67
December
2014
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
F
or many years full retrospective
HAZOPs have been undertaken
for upstream and downstream
oil and gas assets in order to
revalidate their safe operation. The main
reason for revalidation is that
circumstances change and in general the
understanding of hazards also increases.
HAZOP, originally intended for capital
projects, is now specifically mentioned in
the USA’s Process Safety Management
regulations, reflecting its position as a
best practice approach for risk
assessments, including its application to
Keith Baisden, ABB
Consulting, UK,
explains
the role of risk assessment
methodology in assuring
process safety in the oil and
gas sector.
