Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Based on Leak Detection Criteria (LDC) Design for a Subsea Oil Export Pipeline

Abstract

A QRA based LDC design for a proposed sub-sea oil export pipeline is presented in this paper as an example to reveal how to perform the QRA/LDC study in practical projects. The authors are now dedicated to a pipeline QRA/RBI program development, which will be issued in the near future. The object of QRA/LDC study is to determine if the current leak detection philosophy excluding the use of statistical leak detection is sufficient, based on QRA results; if not, an appropriate LDC will be established. The QRA assessment will determine the frequency of leaks, leak volume, response time and Shoreline/Marine Park infected oil quantity. All of the risk assessments in this paper have been done for the comparison of two scenarios: with LDS and without LDS, in order to find out the benefits of statistical LDS installation. And the result has revealed that the use of statistical LDS can largely reduce the oil spill volume. Thus, a suitable LDS is recommended to be installed to reduce the impact of oil spill consequences. A sound LDC has been defined based on QRA study results and comments form various LDS vendors in this paper to assist the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to quickly identify, locate and employ a mitigation measure to contain the damage in case a leak incident occurs.