Managing Technological Risks in Major Capital Projects

The cost of correcting a design error increases exponentially at each subsequent stage of a major capital project. Integrating Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) requirements at the earliest stages — from concept to detailed design — is not just an industry standard, but a critical factor for economic viability. In his presentation, Sergey Ryabov breaks down the architecture of technological risk management, drawing on international practices in the oil and gas sector (OGP) and his own experience working on megaprojects.

The Milestone System and the Role of Gatekeepers

The speaker examines in detail the mechanism of "gatekeepers" — specialists whose approval is mandatory for the project to move to the next stage. Without an approved responsibility matrix and established milestones, the HSE function risks being isolated from the actual engineering decision-making process. Implementing a capital project management procedure with a strictly defined HSE section legitimizes stopping work if critical risks were not considered during the design phase.

Risk Assessment Methodologies: HAZID, HAZOP, and Bowtie

The presentation details the arsenal of qualitative risk assessment methodologies and their connection to the project lifecycle:

• HAZID/ENVIT (Hazard Identification): A basic hazard identification tool used at all stages. It allows prioritizing issues and identifying nodes that require deeper analysis.
• HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study): An in-depth analysis of design solutions and possible deviations from nominal parameters. The speaker demonstrates with an example how "breaking the system on paper" prevents the launch of equipment with critical vulnerabilities.
• Bowtie Analysis: Visualization of barrier logic around a major unwanted event. The method helps assess the adequacy of existing protective measures and the need for redundant barriers.
• PHSER (Project HSE Review): A second-party audit allowing an independent team to assess the actual implementation of planned design solutions on the construction site.

ESG Metrics as a Condition for Financing

Special attention is given to the integration of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles. Having transparent reporting and a stakeholder engagement register is now a mandatory condition for obtaining project financing from international institutions.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to distribute risk assessment methodologies (HAZID, HAZOP, Bowtie) across the stages of a capital project?
• What is the minimum package of internal HSE documents needed to defend a specialist's position before management?
• How to structure the work of gatekeepers to prevent unresolved issues from moving to the construction phase?
• What is the fundamental difference between HAZID and HAZOP when analyzing technological nodes?
• How to properly select an external expert facilitator to conduct HAZOP sessions?