Today, as never before, the refining and chemical processing industries are being challenged to improve their competitiveness while also improving their safety and environmental performance. Margins remain tight, assets are ageing, and a number of well publicised accidents have reduced the confidence of various stakeholders in the industry. New projects, whilst opening up additional opportunities, may also introduce unexpected risks.

In broad terms, 33% of current global refinery investment is related to environmental and quality compliance matters, while 33% is spent on upgrading facilities. The remaining 33% is split between existing crude capacity and developing new crude capacity. This investment has to be carried out against an expectation of improved environmental performance relating to both products and production processes.

Potential risks
Under these circumstances, management of the risks associated with people, plants and processes through the application of effective risk management solutions and the adoption of global best practices is crucial. Everyone working in the downstream industry is well aware of the potential risks to health, safety and the environment. But businesses face a range of risks that includes far more than just accidents and incidents that may cause physical harm.

Risk encompasses anything that will adversely affect the performance of the business. That could be a project which falls behind schedule, a problem that causes unplanned expensive downtime, or external events that may take place in the business environment and which the company has not identified or planned adequately for.

DNV has been working with a number of clients around the world to help them manage these risks and build trust and confidence with their stakeholders. Examples of such projects include the development of a new process safety management system for a major refining company in Europe. Furthermore, DNV has analysed the safety and production risks associated with a major North American refinery which was being reconfigured to process Canadian oil sands output. Also, DNV has performed a security of supply analysis for one of the largest American refining and shipping companies, and independently verified the quality of materials and components used in the construction of a new refinery in South East Asia.

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