CIRCULAR

PROMULGATING THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON RISK ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA USED FOR QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT (QRA) OF PETROLEUM, OIL AND PETROL, CHEMICAL, THERMAL POWER ACTIVITIES

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 95/2012/NĐ-CP dated November 12th2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Law on Technical regulations and standards No. 68/2006/QH11 dated July 21st2006;

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 127/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 01st2007 detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Technical regulations and standards;

At the proposal of the Director of the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency;

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues a Circular promulgating the National Technical Regulation on Risk Acceptance Criteria used for Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, thermal power activities.

Article 1.Promulgated together with this Circular the “National Technical Regulation onRisk Acceptance Criteria used for Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, thermal power activities”

Symbol: QCVN 11 : 2012/BCT.

Article 2.This Circular takes effect on February 14th2013.

Article 3.The Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies, People’s Committees of central-affiliated cities and provinces, Heads of agencies, and relevant individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.

QCVN 11 : 2012/BCT

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION

Risk Acceptance Criteria used for Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, thermal power activities

Foreword

QCVN 11 : 2012/THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE – National Technical Regulation on Risk Acceptance Criteria used for quantitative risk assessment ofpetroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, thermal power activities, submitted by the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency, appraised by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and promulgated by the Minister of Industry and Trade together with the Circular No.50/2012/TT-BCT dated December 28th2012.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION

RISK ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA USED FOR QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT (QRA) OF PETROLEUM, OIL AND PETROL, CHEMICALS, THERMAL POWER ACTIVITIES

Chapter I

GENERAL REGULATIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Regulation deals with the Risk Acceptance Criteria applicable to humans used for the quantitative risk assessment ofpetroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, thermal power activities that take place within the territory, exclusive economic zones, and continental shelves of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Regulation is applicable to the organizations and individuals that engage in the petroleum, oil and petrol, chemicals, thermal power activities.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

The terms in this Regulation are construed as follows:

1. Risk: Is the combination of possibility of emergencies, accidents, and their consequences.

2. Level of risk: Is the possibility of fatalities due to the risks in the activities or constructions. For instances, the level 1.00E-0 of risk is the possibility of 01 fatality per year.

3. Risk assessment: is the identification and determination of potential risks as the basis for providing measures to minimize the risk as low as reasonably practicable.

4. Quantitative risk assessment: Is the analysis and calculation of the frequency and consequences of emergencies based on the methods and data that have been announced and accredited worldwide.

5. Acceptable level of risk is the level of risk that is acceptable to humans.

6. Petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities and the activities relevant to the exploration, extraction, construction, operation, renovation, and decommissioning petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power constructions.

7. People in Group I: are the people working regularly at the construction.

8. People in Group II: Are the people not working at the construction that are irregularly present at the construction such as inspectorates or visitors…

9. People in Group III: Are the people not working at the construction that are present around the construction.

10. Broadly acceptable level of risk: is the level or risk that is so low procedure the risk does not affect the safety.

11. The failure of rescue and escape functions of offshore petroleum constructions : in an emergency, the instruments designed for the rescue and escape of an offshore petroleum construction (the emergency exit, the temporary shelter, the vehicles for leaving the construction, the integrity of the structure) must be sustained.  These instruments must be sustained long enough for humans to leave the dangerous area, and safely leave the construction.

In an emergency, an instrument is considered “in failure" when it is not used as designed or not intact over a certain period of time.

Chapter II

TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

Section 1. CLASSIFICATION OF PETROLEUM, OIL AND PETROL, CHEMICALS, THERMAL POWER ACTIVITIES ACCORDING TO  CHARACTERISTICS OF RISK

Article 4. The offshore petroleum exploration and extraction

The offshore petroleum exploration and extraction (not including the conveyance of oil and gas in pipelines from the extraction location to the shore) includes:

1. The exploration (including seismic survey), extraction, collection, storage, and treatment of petroleum;

2. The oil field development; the installation and renovation of petroleum constructions;

3. Dismantling the petroleum construction, cleaning up the field, destroying and cleaning the well;

4. The activities of the petroleum exploration and extraction of the oil rig and the ships; the gas-treating rigs; the service ships, storage ships, treatment ships (floating storage), and auxiliary equipment; the internal oil and gas pipeline;

5. The services directly serving the activities above and other activities as prescribed by law.

Article 5. The offshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline

The offshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline includes:

1. The activities related to the installation and operation of the pipeline that convey petroleum and petroleum products directly from the extraction or gathering location to the shore;

2. The activities of auxiliary constructions and instruments serving the installation and operation of the conveyance system of petroleum and petroleum products.

