The Environmental Issues Identification (ENVID) workshop was undertaken by iFluids Engineering & Consultancy WLL for the Project – EPIC for LPB facilities & CSF oil spill boom at RLIC. The primary objective of this study was to identify hazards, environmental aspects, and safeguards at the detailed design phase of the facility. This ensures that the design complies with the regulations/standards and that the environmental aspects are controlled and kept as low as reasonably practicable
About the facility
Ras Laffan Port Expansion Project was initiated in 2002 to support the production increase of the North Field Gas reserves, estimated at 248MTpa, up-to 2024. The port expansion project included the development of breakwaters, five LNG Berths, additional eighteen Liquid Product Berths, including LPB 30 and 31, five Container Berths and associated common infrastructure, utilities and services. However, during the execution, scope of LPB 31 was deleted from scope.
With increase in production of Liquid Products, along with the 43% increase in LNG production from the NFE Project, facilities at LPB 31 are required to be completed to support logistical operations. The berth infrastructure, quay walls, loading platforms, metering platforms, breasting dolphins, mooring dolphins, fenders, walkways, utility lines roads have been installed.
Also, the existing oil spill boom barrier provided at the mouth of the common seawater facilities intake, is not fit for purpose. The system is currently inadequate to fully contain any potential accidental chemical contaminants entering the intake system. Therefore, a new boom barrier is proposed around across the full length of the sea intake breakwaters. The new system shall ensure that no accidental contaminants can ingress to the cooling water intake facilities and shall withstand the environmental conditions of the site.
The scope of the Project includes two distinct parts:
Part 1: Liquid Product Facilities
The scope shall be the engineering/update engineering, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning of the following facilities for LPB 31:
- Oil spill containment equipment package at LPB 31.
- Marine Access Gangway at LPB 31.
- Marine monitoring system (MMS) field equipment at LPB 31 with required integration at the control room, including two Laser detectors, two Large display boards, and one field indicator. A fixed access platform shall be provided for ease of general maintenance and cleaning.
- Ship to Shore Link (SSL) system connecting to existing control room, identified as RPB- 24 to ships through LPB 31.
- Extension of the firewater network and foam network complete with pipes, fittings and valves (including MOVs) as required for the firefighting facilities at LPB 31.
- Terminal fire-fighting equipment at LPB 31 includes deluge water spray systems, firewater curtain nozzles, foam proportioning skids, ground & tower fire monitors and a common field control panel.
- Safety shower and eye wash equipment package complete with chiller unit and drain sump.
- Provision of grading of coarse aggregates between capping beam and road, providing protection from washout during heavy rains.
- Provision of handrails and rope-rails at 5m elevation platform, where specified.
Part 2: Oil Spill Boom Barrier for CSF Intake
Engineering, procurement and installation of an Oil Spill Boom system, with all necessary supporting infrastructure at the mouth of the Common Seawater Facility (CSF) intake breakwater. After installation of new Oil Spill Boom Barrier System, contractor shall disassemble existing system and demolish existing concrete anchor blocks.
The purpose of this document is to present the findings of the ENVID workshop along with the recommendations for the project “EPIC for LPB 31 facilities & CSF oil spill boom at RLIC”. ENVID workshop was undertaken in compliance with Qatar Energy Corporate Standard and Guideline.
The objective of ENVID study
The objective of the ENVID study is to identify hazards, environmental aspects, and safeguards the detailed design phase of the facility. This ensures that the design complies with the regulations/standards and that the environmental aspects are controlled and kept as low as reasonably practicable.
ENVID of projects is an integral part of the project planning process. Its benefits are maximized when the process begins at the earliest possible stage in the project’s planning. At early stages, the environmental assessment process should focus on identifying those environmental factors that could constrain the project feasibility or significantly impact its costs. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the relationship between a project and its surrounding environment is clearly understood at the outset.
ENVID is a guideword driven brainstorming technique. Team members contribute based on their collective experience and lessons learned from past projects.
ENVID study records the identified environmental impacts without proposing any solution unless a solution is obvious. As needed, proposed solutions may incorporate protections or operational procedures. The study record helps identify project HSE concerns.
The Environmental Issues Identification (ENVID) study is a technique for early identification of potential health, safety, and environmental issues or risks and threats associated with the implementation of a new project, plant, or plant modification. Another major element of the process is the identification of proposed measures to prevent, alternative measures and monitoring schemes will be provided, where necessary.
The ENVID workshop will be broad in scope, looking at possible sources of impacts to the environment by examining each area/system in turn.
