Hydrocarbon Fire Protection for the Sadara Chemical Complex

Sadara Chemical Company was established as a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and The Dow Chemical Company, two of the world’s leading petrochemical companies. Together, they developed the Sadara Chemical Complex in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia.

Built as the world’s largest chemical complex constructed in a single phase, Sadara comprises 26 integrated, world-scale manufacturing plants capable of producing more than three million tonnes of chemical and speciality products each year.

For a development of this scale, fire protection had to work across a large and complex industrial environment. Invicta was appointed to design and install fire-rated barriers and doors for the complex’s solids and liquids packaging centres and silo areas.

The packaging centres and silo areas brought together several handling, filling and storage operations. These areas needed to remain connected by conveyors and building services, while also being protected against the spread of fire.

The materials handled within the facilities also presented the potential for fast-developing hydrocarbon fires. The fire barriers therefore had to provide reliable protection under conditions significantly more severe than a conventional cellulosic fire.

The scale of the development added another challenge. The solution had to meet demanding fire-performance requirements across a large facility while accommodating the existing building structure and project programme.

Conveyors carried drums between the handling, filling and storage areas, while other building services passed through the proposed fire-barrier lines. This created multiple openings that had to be incorporated into the barriers without compromising their fire performance.

The materials processed at the plant could produce hydrocarbon fires reaching 1,000°C within seven minutes, placing demanding requirements on both fire integrity and insulation.

The buildings themselves presented a further challenge. Some of the barriers had to extend more than 16 m to the roof apex. Conventional concrete walls would have required substantial foundations and were not well suited to the existing lightweight steel-framed buildings.

Invicta developed a bespoke Durasteel® fire-barrier system providing 2- and 4-hour fire integrity and insulation across the solids and liquids packaging centres and silo areas.

More than 6,500 m² of fire-rated barriers were installed across the site, with some reaching more than 16 m in height. The barriers incorporated multiple service penetrations, with each penetration appropriately fire sealed according to its type.

The largest individual barrier measured 66 m long and more than 16 m high.

A total of 43 fire-rated Durasteel doors were installed in single- and double-leaf configurations, providing access for personnel and equipment between the protected areas.

Some of the barriers were also designed as load-bearing systems, allowing them to support selected building-service loads without the need for separate support structures.

The completed system provided fire-rated compartmentation across key areas of the Sadara Chemical Complex, helping contain a fire within the affected area.

The project delivered:

• 2- and 4-hour fire integrity and insulation
• More than 6,500 m² of fire-rated barriers
• Barriers reaching more than 16 m in height
• A largest individual barrier measuring 66 m long × more than 16 m high
• 43 fire-rated Durasteel doors
• Fire-rated treatment of multiple service penetrations
• Load-bearing barrier configurations supporting selected building services
• Completion within one year and on budget

The project was one of the largest and most complex projects undertaken by Invicta at the time, bringing together high-level fire barriers, complex service integration and fire-rated access across a major petrochemical development.