The CompEx scheme was originally conceived and developed to meet the requirements of this sector, as a means of protecting the safety of both employees and high value capital assets. In more recent years, CompEx has expanded both internationally within the oil and gas sector and now encompasses an extremely wide range of industries in which explosive atmosphere risks are found. Within the energy sector, CompEx training qualifications remain central to the assurance of competence and safe operations.
Throughout the extraction, refinery processing and distribution chain of natural gas and crude oil and its derivative products, installations must be designed accosting to international standards. For example, installations consisting of motors, pumps, switches, valves and monitoring systems will need to be appropriately designed, installed, regularly inspected and maintained. This ensures that, in the event of a gas and vapour release, no source of ignition will be present before the dispersion has reduced its concentration to below the lower explosive limit. Explosive atmosphere awareness and the full competence of employees is crucial for the safe operation of such facilities.
Shale oil and gas
While the value chain for the extraction and processing of crude oil and natural gas has been long established, operations based on shale oil and gas represent a new area of commercial activity in which explosive atmosphere safety is critical, and in which additional risks are present. In addition to the hydrocarbons extracted, for example, considerations must include the risks of methane slip at, or in the vicinity of, the wellhead. For the value chain of liquefied natural gas, bulk transportation and terminal operations are a clear focus for explosive atmosphere risk control.
From the source of extraction to the point of final sale or use, almost all operations and processes within the international oil and gas sector require employees to be competent, so that they have the knowledge and skills to ensure their own safety and that of the facilities in which they work.