Russia: Revised safety requirements for underground gas storage facilities

As of 15 March 2018, organisations operating underground gas storage facilities are required to comply with the adopted safety rules.  The rules contain requirements aimed at ensuring industrial safety, preventing accidents at hazardous industrial facilities operating underground gas storage facilities (HIF UGSF), where dangerous substances are produced, used, stored, transported, including those capable of forming explosive mixtures.

The rules are applicable to the development of technological processes related to the design, construction, reconstruction of HIF UGSF; operation, technical re-equipment, overhaul, conservation and liquidation of HIF UGSF; the examination of industrial safety documentation for technical re-equipment, conservation, liquidation of HIF UGSF; carrying out industrial safety examination of technical devices, buildings and constructions, as well as industrial safety declarations for HIF UGSF.

The Rules establish, among other things:

  • industrial safety requirements for the design and construction of HIF UGSF;
  • industrial safety requirements for the design of wells operated at HIF UGSF;
  • industrial safety requirements for drilling, overhaul of underground gas storage wells and installation of underground equipment;
  • industrial safety requirements applicable to the operation of HIF UGSF;
  • control of technological parameters and monitoring of underground gas storage facilities;
  • requirements of industrial safety applicable to the conservation and liquidation of HIF UGSF;
  • requirements for analyzing the hazards of technological processes and quantitative analysis of the risk of accidents at the HIF UGSF;
  • the table for determining the shortest distance between buildings and facilities belonging to HIF UGSF;
  • recommended format for the protocol of liquidation (conservation) of wells.

Law: Order No. 486 of 20 November 2017 on the Adoption of Federal Norms and Rules “Safety Rules for Underground Gas Storage Facilities”