Concept risk assessment of offshore hydrocarbon production installations

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a practical Concept Risk Assessment tool for use in new offshore oil and gas developments. The methodology is commercially confidential and so the detail cannot be described fully, although a general outline of the main constituent elements can be given. This tool has been verified against detailed Quantified Risk Assessments (QRA) and shows an agreement of ±30% in key risk parameters but with the benefit of taking only about 5% of the time to complete. The tool has been used to assist in the selection of the best concept for around six new North Sea oil, gas and condensate developments. The novelty is that the risk assessment is based on a number of pre-processed risk building blocks for each item of hazardous equipment. These are then moderated by gearing factors to take account of specific aspects of the design. The speed with which the tool can be utilized, allied with its relative accuracy, allows the rapid ranking of the wide range of concept options that are typical of many new offshore developments. In addition, the tool enables the rapid re-assessment of risk levels which may change as a result of the ongoing evolution of the design. This means that safety of personnel can be given a high focus during project evolution. © Institution of Chemical Engineers.