Publications

Safety regulations, i.e. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 32 of 2021 and Decision of the Minister of Mining and Energy No. 300.K/38/M.PE/1997 to protect the public and the environment from the dangers of fires and explosions in natural gas transmission pipelines has been implemented. The effectiveness of this regulation needs to be assessed considering that accidents with negative impacts have occurred so far. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of regulatory safety through comparative assessments.

Data on areas impacted by fires and explosions were collected both factual and simulated (Stephen model and ALOHA software). The data obtained is then compared with the minimum distance values required by regulations to determine its suitability.

The comparison results show that the shortest distance from the impact area for transmission pipeline operating pressures greater than 400 psi is always greater than the minimum distance required by the two regulations. These results indicate that the protection provided to the public and the environment by regulations is less than desirable. This shows the need to re-evaluate the minimum distance values used by the regulations currently in force.