Technical risk

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Technical risk is related to the possibility of occurrence of serious industrial failures or irreparable damage to infrastructure.

Any materialisation of this risk may seriously affect our operations and financial performance by necessitating additional expenditure on repair or replacement of installations or equipment, or by causing disruptions to the production process. A number of measures are implemented within the LOTOS Group to mitigate the risk. We prioritise installations and equipment based on their criticality. The technologies and equipment which we use are in line with the Best Available Techniques (BAT). We have emergency shutdown systems in place to prevent uncontrollable escalation of incidents, and our process units are also fitted with their own safety and protection systems. In addition, in order to raise standards for assessment of the technical condition of high-pressure installations and equipment, we commenced implementation of the Risk-Based Inspection method, which utilises risk assessment principles. We are also working on implementing the Risk-Based Work Selection method, which involves plant engineering planning based on previous risk analyses for individual units. Having implemented these methodologies, we will be able to manage the Grupa LOTOS infrastructure in a better and more efficient way.

In 2013, we carried out the Spring 2013 Overhaul Shutdown, during which thousands of different tasks were performed, and a total of over five thousand pieces of equipment were examined, repaired or replaced. The overhaul shutdown also provided an opportunity to carry out all the necessary inspections and tests of installations and equipment subject to certification by the Office of Technical Inspection. All the apparatus and piping required to meet the Office of Technical Inspection's standards successfully did so and obtained relevant validation extensions, which improved the refinery's process safety (more information).

It should be noted that no such process safety events as which would meet the criteria specified in the definitions provided by API RP 754 were reported at Grupa LOTOS's refinery in Gdańsk in 2013.