Article 6. The onshore conveyance of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol in pipeline

The onshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline includes:

1. The activities of the pipeline and attached instrument serving the conveyance of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol directly from the shore (applicable to offshore petroleum projects) to the storage and consumption locations;

2. The activities of the pipeline and attached instrument serving the conveyance of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol directly from the shore (applicable to offshore petroleum projects) to the storage and consumption locations;

Article 7. The onshore petroleum exploration and extraction

The onshore petroleum exploration and extraction includes:

1. The exploration, extraction, and treatment of petroleum at the extraction place;

2. The collection of petroleum, the transport of petroleum from the extraction place to the gathering place;

3. The oil field development; the installation and renovation of petroleum exploration and extraction constructions;

4. Dismantling the petroleum construction, clean the field, destroy and clean the well;

5. The services directly serving the activities from Clause 1 to Clause 4 of this Article and other activities as prescribed by law.

Article 8. The onshore petroleum refinement, treatment, and processing

The onshore petroleum refinement, treatment, and processing include:

1. The building, installation, and operation of the constructions serving the refinement, treatment and processing of petroleum and petroleum products;

2. The renovation and dismantlement of the constructions serving the refinement, treatment and processing of petroleum and petroleum products.

Article 9. The export, import, storage of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol at warehouses and ports

The export, import, storage of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol at warehouses and ports include:

1. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of warehouses, ports, or complexes of warehouses, ports where petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol are exported and imported;

2. The export and import of petroleum, petroleum products, oil and petrol.

Article 10. Chemical activities

The chemical activities include the construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the construction serving the chemical production and processing.

Article 11. Thermal power activities

The thermal power activities include the construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of coal thermal power stations and gas thermal power stations.

Section 2. REGULATIONS ON THE QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT OF PETROLEUM, OIL AND PETROL, CHEMICAL, AND THERMAL POWER ACTIVITIES

Article 12. The quantitative risk assessment of petroleum activities

Article 12. The quantitative risk assessment of petroleum activities:

1. The offshore petroleum exploration and extraction;

2. The offshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline;

3. The onshore exploration, extraction, conveyance, and treatment of petroleum

The petroleum refinement and treatment;

b) The export, import, storage, bottling, processing of petroleum and petroleum products at stations, warehouses, and ports;

c) The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and cleaning of petroleum constructions;

d) The onshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline.

4. The export, import, storage of petroleum and petroleum products at warehouses and ports

a) The storage of petroleum gas and liquefied petroleum gas products: cold storage and constant-pressure storage;

b) Exporting ports and importing ports level 1 are the ports that export and import products of which the flash point is lower than or equal to 37.80C (LPG, LNG, CNG, petrol, aviation fuel, condensate) that are able to receive ships of which the capacity reaches up to 50,000 DWT;

b) Exporting ports and importing ports level 2 are the ports that export and import products of which the flash point is lower than or equal to 37.80C (LPG, LNG, CNG, petrol, aviation fuel, condensate) that are able to receive ships of which the capacity reaches up to 50,000 DWT;

d) Exporting ports and importing ports level 3: ports that export and import products of which the flash point exceeds 37.80C (LPG, LNG, CNG, petrol, aviation fuel, condensate) that are able to receive ships of which the capacity exceeds 50,000 DWT;

5. The technical services directly serving the activities from Clause 1 to Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 13. The quantitative risk assessment of oil and petrol activities

The petroleum activities of which the quantitative risk assessment is compulsory include:

1. The conveyance of oil and petrol in pipeline at the highest acceptable pressure:

a) Pipeline level 1: the pressure reaches at least 60 bar;

b) Pipeline level 2: the pressure is from 19 bar to lower than 60 bar.

