CMPT publishes new guide to offshore risk assessment
The Centre for Marine and Petroleum Technology (CMPT) has recently published a major new guide to offshore risk assessment. CMPT hopes that the 'Guide to quantitative risk assessment for offshore installations' will make an important contribution to rationalising risk assessments. Its scope ranges from relatively simple techniques based on manual calculations to specialised software, and it can be used as a reference work or training manual as well as an aid to commissioning, carrying out, or evaluating quantitative risk assessment (QRA) procedures. The guide provides frequency and consequence data on most of the major hazards that could occur offshore, including: - Hydrocarbon releases and fires from blow-outs, riser and pipeline leaks, and process equipment; - Collisions with all kinds of vessels from passing fishing boats to floating platforms and tankers; - Structural failure of fixed or floating platforms and tankers; - Accidents during construction, crane operation, offshore loading and storage; - Non-process fires, caused by electrical equipment or diesel, for example; - Accidents during transport by helicopter and crew boat; - Personal accidents to offshore workers. Most of the data comes from the public domain and relates to the North Sea, where QRA is used most often. Quantitative risk assessment begins with identifying systems to be included and the hazards associated with operating them. The analysis then estimates the chances of such accidents actually happening and the potential consequences. The frequency and consequence information is combined in a technical risk analysis, and different criteria are introduced to attain a risk assessment to judge the acceptability of various risks.