Ruwais Refinery West (rrw) - Fire Explosion Incident v6d3r

RUWAIS REFINERY WEST - FIRE & EXPLOSION INCIDENT ADNOC Group Incident

On 11th Jan 2017 around 17:43 hrs, a fire followed by an explosion occurred in the Whole Cracked Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit at RRW impacting the adjacent units. Maintenance workers were performing de-blinding activities at the 16-inch suction line of a pump, after completing the pump mechanical seal replacement job. While inserting the 16-inch spacer, a mixture of naphtha and hydrogen was released through the Motor Operated Valve (MOV) that was used to isolate the pump suction line. Soon after the release, the mixture ignited causing a fire and an explosion. There were no injuries / fatalities. Incident classified as a Tier-1 Process Safety Event with widespread asset damage.

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The MOV was not electrically isolated and the electrical supply was not switched off.

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It was assumed that local MOV isolation had been done properly and a Work Permit was issued for maintenance activities without verification of required controls.

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While lifting the 16-inch spacer via chain block arrangement, the chain came in with the MOV switch and inadvertently opened the valve.

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Onsite work activities were not supervised effectively.

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Operations personnel did not take appropriate actions during the release of hydrocarbon.

 Established control procedures including Permit to Work (PTW) shall be strictly followed.

 Implementation of Lock-Out & Tag-Out (LOTO) shall be enforced at all times.

 Site personnel must focus on visibility and effective supervision of work.

 Ensure quality Task Risk Assessments so that the risks are not underestimated for routine jobs.

 Operations crew must be competent with ESD functionality for timely & appropriate emergency actions.

 Ensure all HSE critical positions are assessed as per required job competencies.

SOURCE: TAKREER Incident 11 Jan 2017 ISSUE #01/17