Explosion and Fire Response Analysis for FPSO

Hydrocarbon explosions and fires have been identified as major potential hazards in offshore installations. Extreme explosions and heat will pose serious consequences for safety, assets, and the surrounding environment. A number of explosion and fire accidents in offshore installations have occurred in recent decades killing hundreds of people and costing billions of dollars in property damage. Before the Piper Alpha accident, research into fires and explosions was only through experience and statistical analysis. Experts mainly focus on the lack of fire-fighting procedures and recommendations for their improvement. With the development of modern methods of quantitative analysis, more and more studies are done using modern computer technology. A lot of effort now has been put into the prediction and controlling of explosions and fires in offshore installations. Risk-based approaches, rather than traditional prescriptive approaches, have begun to be more extensively applied in offshore designs. This chapter will go into the detail of risk-based approaches.