Fire Risk Assessment for Oil & Gas and LNG Facilities | iFluids

What Is a Fire Risk Assessment in Industrial and Oil & Gas Facilities?

A fire risk assessment systematically identifies ignition sources, flammable inventories, and fire escalation pathways across an industrial facility, then evaluates probability and consequence against NFPA, API RP 752, IP 15, and OISD tolerability criteria. For oil & gas, LNG, and petrochemical sites, specialized modeling software is used to model thermal radiation extents and explosion overpressures. iFluids delivers fire risk assessments for refineries, offshore platforms, and LNG terminals across India, Qatar, and the Gulf.

Pool fires, jet fires, flash fires, and vapour cloud explosions each carry distinct consequence profiles. Any study that lumps these into a single scenario table misses the engineering detail regulators and insurers require. Each fire scenario demands its own thermal radiation or overpressure contour, plotted against occupied building coordinates per API RP 752 and API RP 753. Getting the scenario set right at the start prevents rework at regulatory submission.

The study output is not a checklist. It is an engineered consequence-and-risk report with site-specific modelling outputs, receptor analysis, and a prioritised mitigation action register.

Oil & gas operators in India, Qatar, and the UAE face specific regulatory submission requirements that a generic fire safety assessment cannot satisfy. PESO licence renewals, QatarEnergy HSE Case submissions, and ADNOC FEED approval packages all require study outputs structured to their respective format and standard requirements. iFluids engineers scope each study against the target regulator’s submission criteria before a single modelling run begins.

Fire Hazard Analysis: Scope, Method, and How It Differs from a Fire Risk Assessment

A fire hazard analysis identifies and characterises fire hazards, flammable inventories, ignition sources, fire propagation paths, and passive/active fire protection adequacy without necessarily quantifying risk to a numerical value. A fire risk assessment extends this by applying probability estimates and consequence modelling to produce individual risk or societal risk outputs. Both studies are required on most major oil & gas projects; they are not interchangeable.

Fire hazard analysis is the mandatory first output. It answers: what can burn, where, and how fast? The quantitative assessment answers: what is the likelihood and consequence, and does it fall within the facility’s risk acceptance criteria?

Attribute	Fire Hazard Analysis	FRA
Primary output	Hazard register, ignition source map	Risk contours, individual/societal risk
Quantification required	No qualitative acceptable	Yes consequence and frequency
Governing reference	IP 15, NFPA 30	API RP 752, CPQRA (AIChE CCPS)
Typical trigger	FEED stage, layout freeze	Pre-HAZOP, Safety Case, regulatory submission
iFluids software	Dispersion and layout modeling tools	Consequence and risk modeling tools

Fire hazard analysis is also the source data for fire and gas mapping studies ↗. Detector placement per NFPA 72 and IP 15 cannot be finalised until the fire hazard analysis has defined the gas cloud envelope and pool fire footprint for each credible release scenario.

Fire Risk Assessment Methodology: Five-Step Process

A fire risk assessment for an oil & gas or petrochemical facility follows a five-step process governed by IP 15 and the AIChE CCPS CPQRA guidelines. Each step has a defined deliverable; each deliverable feeds the next.

Step 1: Hazard Identification and Inventory Quantification 

Compile process fluid inventories, operating pressures and temperatures, and equipment failure history. HAZID and HAZOP findings are the input; isolatable section inventories are the output. The hazard register is finalised at this step.

Step 2: Fire Scenario Development 

Define credible release cases: small, medium, and large bore failures for each isolatable section. Map each case to a fire type pool fire, jet fire, flash fire, or VCE. NFPA 30 and IP 15 Part 2 govern scenario selection criteria.

Step 3: Consequence Modelling 

Run consequence modeling software to generate thermal radiation contours and overpressure profiles. Output: 1 kW/m², 4 kW/m², and 12.5 kW/m² thermal radiation contours for each fire scenario, plotted against personnel locations and occupied buildings per API RP 752. For LNG facilities, NFPA 59A specifies the exclusion zone thermal radiation criterion (5 kW/m²) that modelling results must be benchmarked against. For refineries, OISD-116 Annexure IV lists the minimum separation distances that modelling must either confirm or override with engineering justification.