2. Petrol an oil preparation

3. Petrol an oil storage

The petrol and oil storage of which the capacity reaches at least 50,000 m3(storage level 1 and level 2)

4. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and cleaning of petrol and oil constructions prescribed in Clauses from 1 to 3 in this Article.

Article 14. The quantitative risk assessment of chemical activities

The chemical activities of which the quantitative risk assessment is compulsory include:

1. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the constructions serving the production of fertilizers and pesticides, including:

a) The factories of which the production of urea, DAP, MPA, SA, NPK reaches at least 500,000 tonnes per year;

b) The factories of which the production of phosphate fertilizers (superphosphate and melted phosphate) reaches at least 500,000 tonnes per year;

c) The factories of which the production of pesticide reaches at least 30,000 tonnes per year;

2. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the constructions serving the fundamental chemical production, including:

a) The factories of which the production of ammonia, acid, alkali, and chlorine reaches at least 50,000 tonnes per year;

b) The factories of which the production of soda reaches at least 200,000 tonnes per year.

3. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the constructions serving the rubber production, including:

a) The factories of which the production of tractor and car tires reaches at least 1,000,000 units per year.

b) The factories of which the production of motorbike tires and bicycle tires reaches at least 10,000,000 units per year.

c) The factories of which the production of rubber conveyor belts reaches at least 500,000 m2per year.

4. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the constructions serving the production of electrochemical products and paint, including:

a) The factories of which the production of batteries reaches at least 500,000 Kwh per year;

b) The factories of which the production of paint, alkyd and acrylic materials reaches at least 100,000 tonnes per year.

5. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of the constructions serving the production of petrochemistry products and other substances, including:

b) The factories of which the production of petrochemistry products (PP, PE, PVC, PS, PET, SV, fiber, DOP, Polystyren, LAB) and synthetic rubber reaches at least 1,000,000 tonnes per year;

b) The factories of which the production of cosmetics reaches at least 100,000 tonnes per year.

6. The factories that produce industrial explosives and precursor substances of explosives.

Article 15. The quantitative risk assessment of coal thermal power and gas thermal power activities

The thermal power activities of which the quantitative risk assessment is compulsory include:

1.The thermal power activities include the construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of coal thermal power stations and gas thermal power stations of which the output reaches at least 300 MW;

2. The construction, installation, operation, renovation, and dismantlement of coal thermal power stations and gas thermal power stations of which the output is lower than 300 MW, but the capacity of the oil storage exceeds 10,000 m3.

Section 3. REGULATIONS ON THE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF RISK APPLICABLE TO PETROLEUM, OIL AND PETROL, CHEMICAL, AND THERMAL POWER ACTIVITIES

Article 16. General regulations

The quantitative risk assessment for determining the levels of risk of the petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities is carried out according to the quantitative risk assessment methodology specified in the Annex enclosed with this Regulation.

Article 17. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to the offshore exploration, extraction, storage, and treatment of petroleum

1. The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03.

2. The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-05.

3. The highest acceptable level risk of rescue and escape instrument failure: 1.00E-03.

Article 18. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to offshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline

1. The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03.

2. The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-05.

Article 19. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to onshore conveyance of petroleum and petroleum products in pipeline

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-04;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Article 20. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to the onshore petroleum exploration and extraction

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 5.00E-05;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Article 21. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to petroleum refinement, treatment, and processing

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 5.00E-05;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Article 22. The acceptable levels of risk applicable to the export, import, storage of petroleum, petroleum products, oil, and petrol at stations, ports, and warehouses.

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 5.00E-05;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Article 23. The acceptable levels of risks applicable to chemical activities

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 5.00E-05;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Article 24. The acceptable level of risks applicable to coal thermal power and gas thermal power activities

1. For people in Group I

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-03;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

2. For people in Group IIII

a) The highest acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-04;

b) The broadly acceptable level of risk: 1.00E-06.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 25. Responsibility of State management agencies

1. The Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency shall:

a) Perform the safety management in the quantitative risk assessment of petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities

b) Appraise and approve the reports on the quantitative risk assessment of petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities

c) Request the Minister of Industry and Trade to amend and supplement this Regulation based on the management requirements and suggestions of other organizations and individuals.

