17.3 Offshore oil platforms
17.3.1 General
A lightning flash can subject offshore oil installations (OOI) to damage ranging from
undesirable effects to emergencies, particularly when a direct strike occurs [19].
Lightning strikes that hit equipment and storage or process vessels containing flammable
materials in OOIs can cause devastating accidents. On the other hand, lightning
protection is becoming increasingly important, given the use of digital and lowvoltage
analogue systems in OOIs, in which lightning-related malfunction operations
can cause loss of function and, therefore, loss of production. Given this, OOIs should
have well designed, properly installed, and appropriately maintained lightning protection
systems, to avoid the obvious catastrophic effects that could endanger personnel
and the installation and its contents.
As discussed above for storage tanks and vessels onshore, an integral lighting protection
system should be designed and installed, incorporating an ELPS (air terminals
and down-conductors) and internal lightning protection (equipotential ring, grounding
conductors, equipotential zones and surge protection devices, SPD). The approach
adopted should be to consider each of the following points, ensuring that each is
met if a complete and effective system is to be constructed [19]:
† external lightning protection
† general grounding system
† internal grounding system
† shielding effectiveness
† location of SPD