Step 4: Risk Evaluation 

Apply individual risk and societal risk criteria from API RP 752 and ALARP principles, or client-specific risk acceptance criteria. Semi-quantitative risk matrix for lower-tier facilities; full QRA frequency analysis for high-consequence sites. The fire risk assessment report presents risk contours overlaid on the facility plot plan.

Step 5: Mitigation and Recommendation 

Assign mitigation to each exceedance: passive fire protection upgrades, firewater demand recalculation, building relocation or blast hardening, ERP revision, or detector layout change. Each action carries a risk reduction factor and an implementation priority.

Engineer’s Note The most common failure mode in process safety assessment reports submitted for regulatory review is Step 2: scenario selection that excludes large-bore failures on the grounds of low frequency. OISD-116 and IP 15 both require large-bore failures in the credible scenario set regardless of frequency. Omitting them produces non-compliant reports.

Fire Risk Modeling Tools and Computational Platforms

Accurate prediction of fire hazards requires advanced modeling software:

• ANSYS Fluent – Flame spread and smoke simulation in congested areas.
• PHAST (DNV) – Fire, explosion, and dispersion consequence analysis.
• FLACS (Gexcon) – 3D modeling for vapor cloud explosions and fire propagation.
• ALOHA (USEPA) – Simplified toxic and flammable release analysis for regulatory use.
• FDS (NIST) – Fire dynamics and evacuation modeling.

These tools ensure results are transparent, regulator-accepted, and technically defensible.

Fire and Explosion Risk Assessment (FERA) ↗: When and Why It Is Required

A Fire and Explosion Risk Assessment FERA combines fire consequence analysis with explosion overpressure modelling to produce a single integrated risk picture for facilities where both hazards co-exist. Offshore platforms, FPSOs, and congested onshore process units all qualify. IP 15, FERA-211 guidance, and NFPA 68 govern FERA methodology. iFluids conducts FERA studies across Qatar, UAE, Oman, and India.

FERA is not an upgrade to a standard assessment. It is a separate, more technically intensive study that adds blast overpressure modelling, explosion frequency estimation, and occupied building risk assessment per API RP 753 to the standard fire consequence scope. The explosion frequency input requires event tree analysis for each major loss-of-containment scenario, accounting for immediate ignition, delayed ignition, and confined or unconfined vapor cloud conditions. This analysis is outside the scope of a standard fire study and requires specialist input from a process safety engineer with QRA experience.

Compliance Alert QatarEnergy (QP-REG-S-001) requires a documented FERA as part of the HSE Case for all new offshore developments and major brownfield modifications in Qatari waters. Submitting only the fire component without the explosion modelling is grounds for HSE Case rejection. FERA-211 further mandates a standalone assumption register as a formal deliverable; studies without it are considered non-compliant during regulatory audit.

Standards Governing Fire Risk Assessments: NFPA, IP 15, API, OISD, and IEC

Standard	Issuing Body	Scope	Region / Trigger
IP 15 (Model Code of Safe Practice Part 15)	Energy Institute	Fire and explosion hazard management; FERA methodology	Petroleum industry global; mandatory for UK offshore Safety Cases
NFPA 72-2022	NFPA	Fire alarm and signalling; detector placement	Global; detector placement baseline for F&G mapping
NFPA 30-2021	NFPA	Flammable and combustible liquids storage	Refineries, terminals; scenario selection reference
API RP 752 / 753	API	Occupied building and portable structure siting	Process plants globally; occupied building receptor study
OISD-116	OISD (India)	Fire protection for refineries and terminals	Mandatory India; governs fire protection design post-assessment
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119	OSHA	PSM standard; fire safety elements	US and OSHA-referenced projects
IEC 60079	IEC	Explosive atmospheres; area classification	Offshore, petrochemical; integrates with area classification scope
ISO 45001:2018	ISO	Occupational health and safety management	Audit and management framework

Every study iFluids delivers references the applicable standards at outset not as a footnote. Standard selection drives scenario criteria, modelling methodology, and risk acceptance thresholds.

