Set up and run a safe oil refinery or coke works

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work — a duty that, on a refinery or coke works, reaches process design, maintenance, contractor control and emergency arrangements. Risk-assess the whole operation and put safe systems of work, training and competent supervision in place.

B. Control hazardous substances (COSHH)

Refining exposes workers to a wide range of hazardous substances — crude oil and its fractions, hydrogen sulphide, benzene and other carcinogens, catalysts, acids and process chemicals. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require you to assess, then prevent or adequately control, exposure, with monitoring and health surveillance where the regulations require it. In Northern Ireland the equivalent COSHH (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003 apply.

C. Control explosive atmospheres (DSEAR)

Flammable vapours and gases make explosive atmospheres a defining hazard of refining and coke-making. The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) require you to assess the risks from dangerous substances, classify hazardous-area zones, control ignition sources, use suitable equipment, and put explosion-prevention and mitigation measures in place. In Northern Ireland the equivalent DSEAR (Northern Ireland) Regulations apply.

D. Keep your work equipment safe (PUWER)

Your plant — furnaces, distillation columns, compressors, pumps, heat exchangers, coke ovens and the associated pipework and instrumentation — must be suitable, properly maintained, inspected and adequately safeguarded under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, alongside the pressure-system examination regime that applies to much of it.

E. Manage manual handling

Handling drums, catalyst, components and materials carries manual-handling risk, so the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 apply. Avoid hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable. Where you cannot, assess the risk and reduce it through lifting equipment and safe systems of work.

F. Manage fire safety

Beyond the process-safety regime, the responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire-safety arrangements for the premises. The duty is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in Scotland, and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.

G. Meet the COMAH major-accident regime and your environmental permit

Oil refineries and coke works hold dangerous substances above the COMAH thresholds — a refinery is an upper-tier establishment, and an operating coke works is normally one too — under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH), enforced jointly by HSE and the environmental regulator as the Competent Authority. You must take all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences, prepare a safety report, operate a major-accident-prevention policy and safety-management system, and maintain on-site emergency plans. In parallel, the installation needs an environmental permit controlling its emissions to air, water and land, issued by the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, SEPA in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The equivalent COMAH and major-accident rules apply across the UK nations.

H. Meet your UK Emissions Trading Scheme duties

Oil refining and coke production are energy-intensive activities within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). If your installation is in scope you need a greenhouse gas emissions permit, and you must monitor your emissions to an approved plan, report your verified emissions annually, and surrender allowances to match them. Eligible installations receive a free allocation of allowances. The scheme operates UK-wide and is administered by the Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland regulator with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Check the current rules and dates that apply to your installation.

I. Hold employers' liability insurance

As soon as you employ anyone, you must hold employers' liability compulsory insurance — normally at least £5 million of cover — and display or make available the certificate. This is a legal requirement across Great Britain, with an equivalent duty in Northern Ireland.

J. Meet your equality duties

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010. In Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

K. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about staff, customers or suppliers — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in most cases pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide.

What to do next

This spine covers running the installation and employing people. On top of it sit your product and duty obligations:

• Follow Meet motor fuel quality and hydrocarbon oil duty for the fuel-quality standards and the excise duty on the fuels you make.
• Confirm you have covered everything with the coke and petroleum manufacturer compliance checklist.