Page No.

OISD - GDN - 180

JULY, 1999

Draft - II

FOR RESTRICTED
CIRCULATION

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Prepared by:
COMMITTEE ON LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Oil Industry Safety Directorate

Government of India
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
th
8 Floor, OIDB Bhavan, Plot No. 2, Sector – 73, Noida – 201301 (U.P.)
Website: www.oisd.gov.in
Tele: 0120-2593800, Fax: 0120-2593802
 Page No. II

PREAMBLE
Indian petroleum industry is the energy lifeline of the nation and its continuous
performance is essential for sovereignty and prosperity of the country. As the industry
essentially deals with inherently inflammable substances throughout its value chain –
upstream, midstream and downstream – Safety is of paramount importance to this industry
as only safe performance at all times can ensure optimum ROI of these national assets and
resources including sustainability.

While statutory organizations were in place all along to oversee safety aspects of Indian
petroleum industry, Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) was set up in 1986 by
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India as a knowledge centre for
formulation of constantly updated world-scale standards for design, layout and operation of
various equipment, facility and activities involved in this industry. Moreover, OISD was
also given responsibility of monitoring implementation status of these standards through
safety audits.

In more than three decades of its existence, OISD has developed a rigorous, multi-layer,
iterative and participative process of development of standards – starting with research by
in-house experts and iterating through seeking & validating inputs from all stake-holders –
operators, designers,
feedback loop national
of constant level knowledge
updation authorities
based on ground leveland public atobtained
experience large – through
with a
audits, incident analysis and environment scanning.

The participative process followed in standard formulation has resulted in excellent

level of compliance by the industry culminating in a safer environment in the industry.
OISD – except in the Upstream Petroleum Sector – is still a regulatory (and not a statutory)
body but that has not affected implementation of the OISD standards. It also goes to
prove the old adage that self- regulation is the best regulation. The quality and relevance
of OISD standards had been further endorsed by their adoption in various statutory rules of
the land.

Petroleum industry in India is significantly globalized at present in terms of technology

content requiring its operation to keep pace with the relevant world scale standards &
practices. This matches the OISD philosophy of continuous improvement keeping pace
with the global developments in its target environment. To this end, OISD keeps track
of changes through participation as member in large number of International and national
level Knowledge Organizations – both in the field of standard development and
implementation & monitoring in addition to updation of internal knowledge base through
continuous research and application surveillance, thereby ensuring that this OISD
Standard, along with all other extant ones, remains relevant, updated and effective on a real
time basis in the applicable areas.

Together we strive to achieve NIL incidents in the entire Hydrocarbon Value Chain. This,
besides other issues, calls for total engagement from all levels of the stake holder
organizations, which we, at OISD, fervently look forward to.

Jai Hind!!!

Executive Director
Oil Industry Safety Directorate
 Page No. I

FOREWORD

The Oil Industry in India is nearly 100 years old. Due to various collaboration
agreements a variety of international codes, standards and practices are in
vogue. Standardisation in design philosophies, operating and maintenance
practices at a national level was hardly in existence. This lack of uniformity
coupled with feedback from some serious accidents that occurred in the recent
past in India and abroad, emphasised the need for the industry to review the
existing state of art in designing, operating and maintaining oil and gas
installations.

With this in view, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 1986
constituted a Safety Council assisted by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate
(OISD) staffed from within the industry in formulating and implementing a
series of self-regulatory measures aimed at removing obsolescence,
standardising and upgrading the existing standards to ensure safer operations.
Accordingly OISD constituted a number of functional committees comprising of
experts nominated from the industry to draw up standards and guidelines on
various subjects.

The present document on “Lightning Protection” was prepared by the

Functional Committee on “Lightning Protection”. This document is based on

the accumulated
various knowledge
national and and
international experience
codes of industry members and the
and practices.

It is hoped that provisions of this document if implemented objectively, may go

a long way to improve the safety to reduce accidents in Oil and Gas Industry.
Users are cautioned that no document can be substitute for the judgment of
responsible and experienced engineer.

Suggestions are invited from the users after it is put into practice to improve
the document further. Suggestions for amendments, if any, to this standard
should be addressed to:

The Co-ordinator
Committee on “Lightning Protection”
OIL INDUSTRY SAFETY DIRECTORATE
th

8 Floor, OIDB Bhavan, Plot No. 2, Sector – 73, Noida – 201301 (U.P.)
This document in no way supersedes the statutory regulations of Chief
Controller of Explosives (CCE), Factory Inspectorate or any other statutory
body, which must be followed as applicable.
 Page No. II

NOTE

OISD (Oil Industry Safety Directorate) publications are prepared for use in the
Oil and Gas Industry under Ministry of Petroleum & natural Gas. These are the
property of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and shall not be reproduced or
copied and loaned or exhibited to others without written consent from OISD.

