resolución 40066 de 2022 as modified by Resolución 40317 de 2023, and ANH Resolución 10981 de 2023.
Source: ONAC accreditation certificate 24-OIN-053 for ATP Integridad y Corrosión S.A.S, NIT 900.412.013-9, ISO/IEC 17020:2012, form FR 3.5.3-03 V7 approved 2023-07-18, read in full: inspection field code 22 for NDT (ultrasonic, visual-dimensional and MFL of drill pipe, heavy weight, drill collar, casing and tubing, and visual inspection of storage tanks) as a type C body, and inspection field code 29 for flare efficiency and gas leak detection as a type A body, with dates 2025-07-28, 2026-07-10 and 2028-07-27, and citing DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection Vol. 3 5th ed. 2020, ASME BPVC.V-2023 Art 23 SE-797, API Spec 5CT 11th ed. December 2023, API RP 5C1 8th ed. 2020 and API Std 653 5th ed.; ONAC OIN and OCP scheme pages and the DOA directory (accessed August 2026), noting 26 inspection categories; ONAC Reglas del Servicio de Acreditación RAC-3.0-01 version 12, 8 January 2025, for the month 9/21/33/45 surveillance and month 55 re-evaluation schedule; Ministerio de Minas y Energía Resolución 40066 of 11 February 2022 and Resolución 40317 of 10 April 2023; ANH Resolución 10981 of 31 October 2023 and ANH Circular No. 0003 of 30 January 2025. ACOSEND's ONAC ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation for NDT Levels I and II to ISO 9712:2012 is reported by secondary sources only and should be re-verified in ONAC's DOA before it is relied on. No public Ecopetrol NDT personnel specification was verified, so none is quoted.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) as the national accreditation body; Ministerio de Minas y Energía and the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) for the regulated hydrocarbon inspection scopes | The body that issues, audits and can withdraw |
| Applies to | NDT and inspection contractors in Colombian oil and gas: drill pipe and tubing inspection at pipe yards, tank and pipeline integrity work,. | Whether this binds your firm at all |
| Personnel certification | Employer-based — the firm certifies its own, under a qualified Level III | Decides whether an outsourced Level III can sign for you |
| Renewal | ONAC does not run one fixed validity across every scheme; the certificate itself carries the expiry date, and it is the surveillance rhythm that is published. Under the accreditation service rules RAC-3.0-01, version 12 dated 8 January 2025, from the first renewal onwards ONAC schedules surveillance evaluations in months 9, 21, 33 and 45 after approval of the renewal, with re-evaluation in month 55, and the new cycle begins from publication of the certificate in the DOA. A live example: certificate 24-OIN-053 carries a grant date of 28 July 2025 and an expiry of 27 July 2028. | Diarise from the certificate date, not from memory |
| Methods in scope | UT including B-scan thickness measurement, MFL (magnetic flux leakage), PAUT, RT, MT, PT | Each method needs its own procedure and qualified personnel |
| Industries | Oil and gas drilling and production, Pipe yards and tubular inspection, Refining, Storage tank terminals, Gas transmission and distribution | Where this regime shows up in contracts |
Who does ONAC apply to?
NDT and inspection contractors in Colombian oil and gas: drill pipe and tubing inspection at pipe yards, tank and pipeline integrity work, and flare-efficiency and leak-detection inspection at production facilities. It binds firms selling into the Ecopetrol group, Frontera, Parex, Geopark and the drilling contractors, and any firm that puts an accreditation mark on an inspection report.
Can an outsourced Level III sign for ONAC compliance?
Yes. ONAC accepts employer-based certification, which places the obligation on the employer and allows a contracted Level III to write and sign the written practice, approve procedures and administer examinations. The Level III must be qualified in each method they sign for, and the employer still owns the records.
What documents does a ONAC audit ask for?
Solicitud de acreditación with the proposed scope drafted the way ONAC's annex is drafted: inspection field code, inspection activity, execution criteria, acceptance and rejection criteria, and body type, Internal inspection procedures cited by exact name and version number, in the style of "Ultrasonido — Medición de Espesores con Scan B en Tuberías de perforación (Drill Pipe - Heavy Weight) y tubería de producción (Tubing) V.8", Controlled copies of every normative document named in the scope, at the edition named: DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection Vol. 3 5th ed. 2020, ASME BPVC.V-2023 Article 23 SE-797, API Spec 5CT 11th ed. December 2023, API RP 5C1 8th ed. 2020, API Std 653, Impartiality analysis and the declared type A, B or C under ISO/IEC 17020:2012, Personnel competence records covering certification, authorisation, training, witnessed performance and ongoing monitoring per ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1. Auditors open records before they open manuals, because a manual describes intent while records show practice. The most common failure is a documented system that does not match what the technicians actually do.
How often is ONAC renewed?
