Stiffer safety requirements for oil and gas facilities

The Government on July 1 issued Decree 45, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Oil and Gas, specifying requirements for ensuring safety in the engineering, manufacturing, construction and operation of oil and gas facilities.

Accordingly, oil and gas facilities must be designed and built in conformity with national technical regulations, national, regional or international standards or foreign standards that are accredited and widely applied in accordance with Vietnam’s law and in accordance with treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

Specifically, these facilities are required to satisfy requirements on technological safety, construction safety, fire prevention and fighting safety, safety zones and corridors, as well as environmental protection.

In addition, they must be capable of carrying designed loads in the course of operation and upon occurrence of breakdowns.

Under the new rule, contractors will have to identify, analyze and assess all possible risks against machinery, equipment, chemicals and hazardous materials of oil and gas facilities. Risk assessment results will be used as input data for performance of emergency responses.

At the same time, contractors are required to maintain an emergency response system to effectively perform rescue operations upon the occurrence of breakdowns or accidents that cause harms to people, the environment or property.

Furthermore, emergency response drills must be held regularly by employers to ensure their employees are able to carry out protocols for response to specific emergency situations.-

(Source: Vietnam Law & Legal Forum)