Investigation of fire and explosion protection methods in hydrocarbon industry

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

A risk-based design framework should involve both risk assessment and risk management. This article introduces and describes a number of procedures for the quantitative assessment and management of fire and gas explosion risks in offshore installations. These procedures were developed in a joint industry project on the explosion and fire engineering of floating, production, storage and off-loading units (the EFEF JIP), which was led by the authors. The present article reports partial results, focusing on defining the frequency of fires and explosions in offshore installations. Examples of the aforementioned procedures' application to a hypothetical floating, production, storage, and off-loading unit (FPSO) are presented. A framework for the quantitative risk assessment of fires and explosions requires the definition of both the frequency and consequences of such events. These procedures can be efficiently applied in offshore development projects, and the application includes the assessment of design explosion and fire loads as well as the quantification of effects of risk control options (RCO) such as platform layout, location and number of gas detectors, isolation of ignition sources etc.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT4

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION6

Aims and Deliverables:7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8

Economic Theory of Fire Management9

Risk and Hazard Management11

CHAPTER 3: PROJECT TIMELINE14

Gantt chart14

Time Scale14

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS17

EFEF JIP procedure for fire risk assessment and management17

EFEF JIP procedure for explosion risk assessment and management19

Frequency analysis of explosions or fires21

Applied Examples22

Topside of hypothetical FPSO22

Selection of credible fire/explosion scenarios23

Calculation of fire frequency - by combined historical data and simulation31

Calculation of explosion frequency - by combined historical data and simulation32

Fire Safety Technologies for industry38

Transparent structures40

Fire protection and communications cables41

Insulation of industrial equipment42

Fire Management Techniques43

Signal Cross-Correlation43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION46

REFERENCES48

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

More than 70% of the accidents that occur in offshore installations stem from hydrocarbon explosions and fires, which are extremely hazardous, involving blasts and heat, and have serious consequences for human health, structural safety and the surrounding environment. Recent decades have seen a number of explosion and fire accidents in offshore installations, well documented in statistical data. Fig. 1 presents a photo of the Piper Alpha accident, which occurred on 6 july 1988, and Fig. 2 a photo of the more recent Deepwater Horizon accident, which occurred on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. Since the Piper Alpha accident, a substantial amount of effort has been directed towards the management of explosions and fire in offshore installations. Risk-based approaches have begun to replace traditional prescriptive approaches in offshore design, and joint industry projects have been undertaken since 1990. In spite of these efforts, however, accidents continue ...