scope:

General

This recommended practice (RP) provides guidance for the upstream oil and gas industry on hazard identification and risk assessment exercises to assess and mitigate the risk of human injury caused by exposure to a flash fire.

The scope of this document is limited to personnel exposed to the risk of hydrocarbon based flash fires in the upstream Exploration and Production sector of the oil and gas industry. In general, this group includes oil and gas production, drilling, well bore (well servicing) operations, and gas processing prior to interstate pipeline transportation.

Conditions of Applicability

This RP focuses on flash fires that result from the unexpected ignition of hydrocarbon vapors. Emergency preparedness (e.g. firefighting, hazmat response) for exposure to fire event greater than a flash fire is excluded from this RP and is addressed by NFPA and other standards organizations.

Arc flash, as discussed in NFPA 70E and its other related standards, are outside the scope of this document.

Maintenance, care, and limitation of various fire resistant clothing (FRC) materials are outside the scope of this document. These items are addressed by the manufacturer and clothing-related standards.