Application of dynamic risk analysis in offshore drilling processes

Process safety is the common global language used to communicate the strategies of hazard identification, risk assessment and safety management. Process safety is identified as an integral part of process development and focuses on preventing and mitigating major process accidents such as fires, explosions, and toxic releases in process industries. Accident probability estimation is the most vital step to all quantitative risk assessment methods. Drilling process for oil is a hazardous operation and hence safety is one of the major concerns and is often measured in terms of risk. Dynamic risk assessment method is meant to reassess risk in terms of updating initial failure probabilities of events and safety barriers, as new information are made available during a specific operation. In this study, a Bayesian network model is developed to represent a well kick scenario. The concept of dynamic environment is incorporated by feeding the real-time failure probability values (observed at different time intervals) of safety barriers to the Bayesian network in order to obtain the corresponding time-dependent variations in kick consequences. This study reveals the importance of real-time monitoring of safety barrier performances and quantitatively shows the effect of deterioration of barrier performance on kick consequence probabilities. The Macondo blowout incident is used to demonstrate how early warnings in barrier probability variations could have been observed and adequately managed to prevent escalation to severe consequences.     

基于模糊Bow-tie模型的油轮靠港装卸作业溢油风险分析

为了全面分析油轮靠港装卸作业溢油事故风险,在风险定量分析中引入了模糊Bow-tie模型,基于事故树方法分析油轮靠港装卸作业发生溢油事故的原因,采用事件树方法分析溢油事故可能导致的后果,利用模糊集理论与专家评价相结合的方法分析油轮靠港装卸作业溢油的模糊可能值,采用层次分析法确定作业溢油后果因素的权重值,采用矩阵乘法计算溢油后果风险值。分析结果表明:油轮靠港装卸作业过程中一旦发生溢油,发生火灾+污染、爆炸+污染的概率较高。基于以上风险分析提出了油轮靠港装卸作业风险的防控措施,可为油轮靠港装卸作业安全风险管理提供参考。     

“三高”气田钻井过程硫化氢泄漏动态风险分析

传统的H2S泄漏风险分析方法不能很好地对事故发展过程进行动态分析,导致分析结果偏离实际。基于贝叶斯方法,构建了高温、高压、高含硫（“三高”）气田钻井过程中H2S泄漏的蝴蝶结模型并提出将其转化为贝叶斯网络,在事故已发生的情况下更新基本事件发生的概率。然后,假定事故后果在确定的时间段内发生的累积次数已知的条件下,更新安全屏障及事故后果发生的概率,从而完成对H2S泄漏的动态风险分析。结果表明,该方法克服了传统静态定量分析方法中的不足,可动态评估导致H2S泄漏的基本事件发生的概率和对顶事件发生的影响程度,并动态反映安全屏障和事故后果的风险变化,能为钻井过程中H2S泄漏的风险分析及防控措施提供参考。     

城市管道系统风险分析及闭环管理研究

为了探索构建城市管道系统安全及可靠性风险管理体系,基于FMECA,FTA&ETA及FRACAS等技术,建立涵盖故障模式辨识、影响及危害度分析、纠正措施执行等内容,且遵循闭环管理原则的科学、完整的风险闭环管理模式。针对城市管道安全及可靠性研究存在的局限性,引入FCE改进的FMECA和模糊灰关联FTA等定量计算方法,克服统计信息匮乏、数据模糊等瓶颈。研究结果表明:基于改进“3F”一体化技术的系统风险闭环管理体系契合城市管道风险管控需求,为多态、多要素耦合、不确定性复杂系统整体风险分析研究提供新思路。     

Analysis of underlying causes of investigated loss of containment incidents in Dutch Seveso plants using the Storybuilder method

In the Netherlands there are around 400 “Seveso” sites that fall under the Dutch Major Hazards Decree (BRZO) 1999. Between 2006 and 2010 the Dutch Labour Inspectorate's Directorate for Major Hazard Control completed investigations of 118 loss of containment incidents involving hazardous substances from this group. On the basis of investigation reports the incidents were entered in a tailor-made tool called Storybuilder developed for the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment for identifying the dominant patterns of technical safety barrier failures, barrier task failures and underlying management causes associated with the resulting loss of control events. The model is a bow-tie structure with six lines of defence, three on either side of the central loss of containment event. In the first line of defence, failures in the safety barriers leading to loss of control events were primarily equipment condition failures, pre start-up and safeguarding failures and process deviations such as pressure and flow failures. These deviations, which should have been recovered while still within the safe envelope of operation, were missed primarily because of inadequate indication signals that the deviations have occurred. Through failures of subsequent lines of defence they are developing into serious incidents. Overall, task failures are principally failures to provide adequate technical safety barriers and failures to operate provided barriers appropriately. Underlying management delivery failures were mainly found in equipment specifications and provisions, procedures and competence. The competence delivery system is especially important for identifying equipment condition, equipment isolation for maintenance, pre-start-up status and process deviations. Human errors associated with operating barriers were identified in fifty per cent of cases, were mostly mistakes and feature primarily in failure to prevent deviations and subsequently recover them. Loss of control associated with loss of containment was primarily due to the containment being bypassed (72% of incidents) and less to material strength failures (28%). Transfer pipework, connections in process plant and relief valves are the most frequent release points and the dominant release material is extremely flammable. It is concluded that the analysis of a large number of incidents in Storybuilder can support the quantification of underlying causes and provide evidence of where the weak points exist in major hazard control in the prevention of major accidents.     

