Contribution of the lessons learned from oil refining accidents to the industrial risks assessment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to employ lessons learned from the industrial accidents in Skikda refinery during the period from 2005 to 2016 as input data for the numerical simulation of risk consequences to identify the exposed areas to the various effects of industrial accidents.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to assess how the lessons learned can contribute to modeling the accidents effects in the refining activities, this paper presents a combined statistical/dynamic approach that combines two main tools, namely, lessons learned from petroleum refining in Algeria and Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres software.

Findings

The results showed that fire is the most frequent accident at Skikda refinery that is mainly caused by equipment failures with a frequent involvement of crude oil and LNG. The NO₂ toxic effects are unacceptable. This means that in the case of a similar accident, the entire population will be exposed to an intolerable concentration of NO₂. Therefore, people must be relocated to a safer place. The results indicate that the concentration threshold can be met beyond the distance of 1 km.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the economic importance of Skikda refinery and the absence of data related to the accidents in the refineries of Algiers, Arzew and Hassi Messaoud, this study is limited to the statistical analysis of accidents related to Skikda refinery.

Practical implications

This approach makes the risk assessment more practical and effective for the appropriate utilization of safety barriers and for the whole decision-making process.

Originality/value

This work presents a review paper of accidents that occurred in the oil-refining sector in Algeria, whose objective is learning lessons from past accidents history, by identifying their immediate causes and effects on personnel, equipment and environment in order to propose prevention measures. The novelty of this work is highlighted by the fact that this statistical analysis of oil and gas refining accident is realized for the first time in Algeria. This is due to the difficulty of obtaining data on accidents in the Algerian refining sector; for this reason, the authors have limited the study to the Skikda refinery.

Citation

Samia, C., Hamzi, R. and Chebila, M. (2018), "Contribution of the lessons learned from oil refining accidents to the industrial risks assessment", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 643-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-07-2017-0067