The design of BP ETAP platform against gas explosions

Risks of personal injury from gas explosion, together with fire and smoke ingress, were among the key hazards that the Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) team intended to design out as far as possible. This paper describes the process ETAP followed to achieve this. The process involved the early application of the appropriate advance technology and personnel at the concept selection stage and right through different stages during design, and an integrated team including explosion specialists.All major design decisions on explosion optimisation were made at the early stage of front-end engineering design (FEED), resulting in a relatively straightforward detailed design phase. These early design decisions had the effect of not only reducing gas explosion consequences, but simplifying layout, e.g. reducing pipe run and structures. The end result is a design which gives inherently low risk to personnel and Temporary Refuge impairment without the uncertainties of high cost of late remedial work to take account of high explosion loads, and consequent project delay.