2. Services of Industry and Trade of central-affiliated cities and provinces shall:

a) Guide and inspect the implementation of this Regulation locally;

b) Summarize and sending reports to Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency on the difficulties arising during the course of implementation of this Regulation locally.

Article 26. Responsibility of organizations and individuals engaging in petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities

1. The organizations and individuals that engage in petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities must carry out the quantitative risk assessment and provide solutions to minimize the risks as low as reasonably practicable.

2. The quantitative risk assessment must be carried out from the designing stage. If the construction and installation is different from the design that underwent quantitative risk assessment, the additional quantitative risk assessment must be carried out before the construction is put into operation. If there is no renovation during the operation of the construction, the quantitative risk assessment shall be carried out every 05 year.

Chapter IV

REGULATIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION

Article 27. Transitional regulations

1. For the operating petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power constructions of which the quantitative risk assessment reports have been approved before the Regulation takes effect, the acceptable levels of risk in the report shall remain unchanged. This Regulation shall be implemented upon the renovation or periodic quantitative risk assessment of such constructions .

2. Organizations and individuals are recommended to report the inappropriate contents, the omitted issues, the amendments and supplementations during the course of implementation of this Regulation to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for amendment and supplementation./.

ANNEX

QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

I. THE QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

The quantitative risk assessment  is developed and used as an instrument for assisting the safety management of the organizations and individuals that engage in petroleum, oil and petrol, chemical, and thermal power activities.The quantitative risk assessment process is demonstrated in Picture 1.

Picture 1. Quantitative risk assessment process

II. THE ORDER OF QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT

1. Collecting data

This is a very important step in risk assessment and analysis which ensures the results that reflect the actual levels of risk caused by the technological system. The information, figures, and documents to be collected:

- The description of the construction and the operation conditions of the technological system;

- The environment and arrangement of the surroundings;

- The existing safety measures for preventing and avoiding accidents/emergencies.

2. Identifying risks

Based on the survey and collected data, the emergencies, accidents, and their consequences related to the construction shall be identified and determined.  This process combines the experience from the previous researches, the knowledge about accidents in the world, and the assessments of experienced analysts.

3. Determining typical emergencies

Based on the list of possible hazards to the construction, the experience of accidents in the world, the types of emergencies shall be selected and taken into risk analysis.

4. Calculating frequency of emergencies

The frequency of each emergency is determined from the original frequency and the existing data at the site. The frequency of each emergency is determined and calculated by specialized software.

5. Consequence modeling

The consequence model helps calculate the seriousness of the consequences caused by the emergency, and their impact on humans. The consequences of each emergency is determined and modeled by specialized software.

6. Calculating risks

Based on the analysis results of the frequency and consequence modeling of each emergency, the quantitative levels of risk caused by the emergencies as well as the risk to the entire construction shall be calculated.The risk calculation result is expressed in the quantities of risk to an individual and risk to a group of people (group III).

7. The risk management measures

The results shall be compared to the standards, and appropriate suggestions shall be given in order to control and minimize the risk as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP principle)

III.The rules for selecting an acceptable level of risk

The acceptable level of risk shall be expressed according to the ALARP principle. The ALARP standard may be illustrated in an inverted triangle in Picture 2. The lower line is the acceptable level of risk, and the upper line is the unacceptable level of risk. The levels of risk increases from low to high based on the increasing triangle area. The upper part of the triangle expresses high risk, the lower part expresses low risk. If the risk lies below the acceptable level, no improvement is necessary apart from keeping the operation conformable with the industrial safety regulations. On the other hand, if the risk is higher than the acceptable level, it is necessary to consider the minimizing measures. Thus, we need to balance the expenditure on the minimization with the benefits of the safety enhancement. When the expenditure is reasonable, the minimizing measures may be taken. On the contrary, if the expenditure is too high, the implementation of such measures are not practicable. If the risk is too high and lies above the unacceptable level, the only way to minimize the risk is to shut down.  Thus, the distance between these two level is called ALARP zone.

Picture 2. The ALARP zone