Working with LNG - why consistency is essential

LNG is a risky business. Unlike many hazardous substances, LNG is not flammable or explosive in its liquid state but when it is transported, stored and processed the scale of the risk increases considerably.

By 2020 we expect to see the demand for LNG double which will drive investment in new technology and make it more commercially available. This will mean protecting assets and finding efficiencies will the top of the agenda for many plant owners - but not at the expense of health and safety.

Presently we are seeing some of the most stringent, internationally recognised standards when it comes to passive fire protection technology.

The international standards governing LNG apply to risks both offshore and onshore and include International Fire Codes, Standards and Ratings (including EC Directives), ISO 9001, ISO 18001 and ISO 14001.

However, more can be done to protect lives - firefighters, plant operatives, civilians, the environment and assets.

Protecting assets and lives – passive fire protection

Offshore is an aggressive environment. As the need for deeper drilling increases, the higher the pressure, the hotter the temperature and the increase in risk.

By investing in passive fire systems to protect existing assets, safety can be improved for all but it needs to be correctly recorded and documented for ease of access during emergencies.

Passive fire protection involves treating the critical parts of buildings with protective coatings which buy time in the event of a fire. At present, passive fire protection ratings is two hours - which is the time fire crews have to control the fire and make assets safe.

Although many remote plants which have onsite fire services can lift its fire protection rating from two to four hours, it is in the plant owner’s interest to achieve the highest standards of fire protection to reduce the risk of loss of production and protect their assets (buildings, structures and equipment) and therefore revenue streams.

However, many fire fighters attending an LNG plant need further protection. By creating a universally accepted database in addition to those already required by the Health & Safety Executive’s – Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) legislation, we can further protect lives.

What is COMAH?

COMAH was created in 1999 to mitigate the effects of incidents that could seriously harm or damage people and the environment. Updated in 2005 to broaden its scope, it revised and added new named substances including requirements for petroleum products.

Under COMAH, top tier operatives need to prepare a Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP) along with a safety report detailing measures for fire fighting. Whilst COMAH is a great start, it needs to be revised to take the safety of firefighters to the next level through the introduction of a standardised national system for local fire stations dealing with high risk situations.

Best practice needs to be shared at a national and international level and the adoption of one system will enable firefighters to make safe, real time decisions based on the information a unified national database would provide.

A consistent national system

At present, there is no one database or methodology to help firefighters when they attend high risk situations. As there is no standardisation, this means that details such as what fire protection is in place or what chemicals have been used in that protection can only be assessed onsite.

Although risk assessments will be in place, many firefighters will revert to the standard two hours before deeming a building unsafe, when in reality it could be much longer. It is this uncertainty which needs to be addressed. By introducing a simple, regulated system for every fire station, risks can be further mitigated.

What we need is a universally-consistent database, securely hosted in the cloud, detailing all the salient information, including:

• Date of last inspection – reliability of information being provided
• How many tanks of what capacity?
• What materials do they contain?
• Are they flammable or explosive?
• Fire rating of structural steels - for example, how many hours the structural steel will bear, what weight, how long into what temperature and type of fire.

This quick to access information would save precious time. There are already many variations of the above in use today but consistency is what is required. It’s not enough to make safety a priority as priorities change. What we can do however is simplify and make it easier to protect both assets and lives.