Regulatory Drivers: When a Fire Risk Assessment Is Mandatory

The assessment becomes contractually or legally non-negotiable at several project trigger points. Missing the trigger means retrofitting the study after detailed design is locked at cost and schedule impact.

India: PESO and OISD Requirements

PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) requires a fire risk assessment report as part of the licence application and renewal package for refineries, LPG storage, and petroleum terminal facilities under the Petroleum Act 1934. OISD-116 sets the fire protection design parameters that the report must verify against. Indian facilities that cannot demonstrate OISD-116 compliance via an auditable assessment face licence suspension.

Gulf Region: QatarEnergy and ADNOC Project Requirements

QatarEnergy mandates a FERA or fire risk assessment as a deliverable within the HSE Case for all offshore and onshore developments above a defined consequence threshold. ADNOC projects in Abu Dhabi follow ADNOC-AGES-GL-08-001 fire and life safety guidelines, which require documented fire hazard analysis outputs before plot plan approval at FEED stage.

UK and International: PFEER and Safety Case Regulations

The Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response (PFEER) Regulations 1995 require offshore duty holders in UK waters to demonstrate that fire risks have been assessed and controlled. This obligation feeds directly into the Safety Case under the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2015.

Deliverables: What the Fire Risk Assessment Report Includes

Each report iFluids delivers contains the following formal deliverables, each traceable to the governing standard cited at study outset:

• Facility description and hazardous inventory register (process fluid, quantity, phase, operating conditions)
• Credible fire scenario set with basis of selection per IP 15 / NFPA 30
• Consequence modelling results: thermal radiation contours at 1, 4, and 12.5 kW/m²
• Explosion overpressure profiles for VCE scenarios (FERA scope)
• Hazard register: ignition source inventory, fire propagation paths, safeguard assessment
• Risk evaluation outputs: individual risk contours, FN curves, ALARP demonstration
• API RP 752 / 753 building risk assessment results
• Passive and active fire protection gap analysis against OISD-116, NFPA, or applicable standard
• Mitigation action register with risk reduction factors and implementation priority
• Assumption register (FERA-211 compliant where applicable)

Engineer’s Note Clients frequently receive reports that present consequence modelling outputs without an assumption register. When OISD or QatarEnergy reviewers audit these studies, the missing assumption register is the single most common cause of rejection and mandatory resubmission. iFluids includes it as a standard deliverable, not an optional appendix.

Project References

Konkan LNG Terminal, Dabhol, India ↗ 

iFluids assessed LNG release and ignition scenarios at the Konkan LNG regasification terminal, covering cryogenic spill pool fire, rapid phase transition, and VCE cases. Consequence modelling outputs quantified thermal radiation at occupied building locations; all buildings cleared API RP 752 separation criteria without structural modification. Firewater suppression system design was validated against NFPA 59A demand calculations. The completed report supported PESO regulatory submission and lender technical due diligence.

IFFCO Paradeep Fertiliser Terminal, Odisha ↗ 

Jet fire and pool fire scenarios were modelled across six process units at the fertiliser complex. Firewater demand was calculated against NFPA 15 and OISD-116 parameters, with hydraulic network modelling confirming coverage adequacy at peak demand. Two ring-main pressure deficiencies were identified: one at the ammonia synthesis unit, one at the granulation section. Both were rectified before commissioning, avoiding OISD-116 non-compliance at the pre-startup safety review.

Work with iFluids: Request a Scoped Proposal

iFluids Engineering delivers fire risk assessments accepted by PESO, QatarEnergy, ADNOC, and international lenders. ISO 9001:2015 certified. ADNOC and KOC vendor-approved.

Request a scoped fire risk assessment proposal within 48 hours: 

info@ifluids.com | +91 44 4265 8747

Related services: Fire and Explosion Risk Assessment (FERA) | Fire and Gas Mapping Study | Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) | Active Fire Protection Assessment