Hydrocarbon Fire Protection in Refineries and Petrochemical Facilities: A Design Guide

A refinery fire can affect far more than the equipment where it starts. Pressurised process streams, hydrocarbon inventories, closely spaced plant and interconnected services create routes for an incident to escalate. A fire affecting a pump or vessel may also threaten its supports, nearby pipework, isolation valves and the systems needed to bring the process to a safe state.

Passive fire protection (PFP) has to be considered within that operating environment. The design question is not simply how long a material resists fire. It is which assets need protection, what fire could expose them, and what must remain intact or functional while the incident is controlled.

Why the Refinery Environment Changes the Design Problem

Refineries and petrochemical facilities handle flammable liquids and gases, sometimes at high pressures and temperatures. Equipment, pipe racks, structural supports, cables and control systems may occupy the same congested area. A local fire can therefore damage adjacent assets or impair a critical shutdown function.

Conditions outside a fire also matter. Many PFP systems are installed outdoors, where moisture, corrosion, chemicals, weather and routine plant activity can affect their condition. Equipment is inspected, maintained and modified throughout its service life. Protection that obstructs a valve, prevents access to a pump or cannot be reinstated after maintenance creates a practical problem.

PFP is one part of a wider strategy that includes prevention, detection, isolation, active protection and emergency response. Its role may be to maintain structural stability, protect critical equipment or provide separation long enough to limit escalation.

Start With the Fire Scenario

The credible fire exposure needs to be established before selecting a PFP system. Two common hydrocarbon scenarios illustrate why.

A pool fire can occur when released liquid accumulates and burns over a surface. Its extent and duration depend on the release, drainage, containment and available fuel.

A jet fire can occur when an ignited pressurised release produces a high-velocity flame. Direct flame impingement may create a severe, localised exposure to a support, vessel, valve or barrier.

These scenarios should not be treated as interchangeable. The release conditions and location influence how heat reaches an asset and which test evidence is relevant. A result obtained under one exposure does not automatically establish performance under another.

What Is the PFP Protecting?

Once the scenario is defined, the next question is: what happens if this asset fails during the fire?

Structural steel and pipe racks may need to retain stability. Equipment supports may need to remain in place to avoid damage to connected pipework. A critical valve or shutdown system may need protection so that the affected process can be isolated. A barrier may need to maintain separation between equipment groups.

The consequence can extend beyond the protected component. Loss of support may contribute to loss of containment; damage to controls may prevent isolation; and failure of a boundary may expose neighbouring equipment. The required protection should therefore be tied to the asset’s role in the process and the consequences of losing it.

Not every item needs the same treatment. The design team should establish the necessary duration and performance for each protected function rather than apply one rating throughout the facility by default.

Design Around the Operating Plant

A PFP system must fit around the plant it protects. Pipework, cable trays, conveyors, access doors and service penetrations can interrupt a barrier or complicate the protection of a structural member. Each interface needs a detail consistent with the intended fire performance.

This becomes especially important during refurbishment. An existing plant may have limited installation access, short shutdown windows and services that were not arranged for new protection. The design should account for installation sequence and future access as well as the completed fire-resisting arrangement.

Environmental exposure also affects selection. The specification may need to address moisture, corrosion, chemicals, ultraviolet exposure, vibration and mechanical damage. Coatings, fixings, joints and removable sections should be considered alongside the main PFP material.

A system that performs in a fire test still has to remain suitable after years in service. Inspection access and a workable method for repair or reinstatement belong in the initial design.

How to Establish the Required Protection

In practice, the specification can be worked through in six steps:

1. Identify the hazard. Establish the hydrocarbons present, operating pressures and temperatures, and credible release locations.
2. Define the fire scenario. Determine whether the design considers a pool fire, jet fire or another project-specific exposure.
3. Identify the asset and consequence. Establish what must remain stable, intact or functional, and what could happen if it fails.
4. Set the performance requirement. Define the relevant duration and criteria, such as structural stability, integrity, insulation or separation.
5. Select the evidence route. Check that the test exposure and assessed configuration are relevant to the proposed application.
6. Resolve the installation. Detail supports, joints, fixings, penetrations, access and environmental protection.

