Optimising fire protection for an offshore platform

A method for optimising fire protection for an offshore oil and gas platform, the platform having equipment and piping associated with an oil and gas installation, the method comprising:

• arranging the platform to have an evacuation time of at most 15 minutes or less using one or more evacuation route(s) via a gangway or bridge allowing personnel to escape to a vessel or to another platform;
• determining a maximum evacuation time for the platform using one or more of:
• a speed for a person crossing a deck;
• a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending stairs;
• a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending ladders;
• and/or a set time for particular actions during the evacuation, such as opening a barrier, boarding a vessel and/or detaching the vessel from the platform;
• assessing the risk to personnel using the evacuation route(s) in accordance with the determined maximum evacuation time in the event of a fire;
• providing passive fire protection to equipment and/or piping on the platform in order to prevent escalation of the fire that would create a risk to personnel on the evacuation route(s) during the determined maximum evacuation time;
• wherein the passive fire protection is provided only to the extent required to prevent escalation of the fire that would create a risk to personnel on the evacuation route(s) during the determined maximum evacuation time;
• and
• wherein a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending stairs comprises a speed in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 m/s.

A method for optimising fire protection for an offshore oil and gas platform, the platform having equipment and piping associated with an oil and gas installation, the method comprising:

• arranging the platform to have an evacuation time of at most 15 minutes or less using one or more evacuation route(s) via a gangway or bridge allowing personnel to escape to a vessel or to another platform;
• determining a maximum evacuation time for the platform using one or more of:
• a speed for a person crossing a deck;
• a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending stairs;
• a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending ladders;
• and/or a set time for particular actions during the evacuation, such as opening a barrier, boarding a vessel and/or detaching the vessel from the platform;
• assessing the risk to personnel using the evacuation route(s) in accordance with the determined maximum evacuation time in the event of a fire;
• providing passive fire protection to equipment and/or piping on the platform in order to prevent escalation of the fire that would create a risk to personnel on the evacuation route(s) during the determined maximum evacuation time;
• wherein the passive fire protection is provided only to the extent required to prevent escalation of the fire that would create a risk to personnel on the evacuation route(s) during the determined maximum evacuation time;
• and
• wherein a speed for an injured person evacuating via ascending or descending ladders comprises a speed in the range of 0.05 to 0.2 m/s.