ENVID Methodology
- Identification of potential aspects and impacts that on realization can endanger environment;
- Asses qualitatively the impact consequences and likelihood of occurrence of the identified aspects;
- Evaluate the environmental measures;
- Identification of the residual impacts;
- Identification of potential hazardous events, both internal and external, that on realization endanger the environment;
- Evaluate the dangerous consequences and likelihood of indicated events qualitatively.
- Evaluate the safety measures provided in preventing/controlling the hazardous outcomes;
- Identification of the residual hazardous events that need to be further quantitatively assessed and analyzed; and
- Identification of ‘Legislative / Legal Requirements’ in relation to the identified aspects.
The environmental issues will be identified during the following stages of the project:
- Demolition Phase;
- Construction Phase (site clearing, construction; etc.);
- Pre-commissioning and commissioning Phase;
- Operations Phase (normal operating conditions);
- Shut-down / emergency conditions.
The ENVID study will establish the activities during each of the above, associated environmental aspects and evaluate the impacts on the receptors. The ENVID methodology shall be as per Qatar Energy Guideline Environmental Assessment in Projects.
The environmental impacts to be discussed in the ENVID session will be based on environmental aspects, and potential environmental receptors as shown in table below. While the worksheet will be broadly split into ‘activities’, by project phase, the ENVID guidewords will effectively act ‘prompts’ to ensure that all aspects are identified.
- Emission to atmosphere (point and fugitive sources)
- Aqueous effluents (domestic and industrial)
- Waste generation (hazardous and non-hazardous)
- Energy, water, and material use
- Environmental noise and vibrations
- Feedstock, products and by-products
- Material storage and handling
- Worksite preparation, abandonment and restoration
- Accidental release to land and water;
- Land use
- Marine activities, e.g., pipe/cable laying activities etc.
- Life-Cycle Assessment
Environmental impacts will be ranked in accordance with the QatarEnergy risk assessment matrix. The matrix requires definition ‘consequence’ and ‘likelihood’ in order to derive an associated risk level. Such definition is arrived through the brainstorming exercise amongst the workshop participants, and draws from the experience of the workshop attendees the established guidewords checklist will be used as prompt for the team to brainstorm.
The chairman shall encourage debate between participants and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute and provide inputs. The team knowledge and creativity will be used to identify credible causes and applicability of environmental risk. The team shall not try to solve any problems identified during the session rather will raise actions to address the issues outside the meeting. The team will try to avoid raising issues which is not related to ENVID.
The risk associated with each scenario is determined using a simple qualitative ranking scheme.
The ENVID requires an organized strategy that includes:
- Review the project (e.g., process and activities related to the different project stages, e.g., Construction and demolition, operation etc.);
- Analyze the project location site and its characteristics;
- Identify all environmental aspects;
- Identify and evaluate the environmental impacts (s) these aspects may generate;
- Assess the risk of each environmental impacts;
- Identify measures that could be implemented to prevent, control or mitigate the impacts;
- Agree on a recommendation for environmental management / measures or further consideration of the residual waste impact of the aspect (if applicable);
- Switch to the next activity and aspect of the plant/project until the whole study area has been examined.
An ENVID exercise has one or more workshops led by a non-design team chairman. The ENVID study shall be attended by a team comprising a representation of Environmental consultant, project executing team, Engineering team and other applicable disciplines from QatarEnergy and CECC. All necessary PFD’s, plot plan and related available information shall be reviewed during the brain storming session.
Environmental aspects are identified based on the proposed stage of the projects such as construction, commissioning, normal operation, and abnormal operation, any foreseeable accidents, incidents or emergency situations. After identifying the project environmental aspects and considering the potential receptors, the relevance of environmental impacts can be identified and analysed during the ENVID study.
A Risk is the amount of harm that can be expected to occur during a given time period due to a specific event (e.g., an accident). Statistics measure risk by multiplying the chance of harm (e.g., an accident) by the degree of that harm. While working out likelihood, it should be assumed that all safeguards are in place and are operational. Risk ranking is done only for cause consequence combinations or scenario where a recommendation is provided. The findings during ENVID workshop are recorded on Microsoft Excel in real time with the entry page shared in the meeting.
The ENVID study team consisted of a multi-disciplinary team from iFluids Engineering and Consultancy, Consolidated Engineering Construction Co. Qatar W.L.L, Qatar Gas (QG) and Qatar Energy. The ENVID session involved various disciplines including personnel from Process, Piping, Instrumentation & Control, Electrical, HSE, Civil and Structural, System & Control, Project, Operations and Maintenance.
