Process Safety

Process safety management comprises the systematic use of standardized instructions, practices, and specifications to achieve and maintain safe and reliable production. The fundamental components of this include our organization, resources, management processes, people and equipment performance, the prevailing safety culture, and documented regulations and practices (for a list of regulations, see Occupational Safety). It covers the management of hazards associated with the chemical and physical properties of the substances we handle in our oil, gas, and chemical activities. OMV and Borealis process large quantities of flammable and/or toxic materials at high pressures and temperatures that, if not properly handled, could potentially lead to serious process safety incidents. In a worst-case scenario, leaks, fires, or explosions could also cause fatalities. Further consequences include a substantial disruption to the supply to customers, along with additional costs.

Management and Due Diligence Processes

OMV has implemented comprehensive measures to ensure process safety, as detailed below.

Risk Assessments

Process safety risks are systematically assessed through a variety of process hazard assessments such as HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies, QRAs (Quanti­tative Risk Assessments), and risk assessments according to the Seveso Directive, which is the main EU regulation dealing with the control of onshore major accident hazards involving dangerous substances.

Prior to the start-up of a new facility, after major modifications, or following a turnaround, we conduct an independent pre-start-up safety review to ensure that the facility is safe for start-up and operations.

Emergency Management Plans

Process safety incidents could at times affect communities in the vicinity of our operations. For this reason, we have robust emergency management plans in place that are coordinated with the surrounding communities.

Different levels of emergency management plans outline roles and responsibilities, structures, communications, and the interfaces required for emergency and incident management teams. Emergency response plans include specific emergency procedures and alerting and notification requirements to ensure that an emergency response is managed in a coordinated manner.

Inspection and Maintenance

Comprehensive inspection and mainte­nance programs are carried out by dedicated departments for inspection, mainte­nance, and plant integrity. They conduct regular inspections of process equipment, pipelines, tanks, and more, and manage safety equipment testing plus plant maintenance and turnarounds.

Investigations and Audits

All incidents are identified and reported in an appropriate and timely manner. Work-related incidents with potential consequences for people, the environment, assets, or our reputation are investigated in a suitable manner to determine direct causes, root causes, and systemic causes so we can learn from them and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. Tier 1 and Tier 2 process safety events¹ Tier 1 and Tier 2 process safety events classified according to API RP 754 provide baseline performance information and are mea­sured each year for a consistent overview of the OMV Group’s process safety performance. In addition to Tier 1 and 2 process safety incidents, we monitor Tier 3 process safety events for a better assessment of the critical barriers. The monitoring and reporting of Tier 3 events provides an overview of the challenges to safety systems so that weaknesses within the barriers can be identified and corrected at facility level.

Training

Employee competence in the field of process safety is ensured by a well-defined training plan, as well as continuous communication of process safety topics and the sharing of lessons learned and other relevant process safety information. Scenario-based emergency drills involving the site emergency management team are conducted quarterly in the refineries in addition to regular drills carried out by the fire service.

We have set up an OMV Group Process Safety Network and created an online collaboration platform that includes a reference library, discussion board, and other features. We host regular virtual sessions to exchange process safety knowledge across the Group, with participants coming from a variety of OMV countries and working in different fields of expertise. This helps foster continuous learning. Top management participation in these online sessions sends a clear message that process safety is important and demonstrates process safety leadership and commitment.

2022 Actions

In 2022, the number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 process safety events decreased slightly. The following key activities were carried out across the Group in 2022:

Process Safety Events, Tier 1 and Tier 2

Number of events

• A register containing risk reduction measures identified in various process hazard analyses (PHAs), assessments, and safety studies was established in each operated production unit and was populated with data. This provides a consolidated overview to support prioritization and further development of risk reduction plans.

Process Safety Events, Tier 1 and Tier 2

Number of events

• Two process safety management (PSM) audits were carried out in the E&P segment of OMV, one onshore and another offshore. Borealis conducted a PSM audit at the site in Stenungsund.
• A periodic Group Process Safety Committee with Executive Board member involvement was established, where process safety performance, achievements, and challenges are discussed.
• The Group-wide process safety knowledge- and experience-sharing platform was continued, with quarterly half-day events where up to 200 individuals participate in virtual meetings and presentations, including contributions from senior management. The yearly Process Safety Day, a full-day event of sharing experiences and learning, was also held.
• The OMV E&P segment completed a digital Mainte­nance and Integrity Dashboard that provides an overview of compliance with safety-critical equipment mainte­nance while also displaying real-time maintenance statistics.
• Borealis developed an integrated process safety roadmap for polyolefins (PO) and hydrocarbons (HC) to define current and upcoming process safety initiatives for Borealis Group Process Safety, Operations Polyolefins, and Operations Hydrocarbons.
• The Porvoo cracker and aromatics QRA in Finland was finalized, and the QRA sensibility study for Stenungsund, Sweden, was conducted.
• Standardized scenarios and safeguarding concepts were defined for the installation of main equipment in Borealis Polyolefins (PO) and Hydrocarbons (HC).
• An internal ATEX² This name is an initialization of the French “Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmosphères EXplosibles” (meaning “Equipment intended for use in explosive atmospheres”). guideline was developed and issued on minimum requirements for improving the health and safety protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres – Borealis Poly­olefins (PO) and Hydrocarbons (HC).

Outlook

To continue to improve our process safety performance, we will take the following actions in the coming years:

• We will continue to thoroughly analyze and learn from process safety events and promote the sharing of knowledge across all our divisions.
• We aim to reduce the number of process safety events at all our sites across the globe. Our continued efforts will focus on process hazard analyses (PHAs), the implementation of technical risk reduction mea­sures identified in those PHAs, audits, and other process safety assessments, while maintaining and monitoring the performance of existing safeguards.
• We will continue to develop and follow process safety roadmaps at facility level.
• We will enhance our tools to identify and assess hazards more effectively and address these risks in a systematic way.
• We will continually improve our training provision and will emphasize process safety content to build process safety competence and culture in the workforce and increase risk awareness.
• Borealis will continue the Safety Boost program, with new initiatives at both location and Group levels. These may include the further roll-out of an integrated global risk register specifically focusing on process safety, introducing an additional leading indicator to ensure the quality of change management, completion of HSE design requirements for mechanical recycling, and implementation of an ATEX group procedure at locations and in projects.
• Borealis will conduct internal health checks on process safety-related elements and a process safety review as part of the Borealis Blue Audit and will continue to conduct audits on process safety management via external auditors.

Target 2025 and 2030

• Maintain leading position in Process Safety Event Rate

Status 2022

• 0.21³ Process Safety Event Rate: number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 PSEs per 1 mn hours worked. Work hours from the corporate functions General Management (OMV)/Executive Office (OMV, OMV Petrom, Borealis) and Corporate Finance (OMV)/Finance Office (OMV, OMV Petrom, Borealis) are excluded. According to the consultation with IOGP, the Schwechat refinery incident and subsequent shutdown is not reportable as a Process Safety Event (PSE), as the vessel was isolated from the process.

Most relevant SDG

SDG target:
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination