CASE studY
Using technology to map out the risks
Fire and gas detection systems aimed at protecting people and assets
S
afety and economy are high on
the agenda throughout the oil and
gas industry, and tried-and-tested
technology can help deliver both peace of
mind and cost savings.
Two major projects currently under
way in Norway are using proven fire and
gas detection mapping techniques in very
different ways. These projects are the huge
Nyhamna gas processing plant serving
the Ormen Lange field, and the Draugen
offshore oil facility.
Ormen Lange is the second largest gas
field on the Norwegian continental shelf.
During construction of an onshore processing
plant at Nyhamna for gas from the field,
the engineering contractors required the
newly designed fire and gas detector layout
to demonstrably provide mitigation of risk
and an auditable assessment of the coverage
provided by the detectors.
At the offshore Draugen field oil platform,
a risk assessment review had recommended
upgrading the fire and gas detection system
as a risk-reducing measure. The layouts
recommended by Shell Global Solutions were
tuned to the design intent for each module of
the facility.
14 impact
Shell Global Solutions’ fire and gas detection
mapping technique, which has been developed
over 15 years’ operational experience and
used on more than 100 Shell Group up- and
downstream projects, was used during both
projects. The method uses software to assess
the placement and performance of detectors
by simulating idealised fire and gas-release
scenarios throughout 3D models of the review
sites. The output of the exercise is a coverage
map of each hazardous zone and a table giving
each individual detector’s contribution to the
coverage achieved. The tool is therefore used to
assess, optimise and design fire and gas detector
layouts that typically accommodate the latest
safety legislation.
At Ormen Lange, it was decided early in
the installation’s design that the technique
would be used as a verification tool, rather
than as an engineering tool. This enabled the
plant’s engineering contractors, Aker Kværner
and Vetco Aibel, to recommend the best
overall fire and gas detection system design
and left the Shell Global Solutions team to
evaluate the effectiveness of the layout. The
timing of the engineering phase and the
verification process meant that recommended
improvements could be made.
Issue 2, 2008 www.shell.com/globalsolutions
Øystein Palmgren, Health, Safety and
Environment Adviser, A/S Norske Shell,
says, “For the Ormen Lange project, more
than 200 mapping areas were evaluated,
making it one of the largest and most
complex jobs of its type ever performed by
Shell Global Solutions.
“The verification process found that both
contractors had delivered robust designs.
The changes recommended were small, but
very valuable, and the whole process was
very reassuring.”
Production from the Draugen
monotower platform, which lies north­
west of Kristiansund, started in 1993, and
the safety system used consisted of early
versions of flame detectors and catalytic
gas detectors. Here, Shell Global Solutions’
mapping project involved redesigning the
fire and gas system so that it achieved the
required detection coverage.
The tool was used to investigate the
original detection facilities. The results
showed low coverage, especially for gas
detection. A new system, based on the
findings of the evaluation, was then
designed. Currently being installed, it uses
30 fewer flame detectors and hundreds
fewer gas detectors to provide the required
level of coverage.
Palmgren says, “The coverage of the
new system at Draugen uses fewer, but
better, detectors with the aim of reducing
the risks to both personnel and the asset.
The mapping exercise resulted in a major
reduction in the number of detectors, from
approximately 500 point gas detectors to a
combination of 51 line-of-sight detectors
and 37 point gas detectors.”
• Contact: Bob Nicol
Email: robert.nicol@shell.com