Development of generic bow-tie diagrams of accidental scenarios triggered by flooding of industrial facilities (Natech)

Interactions between natural events and industrial installations may lead to dangerous phenomena. According to bibliographical research, the industrial sector is often unprepared for these joint natural and technological or Natech events mainly because of the lack of guidelines on how to apply Natech regulations and the lack of information on the dynamics of Natechs. In order to fill the gaps and provide guidance on Natech risk assessment to operators, a systematic risk analysis methodology was developed and resulted firstly in proposing general reference bow-ties that reconfigure accidental scenarios triggered by flood events. The validation of these scenarios was made in the surface treatment sector. Building on these bow-ties, the risk analysis methodology will be completed and a checklist simple to use, along with a list proposing preventive and protective measures, to be used by operators in order to decrease the vulnerability of their industrial facilities to technological accidents triggered by floods will be developed in future work.     

基于UHBs的输气管道高后果区泄漏燃爆事故分析

为探究输气管道高后果区中人的不安全行为（Unsafe Human Behaviors,UHBs）对输气管道泄漏燃爆事故发生的影响,结合模糊Bow-tie模型和贝叶斯网络对输气管道泄漏燃爆事故进行分析。构建基于T-S模糊故障树的输气管道泄漏燃爆模糊Bow-tie模型,并转化为贝叶斯网络;从人的不安全行为发生的可能性出发,将不同等级高后果区划分为不同等级人口敏感区;利用专家经验评判法得到不同等级人口敏感区基本事件的先验概率和中间事件的条件概率表;运用贝叶斯网络双向推理算法求解模糊Bow-tie模型。结果表明:随着地区人口敏感等级的提高,输气管道泄漏燃爆事故发生的概率随之增大,发现导致输气管道失效泄漏事故发生的最主要原因为施工破坏,失效原因与EGIG分析的结果基本相符,验证该方法在高后果区输气管道泄漏燃爆事故分析上的可行性,可为输气管道高后果区的安全管理提供决策依据。     

Handling and updating uncertain information in bow-tie analysis

Bow-tie analysis is a fairly new concept in risk assessment that can describe the relationships among different risk control parameters, such as causes, hazards and consequences to mitigate the likelihood of occurrence of unwanted events in an industrial system. It also facilitates the performance of quantitative risk analysis for an unwanted event providing a detailed investigation starting from basic causes to final consequences. The credibility of quantitative evaluation of the bow-tie is still a major concern since uncertainty, due to limited or missing data, often restricts the performance of analysis. The utilization of expert knowledge often provides an alternative for such a situation. However, it comes at the cost of possible uncertainties related to incompleteness (partial ignorance), imprecision (subjectivity), and lack of consensus (if multiple expert judgments are used). Further, if the bow-tie analysis is not flexible enough to incorporate new knowledge or evidence, it may undermine the purpose of risk assessment.Fuzzy set and evidence theory are capable of characterizing the uncertainty associated with expert knowledge. To minimize the overall uncertainty, fusing the knowledge of multiple experts and updating prior knowledge with new evidence are equally important in addition to addressing the uncertainties in the knowledge. This paper proposes a methodology to characterize the uncertainties, aggregate knowledge and update prior knowledge or evidence, if new data become available for the bow-tie analysis. A case study comprising a bow-tie for a typical offshore process facility has also been developed to describe the utility of this methodology in an industrial environment.     

储气库注采管柱螺纹失效动态风险评估*

为解决储气库注采管柱螺纹失效问题,识别注采管柱螺纹失效致因与后果,基于蝴蝶结和贝叶斯网络方法构建注采管柱螺纹动态失效风险分析模型,采用模糊集理论计算模型变量先验概率,并评估注采管柱失效后果概率,从而推断注采管柱螺纹失效关键致因因素;引入先兆数据,评估注采管柱螺纹动态失效风险态势。结果表明:气体中携带固体颗粒、上螺纹速度过快、注采温度高、地层断裂等13个因素对螺纹失效风险影响较大;螺纹失效概率逐渐增大,螺纹失效后果也越来越严重,需要监控螺纹失效关键致因以降低螺纹失效的风险。