Overview
EN ISO 17349:2016 (ISO 17349:2016) provides design and safety provisions for topside facilities on offshore platforms that handle CO2‑rich streams at high pressures (CO2 molar concentration above 10%). Prepared under CEN/ISO, the standard applies to fixed and floating oil & gas production units and covers process systems up to the last barrier (for example an Emergency Shutdown Valve, ESDV). Subsea production systems and cryogenic CO2 separation are explicitly excluded.
Keywords: EN ISO 17349:2016, ISO 17349:2016, CO2‑rich streams, offshore platforms, topside facilities, high pressure CO2.
Key topics
The standard addresses technical and safety aspects specific to high‑CO2, high‑pressure service on topside process equipment:
- Behavior of CO2‑rich streams: hydrate and CO solid formation, flow metering considerations.
- Depressuring and relieving: blowdown strategies, depressuring methodology and design of relief systems.
- Flare and vent systems: selection and configuration of flares and vents suited for CO2‑rich streams.
- Materials and corrosion: internal corrosion control, corrosion‑resistant alloys (CRAs), non‑metallic materials and seals, brittle/delayed ductile fracture considerations.
- Safety and risk management: hazard identification, consequence analysis (CO2 dispersion, cold jet effects), toxicology and detection strategies.
- Special scenarios: BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) guidance, cold‑jet effects, and running ductile fracture evaluation.
The published standard also includes informative annexes on evaluation of EOS for CO2, hydrate formation, water‑content specification, depressuring, and material guidance.
Applications
EN ISO 17349:2016 is used to:
- Design and specify topside process equipment (separators, compressors, piping, valves) for high‑CO2 service.
- Size and configure flare, vent and depressuring systems to manage CO2 relief safely.
- Select materials, seals and lubricants resistant to CO2‑induced corrosion, low‑temperature embrittlement and solid CO2 formation.
- Perform hazard and consequence analyses for CO2 releases, and define CO2 detection and emergency response strategies.
- Develop operating procedures for dehydration, flow metering and mitigation of hydrates in topside process systems.
Who should use this standard
- Offshore process and design engineers
- Safety, risk and HAZID/HAZOP teams
- Materials and corrosion specialists
- Facilities/operators planning CO2 injection or handling
- Regulatory bodies and project approvers working on high‑CO2 offshore developments
Related standards
EN ISO 17349:2016 complements other oil & gas offshore standards developed by ISO/TC 67 and CEN technical committees covering process safety, pressure systems and materials selection. Users should reference relevant ISO/CEN documents for detailed pressure‑equipment and environmental requirements.