ONAC does not run one fixed validity across every scheme; the certificate itself carries the expiry date, and it is the surveillance rhythm that is published. Under the accreditation service rules RAC-3.0-01, version 12 dated 8 January 2025, from the first renewal onwards ONAC schedules surveillance evaluations in months 9, 21, 33 and 45 after approval of the renewal, with re-evaluation in month 55, and the new cycle begins from publication of the certificate in the DOA. A live example: certificate 24-OIN-053 carries a grant date of 28 July 2025 and an expiry of 27 July 2028. Firms that diarise renewal from the certificate date rather than from the last audit avoid the lapse that forces a full reapplication.
What are the most common ONAC findings?
Scope creep: the firm inspects a tubular size or applies a normative document that is not in the annexed scope, so the report cannot legitimately carry the accreditation mark, The internal procedure version named in the ONAC annex has been superseded internally without notifying ONAC of the change, Acceptance criteria applied from a different edition than the annex names; DS-1 Volume 3, 5th edition 2020, clause 3.6.5 and tables 3.6.1, 3.6.2 and 3.11.2 are specific, and an older edition's tables are a finding, A type C inspection body performing work that, as contracted, makes it supplier or repairer of the item inspected, breaking the declared impartiality arrangement. These recur because they are records problems rather than capability problems — the work is being done correctly and the evidence is not being kept.
Which NDT methods does ONAC cover?
UT including B-scan thickness measurement, MFL (magnetic flux leakage), PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT and dimensional inspection, ET. Each method in scope needs its own approved procedure and personnel qualified in that specific method; a Level III qualified in ultrasonics cannot sign for radiography.
Personnel certification under ONAC
Colombia is the regional exception: it has a domestic third-party route. ONAC accredits certification bodies for persons under ISO/IEC 17024, and ACOSEND has held that accreditation to certify NDT inspectors at Levels I and II against ISO 9712:2012 in MT, PT, RT, UT and VT; verify current status in ONAC's Directorio Oficial de Acreditados before relying on it. Level III is not covered domestically, so Level III comes from ASNT or a foreign ISO 9712 body. Employer certification under SNT-TC-1A remains common in operator supply chains, but inside an ONAC-accredited inspection body personnel competence must be demonstrated against ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1, not merely against the employer's written practice.
The audit sequence
- Submit the application and scope to ONAC; ONAC applies its application-review procedure and confirms scheme, scope and fee from the MIT model
- Documentary evaluation against ISO/IEC 17020:2012 and the applicable ONAC accreditation rules in the RAC series
- On-site evaluation plus witnessing of inspections for every activity, method and normative document in the requested scope
- Non-conformity treatment with evidence of corrective action within the timescale ONAC sets
- Decision by ONAC's decision-making body and publication of the certificate and annexed scope in the Directorio Oficial de Acreditados; the accreditation cycle starts from the date of publication in the DOA
- Surveillance evaluations at months 9, 21, 33 and 45 after approval of the renewal, with re-evaluation at month 55
Documents an auditor asks for
- Solicitud de acreditación with the proposed scope drafted the way ONAC's annex is drafted: inspection field code, inspection activity, execution criteria, acceptance and rejection criteria, and body type
- Internal inspection procedures cited by exact name and version number, in the style of "Ultrasonido — Medición de Espesores con Scan B en Tuberías de perforación (Drill Pipe - Heavy Weight) y tubería de producción (Tubing) V.8"
- Controlled copies of every normative document named in the scope, at the edition named: DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection Vol. 3 5th ed. 2020, ASME BPVC.V-2023 Article 23 SE-797, API Spec 5CT 11th ed. December 2023, API RP 5C1 8th ed. 2020, API Std 653
- Impartiality analysis and the declared type A, B or C under ISO/IEC 17020:2012
- Personnel competence records covering certification, authorisation, training, witnessed performance and ongoing monitoring per ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1
- Equipment inventory with calibration and verification records for each method in the scope
- Inspection reports and certificates in the format ONAC assessed, with the accreditation symbol applied per ONAC's rules of use
- Fee calculation from ONAC's Modelo Integral de Tarifas (MIT)
- For the hydrocarbon scopes, the ANH technical guidance annexes and documented method for flare efficiency evaluation and leak quantification
Findings firms get against ONAC
- Scope creep: the firm inspects a tubular size or applies a normative document that is not in the annexed scope, so the report cannot legitimately carry the accreditation mark
- The internal procedure version named in the ONAC annex has been superseded internally without notifying ONAC of the change
- Acceptance criteria applied from a different edition than the annex names; DS-1 Volume 3, 5th edition 2020, clause 3.6.5 and tables 3.6.1, 3.6.2 and 3.11.2 are specific, and an older edition's tables are a finding
- A type C inspection body performing work that, as contracted, makes it supplier or repairer of the item inspected, breaking the declared impartiality arrangement
- Personnel file rests solely on an SNT-TC-1A employer card, with no evidence of the competence authorisation and ongoing monitoring ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1 requires
- Flare efficiency and leak reports issued without reference to the ANH technical guidance, or without demonstrating the 90 per cent combustion and methane destruction efficiency threshold set out in ANH Circular No. 0003 of 30 January 2025
- Accreditation symbol used on reports outside the accredited scope, or on general marketing material
- Surveillance dates missed because the firm counted from the certificate date rather than from the DOA publication that actually starts the cycle
Related: the ONAC overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.