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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Transitioning a hydrogen facility from project to operations

Gregory J. Chrisfield A *
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- Author Affiliations

A GR Production Services, L24/324 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.




Greg Chrisfield (FAIHS, ChOHSP) is the National HSSEQ Manager at GR Production Services. Greg is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, a Certified Chartered Generalist OHS Professional and holds qualifications in Workplace Health and Safety, Occupational Hazard Management, Innovation and Service Management. Accomplished in health, safety, security, environment, community, risk, quality and sustainability, Greg has over 30 years of senior HSSEQ leadership experience (locally and internationally) in high-risk Energy, Oil and Gas, Utility, EPCM and Asset Management industries at previous roles including QGC, Buru Energy, Oil Search, Ausenco, Morris Corporation, TXU and United Nations. As the National HSSEQ Manager, Greg sets the strategy for the GRPS HSSEQ department ensuring company KPIs and goals are achieved. He and his team monitor compliance with internal and external requirements, auditing across the business and the provision of resources to ensure the ISO certification is maintained while supporting regional operations.

* Correspondence to: greg.chrisfield@grps.com.au

Australian Energy Producers Journal 64 S54-S56 https://doi.org/10.1071/EP23122
Accepted: 25 February 2024  Published: 16 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of Australian Energy Producers.

Abstract

Preparing any hazardous facility for transition from project to operations requires a rigorous management process. In the area of hydrogen operations, hazards are heightened and there are limited examples of transitioning a hydrogen facility from project to operations outside of large-scale oil refineries. This paper highlights the unique challenges of managing hydrogen process safety through the project to operate phase while maintaining safety standards that meet or exceed the expectations of the asset owner, regulator and the community in which we operate. Our experience transitioning hydrogen operations started in Queensland which has arguably the toughest engineering and safety standards in Australia. This experience has informed our methodologies and the important points of this paper detail for both owner and regulator, what to expect from the operator and what the operator will need to demonstrate compliance with. Hydrogen operations traditionally were on oil refineries which may have been in local communities, unlike remote upstream gas and oil projects far from the major populations. Refineries are typically close to transportation hubs and end users. Our experience is that hydrogen or hydrogen transport fluids such as ammonia, methylcyclohexane (MCH) and others are more likely to reside near major international ports with close access to both clean energy and available workforce which heightens the environmental, social, governance and community risk management requirements. This paper intends to inform regulators, owners and operators of the unique challenges and aspects of getting a hydrogen facility up and running in a safe and community sensitive way.

Keywords: hydrogen, MCH, methylcyclohexane, operational readiness, operations, regulators, safety, usability mapping.

Biographies

EP23122_B1.gif

Greg Chrisfield (FAIHS, ChOHSP) is the National HSSEQ Manager at GR Production Services. Greg is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, a Certified Chartered Generalist OHS Professional and holds qualifications in Workplace Health and Safety, Occupational Hazard Management, Innovation and Service Management. Accomplished in health, safety, security, environment, community, risk, quality and sustainability, Greg has over 30 years of senior HSSEQ leadership experience (locally and internationally) in high-risk Energy, Oil and Gas, Utility, EPCM and Asset Management industries at previous roles including QGC, Buru Energy, Oil Search, Ausenco, Morris Corporation, TXU and United Nations. As the National HSSEQ Manager, Greg sets the strategy for the GRPS HSSEQ department ensuring company KPIs and goals are achieved. He and his team monitor compliance with internal and external requirements, auditing across the business and the provision of resources to ensure the ISO certification is maintained while supporting regional operations.

References

ENEOS (2021) ENEOS, Chiyoda, and QUT Successfully Scaled Up an Australian CO2-Free Hydrogen Supply Chain Demonstration using Direct MCH® ~Filling a FCV with hydrogen derived from renewable energy~. [Press release] Available at https://www.eneos.co.jp/english/newsrelease/2021/pdf/20211102_01.pdf

Hofer K (2020) ‘Document Usability. In AIHS, The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals’, 2nd edn. (Australian Institute of Health & Safety: Tullamarine, Vic.) Available at https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/mining-energy-water/resources/safety-health/petroleum-gas/safety-news-education/hydrogen

RSHQ (2023) Hydrogen Safety Code of Practice V.1.0. (Resources Safety & Health Queensland). Available at https://www.rshq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1746453/Hydrogen-Safety-Code-of-Practice.pdf