Reducing Accident Risks in Gas Distribution Networks

Context: Why Gas Network Safety is Important in Production

Ensuring safety during the operation of utility networks is one of the key tasks at any industrial enterprise. This is especially true for gas distribution and consumption networks, where the main risk is natural gas leakage. Ivan Kazymov, Chief Power Engineer at Barnaul-Transmash JSC, shares his experience in implementing a project to reduce the risk of accidents in such networks, particularly in the context of changing technological processes and the decommissioning of some equipment.

Background and Project Objectives

Between 2019 and 2021, the enterprise underwent changes in the layout of production areas, which led to the decommissioning of a significant amount of gas-consuming and gas-regulating equipment. The speaker notes that the maintenance of unused equipment is often not carried out in full, which increases the risk of leaks due to the loss of tightness in welded joints or equipment.

To solve this problem, the following tasks were set:

• Reducing the length of intra-shop gas pipelines.
• Decreasing the number of welded joints and other connections.
• Reducing the amount of indoor gas equipment and relocating it outdoors.
• Implementing an automatic gas hazard monitoring system.

Implementation: Elimination Instead of Mothballing

The main idea of the project was to eliminate gas equipment not used in the technological process. Instead of mothballing, which requires design and subsequent maintenance costs, a decision was made to completely eliminate the unused networks. This made it possible not only to reduce operating costs but also to radically solve the safety problem in the decommissioned premises.

The presentation details the process of relocating gas control points (cabinet-type gas control stations) outside the production premises. This significantly reduced the number of indoor gas-hazardous locations — from 28 to 15. Now, a gas leak outdoors does not pose the same threat to personnel as it would inside the shop.

Automatic Gas Hazard Monitoring

An important stage was the installation of stationary sensors for monitoring methane and carbon monoxide concentrations in all remaining gas-hazardous locations. The speaker demonstrates by example how this system works: when the first concentration threshold is exceeded, an audio and visual alarm is triggered, and SMS notifications are sent to the dispatcher and duty personnel. When the second threshold is reached, a shut-off valve is automatically triggered, cutting off the gas supply to the area.

An interesting practical solution was the installation of methane sensors (which, according to regulations, must be located at the highest point of the room) on special structures with a cable. This significantly simplified their periodic maintenance and inspection.

Results and Economic Efficiency

The cost of implementing the project amounted to about 4.5 million rubles over three years. Of this, more than half went to relocating the gas control stations outdoors, a quarter to the gas hazard monitoring system, and about 800 thousand rubles to eliminating unused equipment. As a result, the length of intra-shop gas pipelines was reduced by 44%, and the number of gas-hazardous locations was almost halved. All remaining equipment is now operated and maintained by the existing staff (10 people) without the need to expand the workforce.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to justify the choice between eliminating and mothballing unused gas equipment?
• What technical solutions help minimize the consequences of natural gas leaks in production?
• How to organize an effective automatic gas hazard monitoring system with SMS alerts?
• How to simplify the maintenance of gas sensors installed under the shop ceiling?
• How to optimize gas facility maintenance costs when technological processes change?