Are Our Facilities Safe?... and Now?... and Now?...Safety Assurance in Large Installations with Constant Changes

Constant changes in production conditions demand constant changes in installations, and although changes may (or not) be adequately registered, one has to wonder… with all those changes we made, are our facilities still safe?

This is the case of an integrated facility having six compressor plants, three gas processing plants, more than 85 km of interconnecting gas pipeline over more than 60 km2.

The analysis involved qualitative risk analysis sessions to determine scenarios. Following, those scenarios were analyzed, with both static and dynamic models and considering two flow situations, actual and future, so as to be able to identify how safeguards would behave. These analyses were primary aiming at integrity assurance. Finally, conclusions and recommendations, with a priority determination, were made.

Summarizing, this paper reviews how hazards and scenarios were identified in this very complex installation, and how different existing safeguards were analyzed to decide if they were suitable or not to achieve integrity assurance.