Operational Health & Safety Services

Client: PetroChina
Country: China
Role: Environment and Safety Consultant
Purpose: ESD China in association with two other Inogen associates, Oranjewoud of the Netherlands and Delta Consultants of USA, was commissioned by PetroChina to carry out Quantitative Safety and Environmental Risk Assessments (QRA) and prepare an Emergency Response Plan for their Storage Depot and Gas Pumping Station as part of their overall environmental and safety strengthening efforts.

Outline / Scope of Works:

PetroChina has a major oil depot located next to a major river. The site consists of aboveground storage tanks (AST) with a combined capacity of 80,000 m3, transportation pipelines and pumping systems as well as a mixed oil distillation/separation tower. From 2007 to 2008, ESD China in association with Oranjewoud and Delta Consultants, performed the QRA and prepared an Emergency Response Plan at the PetroChina oil depot as a Phase I pilot project. SAVE II, a proprietary software of Oranjewoud was used for numerical risk modeling to calculate individual and social risks.

A Safety Management Audit was conducted to generate management scores based on an API scoring protocol. The management scores were then used to adjust the individual and social risk frequency to generate realistic risks for the facility. The QRA results were then fed to the environmental risk model that extended to the facility's surrounding environment to help prepare mitigation plans. The QRA results also formed the basis for the preparation of Emergency Response and Emergency Preparedness (EREP) plans for the facility. As a result of highly satisfactory completion of the Phase I pilot project, PetroChina extended the contract to acquire the SAVE II software and use that as their standard training tool for pipeline engineers. In 2009, the Phase II pilot project was extended to a field HAZOP study and QRA modeling of a major gas compression station of a western China gas line.

Outcome / Client Benefits:

We have outperformed our competitors, including DNV and TNO, in these pilot projects and the client appreciates Inogen as the leading problem solver in this sector. Our report has now become the QRA template for PetroChina Pipleline Company. This is one successful story of how Inogen professionals around the world get together to deliver satisfactory solution to the client. In November 2009, the senior management of PetroChina Pipeline Company paid a visit to Oranjewoud's Gate Terminal Project at Rotterdam Harbour, looking forward to further cooperation.

Pictured Above: PetroChina SAVEII study group and Oranjewoud/ESD China Professionals at the gas compression station in western China