Working in this order helps avoid selecting a rated product first, then attempting to make its evidence fit an undefined hazard.

What the Main Testing Frameworks Tell You

Several references may inform a hydrocarbon PFP specification, but they serve different purposes.

API RP 2218 addresses fireproofing practices in petroleum and petrochemical processing plants. UL 1709 is a rapid-rise fire test for protection materials applied to structural steel. ISO 22899-1 provides a jet-fire resistance test method for PFP materials and systems. ISO 22899-3:2025 sets out extended jet-fire test requirements, while ISO/DIS 22899-2 is developing guidance related to test-method selection and implementation.

The engineer still needs to examine what was assessed: the exposure, substrate, dimensions, protection arrangement, supports and other details relevant to the proposed use. For barriers, that review also needs to address joints, doors, service penetrations and connections to surrounding construction.

A test result describes performance under its stated exposure and configuration. It does not automatically establish suitability for every asset, fire scenario or installation.

Sadara Chemical Complex: Compartmentation Around the Process

At the Sadara Chemical Complex in Saudi Arabia, more than 6,500 m² of fire-rated Durasteel barriers were used, including barriers over 16 metres high and 43 fire-rated doors. The arrangement had to accommodate conveyors, services and numerous penetrations. Some barriers were designed as load-bearing systems.

The engineering challenge was broader than choosing a barrier panel. Doors, openings, service routes and structural interfaces all formed part of the compartmentation design. In a petrochemical facility, a fire-resisting boundary has to be coordinated with the process passing through and around it.

ADNOC Oil Storage Facility: Protection That Allows Intervention

At an ADNOC oil storage facility, Durasteel barriers were used to separate oil pumps and limit the potential spread of fire or blast between adjacent equipment. The barriers were designed to be demountable for maintenance and to meet the specified C5-M corrosion requirement.

The lesson concerns continued use of the facility. Equipment still needs inspection and maintenance, and removed protection needs an appropriate method of reinstatement. Demountability, corrosion exposure and access are therefore part of the protection strategy.

PFP Performance Beyond the Fire Test

Fire-test evidence addresses a defined exposure. It does not automatically establish resistance to weathering, ageing, mechanical impact or explosion. Those conditions require separate consideration where they form part of the project brief.

A refinery specification should address corrosion and environmental exposure, coating and topcoat compatibility, accidental damage, inspection access and repair methods. Plant modifications need control: a new penetration, altered support or removed section can change an otherwise continuous protective arrangement.

Maintenance records should identify the approved configuration and how it was reinstated after work. Without that information, a facility may retain a nominally rated system whose installed condition no longer matches its supporting evidence.

Fire Scenarios and Test Methods Continue to Evolve

ISO 22899-3:2025 and the developing ISO/DIS 22899-2 reflect continued work on jet-fire testing and test selection. Research into gaseous hydrogen jet fires is examining exposures that may differ from those represented by established natural-gas-based tests. Updates to API RP 2001 also place attention on refinery incident pre-planning and leak response. These developments reinforce the need to define the actual scenario before relying on a familiar test designation.

Engineer’s Checklist

Before specifying hydrocarbon PFP, establish:

• Which hydrocarbons and process conditions are involved?
• What is the credible release and fire scenario?
• Which asset or function needs protection?
• What is the consequence if it fails?
• Which performance criteria and duration are required?
• Does the test exposure represent the design scenario?
• Does the tested or assessed configuration cover the proposed installation?
• How will joints, doors, penetrations, fixings and structural interfaces be treated?
• What corrosion, weather, chemical or mechanical exposure will the system face?
• How will it be inspected, repaired and reinstated after maintenance?

Effective hydrocarbon fire protection starts with the process, the credible fire and the consequence of failure. The selected system must then provide the required performance in the configuration that will actually be installed and maintained.