Response to Risks in Fuel, Oil, and Chemicals Storage Facilities Aiming at Improving Reliability Using Success Tree Analysis – A Case Study

Currently, most remote and isolated communities depend on the Reliability of fuel, oil, and chemical storage facilities. The size and complexity of storage facilities plants and the nature of the products handled means that analysis and control of the risks involved are required. Statistics show that the reduction in process accidents and the losses from major accidents in the oil and gas processing and storage industry have not decreased over the years. Current risk approaches in storage tanks emphasize improving the Reliability of the design rather than maintaining safe operation. In the last European Congress for Reliability and Safety held in 2022 in Dublin, the authors presented a method for improving Reliability by conducting risk assessment in the daily operation of chemical, fuel, and oil storage facilities plants based on a combination of PFMEA and BBN. The method allows sensitivity analysis and prioritization of preventive and corrective measures to minimize the probability of failure to maintain a safe operation. This study complements the one presented in Esrel 2022 and focuses specifically on the method for implementing the actions to address the high-scoring risks. As a result, the study shows how to vanquish the stakeholder's resistance to change to address the most significant risks in the process and improve the storage system's Reliability. The conclusion is that effective implementation of response actions can be effectively made based on the proposed implementation method. The contribution is significant since the proposed method allows process optimization and risk reduction in the storage of chemical products and permits decision-makers to assign funds for critical activities to implement actions that can impact the safety of the process and system reliability. The present study augments the knowledge of the process, maintenance, and safety engineers/managers and helps process improvement. It can impact the company's PFMEA and management of change processes and help understand performance and safety during fuel storage operations. Although conducted in a specific fuel storage facility, it can be generalized to other industries and fields of work whose safety is affected by change issues resulting in waste, rework, and unnecessary energy consumption. The study can change the practice and thoughts of professionals dealing with PFMEA in companies' operations.

Keywords: Risk assessment, BBN, PFMEA, Reliability, Chemical storage facilities.

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