Safety of LNG regasification terminals: The blue book approach

The iNTeg-Risk research project (http://www.integrisk.eu-vri.eu/), carried out under the 7th Framework Program (EU Grant number CP-IP-213345-2), has the purpose to promote R & D activities aimed at the improvement of the management of emerging risks related to new materials and technologies. Within the project, a specific activity is dedicated to the development of innovative approaches for the assessment of safety of LNG terminals, both offshore and onshore. A specific Guideline ("Blue Book") was issued in order to summarize new developments and available data, methods and techniques for the assessment of LNG safety. The present paper will focus on the specific contribution provided by Italian partners of the project to the "Blue Book". In particular, the work carried out on the assessment of specific scenarios related to LNG terminals and on consequence assessment models will be presented. A relevant effort was dedicated to the systematic exploration of credible accident scenarios that may follow external events involving LNG terminals. The results were used to consider the application of improved consequence assessment models both for the prediction of NG dispersion following release and for the Rapid Phase Transition that may be caused by massive LNG releases over water. © 2011, AIDIC Servizi S.r.L.