OISD-118

LAYOUTS FOR OIL AND

GAS INSTALLATIONS
 SCOPE
• Lays down minimum requirements of layouts within the plant
boundary for petroleum refineries, Oil /Gas production and
processing plants, LPG facilities, Pipeline installations
/terminals, Lube oil installations and other Petroleum storage
installations such as Crude oil gathering stations, Marketing
depots and terminals, Aviation storage & fuelling stations,
Tank farm for storage of crude /products.
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Layout of Blocks / facilities should be in sequential order of
process flow.
• Two approach roads should be provided for unit.
• Process unit, tank farm, ETP, utilities and approach road should
be located on high ground to avoid flooding.
• process units which are operated in an integrated way and
shutdowns are taken simultaneously, then it may be considered
as a single block.
• Locate control room in non hazardous area upwind of process
plant, should not be located on lower level compared to process
plant
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Power generation facilities which also supply steam for process
requirement should be located near the process unit
• Cooling Towers should be located downwind of process
equipment and substation so that fog developed will not cause
corrosion or obstruct vision or short-circuiting.
• Storage tanks should be grouped according to product
classification. In sloppy areas, storage tanks should be located at
lower elevations.
• Sulphur recovery unit and sulphur handling area should be
located away from process units, hazardous and populated
areas. .(minimum 50 m distance b/w boundary wall to any
process unit)
• Equipment drawing air (blower, compressor) to be located away
from SRU/sulphur handling area.
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Separate collection system to be provided for various type of
waste generated in process unit (oily water, caustic,acid
effluents).
• Effluent Treatment Plant to be located downwind of process
unit due to odour and emission of volatile organic compound.
Disposal unit to be close to ETP and it should be at lower
grade to facilitate gravity flow of effluent.
• Flare should be located upwind of process units and the area
around flare should be paved.
• Main pipe racks shall not be routed through process unit,
adequate clearance to be given for vehicles.
• If smoking booth required ,locate minimum distance of 60 m
from any hydrocarbon source
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Fire station, firewater storage & firewater pump house to be
located away from hazardous area, fire station to be located
upwind of process unit and hydro carbon storage area.
• In process unit adequate spacing between equipment to be
ensured to minimize spread of fire, ease of maintenance jobs.
• Unit pipe rack should be kept in the centre, thereby splitting the
unit into two or more areas of equipment. Pumps may be
arranged in two rows close to and on either side of the pipe
rack.
• Heat exchangers and vessels to be grouped forming outer rows
on both sides of rack. Place heat exchanger perpendicular to
pipe rack on outer row to remove tube bundles, Shell and tube
heat exchanger should have a longitudinal clearance of
minimum 1m plus length of removable bundle
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Air fin coolers should be installed above the pipe rack /
independent structure. Pumps handling hydrocarbons above the
temperature of 230oC or C4 and Lighters should not be installed
underneath the air fin coolers.
• Columns to be located in open areas for unobstructed erection as
well as maintenance.
• Vessels, column, Reactors which contain catalysts should have a
drop-out area for loading / unloading of catalyst.
• Heaters should be located up wind at one corner of the unit. Space
should be provided for removal and cleaning of heater tubes
besides approach for crane.
• Area around heaters to be graded to guide spills away from
process equipment, forced draft fans to be located from process
equipment otherwise they may suck hydro-carbon vapours
 Layout of blocks/facilities
• Gas compressors should be located down wind from heaters
so that leaked gases will not drift towards the heater.
• Gas compressors should have roofing and open from sides to
avoid accumulation of heavier vapours/gases on the floor.
compressor house to be located near battery limit for ease of
maintenance.
• Expect process chemical tanks no other tankage should not be
within battery limit of process unit. process chemical tanks
should have kerb wall of minimum 300 mm height.
• Minimum headroom under vessels, pipes, cable racks, etc
should be 2.1 meters.
 Layout of Storage tanks
• Petroleum storage tanks shall be located in dyked enclosures
with roads all around the enclosure
• In one dyked enclosure
group of fixed roof tanks < 60000 m3
group of floating roof tanks < 1,20,000 m3
• Group of tanks contains both fixed and floating roof tanks, then
it shall be treated as a group of fixed roof tanks
• Dyked enclosure should contain the complete contents of the
largest tank in the dyke, free board of 200 mm above the
calculated liquid level shall be considered for fixing the height
of the dyke.
• The height of tank enclosure dyke (including free board) shall
be at least 1.0 m and shall not be more than 2.0 m
 Layout of Storage tanks
• Earthen dyke wall shall have not less than 0.6- meter wide flat section
on top for stability of the dyke wall.
• For excluded petroleum, the capacity of the dyked enclosure should
be based on spill containment and not for containment on tank
rupture. The minimum height of dyke wall in case of excluded
petroleum shall be 600 mm.
• Separation distances between the nearest tanks located in separate
dykes shall not be less than the diameter of the larger of the two
tanks or 30 meters, whichever is more.
• Class A and Class B petroleum can be stored in the same dyked
enclosure. Class-C petroleum to be stored in separate enclosure. If
Class-C petroleum is stored in a common dyke along with Class A/B
then safety precautions applicable for Class A and Class B respectively
shall apply.
 Layout of Storage tanks
• Excluded petroleum to be store in separate dyked enclosure.
• Tanks to be arranged in maximum two rows so that each tank
is accessible from road.(excluded petroleum class not
mandatory),if tanks have volume 50,000 m3 and more lay in
single row.
• For more than one tank in dyked enclosure, fire wall of
minimum height 600 mm to be provided so that spills from
tank doesn’t endanger the other.
• The tank height should be minimum of one and half times the
diameter of the tank or 20m.
• Piping from/to tank should not pass through other dyked
enclosure, run directly outside of dyke
 Layout of Storage tanks
• Minimum distance between a tank shell and the inside toe of
the dyke wall should be minimum of half the height of the tank.
• Small tanks having maximum 9m in diameter and not exceeding
5000 m3 to be treated as one tank for fire wall provision.
LAYOUT OF LPG FACILITIES