Prioritising sources of risk at liquefied natural gas storage terminals in Mexico

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations and facilities are growing in scale and number in developed and developing countries. The associated hazards to human health and safety and the environment are being addressed systematically. This paper discusses and refines existing methods to perform identification, screening, and prioritisation for a variety of sources of risk in LNG processes. The steps of the methods are: adopt a risk acceptance criteria (as-low-as-reasonably-practicable); use hierarchical holographic modelling for identifying sources of risk; assess the relative likelihoods of the sources of risk; assess the relative potential consequences of the risks; and prioritise the sources of risk. The results are a holistic consideration of sources of risk from LNG facilities and a basis for directing future resources for continuity of operations and risk management. The methods are demonstrated in an example with realistic features of LNG facilities in Mexico.