Though every effort has been made to assure the accuracy and reliability of
the data contained in these documents. OISD hereby expressly disclaims any
liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from their use.

These documents are intended to supplement rather than replace the

prevailing statutory requirements.

This document supersedes the lightning protection provisions stipulated in

other OISD standards in case of conflict/ contradiction.
 Page No. III

COMMITTEE
ON
“LIGHTNING PROTECTION”

LIST OF MEMBERS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sl.No. Name Organisation Position in
the Committee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/Shri

01. V.P. Sharma Engineers India Limited Leader

02. A.K. Roy Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Member

(Refineries Division)

03. S.C. Tyagi Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Member

04. H. Prusty Gas Authority of India Ltd., Member

05. P.Kamalasekharan Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Member

(Marketing Division)

06. R. Raghupathy Engineers India Limited Member

07. P.N. Deka Bongaigaon Refinery &

Petrochemicals Limited Member

08. J.K. Jha Oil Industry Safety Directorate Member Co-ordinator.

In addition to the above, v arious other experts in the industry contributed in the preparation,
review, and finalisation of this document.
 Page No. IV

COMMITTEE
ON
“LIGHTNING PROTECTION”

LIST OF MEMBERS
(2017)

S. Name Organisation Position in the

No. Committee

1 Shri Mahesh Kotasthane RIL Leader

2 Ms. Meenaxee P Medhi GAIL Member
3 Shri Jayanta Bordoloi OIL Member
4 Shri Atul Koranne ESSAR Member
5 Ms Rashmi Singh EIL Member
6 Shri G S Siva Kumar BPCL Member
7 Shri M Punnia Murthy HPCL Member
8 Shri GL Naidu HPCL Member
9 Shri A Ramachandran CAIRN Member
10 Shri P R Das IOCL Member
11 Shri Mukul Singh IOCL Member
12 Shri Ramesh Kumar Roy IOCL Member
13 Shri MS Parvej IOCL Member
14 Shri Amit Kumar ONGC Member
15 Shri TK Nagaraja Rao MRPL Member
16 Shri M. Vamshi Krishna OISD Member
17 Shri Parmod kumar OISD Member Co-ordinator

In addition to the above, various other experts in the industry contributed in the preparation, review,
and finalisation of this document.
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 2

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

arrestors or other reasonably effective means to minimise the possibility of flame entering
the vapour space of a tank.
vi) Grounded Terminal :

The portion of a lightning protection system such as ground rod, ground plate, or ground
conductor that is installed for the purpose of providing electrical contact with the earth.

vii) Grounded :

A structure is supposed to be adequately grounded if it is connected to earth or to some

conducting body that is connected to earth.

viii) Hazardous Area

In accordance with the Petroleum Rules, an area shall be deemed to be a hazardous area,
where:
o
a) Petroleum having flash point below 65 C or any flammable gas or vapour in a
concentration capable of ignition is likely to be present.
o
b) Petroleum or any flammable liquid having flash point above 65 C is likely to be
refined, blended, handled or stored at or above its flash point .

For details, refer OISD Standard 113 on Electrical Area Classification.

ix) Shall

“Shall” indicates a mandatory requirement.

x) Should

“Should” indicates a requirement which is recommendatory in nature.

xi) Side Flash:

An electric spark, caused by differences of potential, occurring between conductive metal

bodies or between such metal bodies and a component of the lightning protection system
or ground.

xii) Spark Gap:

As used in this code, the term spark gap means any short air space between two
conductors electrically insulated from or remotely electrically connected to each other.

xiii) Striking Distance:

The distance over which the final breakdown of the initial stroke occurs.

xiv) Surge Arrestor:

A protective device for limiting surge voltages by discharging or bypassing surge current. It
also prevents continued flow of follow current while remaining capable of repeating these
functions.

xv) Vapour Openings :

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 3

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Openings through a tank shell or roof above the surface of the stored hydrocarbon. Such
openings may be provided for tank breathing, tank gauging, fire fighting, or other operating
purpose.

xvi) Zone of Protection:

Zone of Protection is the space around a lightning conductor in which the probability of
lightning stroke is small.

xvii) Bypass conductor

A conductive cable that provides a direct electrical connection between the tank shell and
the tank floating roof.

xviii) Surge Protective Device ( SPD)

Device intended to limit transient over v oltages and divert surge currents; contains at least
one non-linear component

xix) Lightning electromagnetic impulse (LEMP)

All electromagnetic effects of lightning current via resistive, inductive and capacitive
coupling that create surges and radiated electromagnetic fields

xx) Surge Protection Measure (SPM)

Measures taken to protect internal systems against the effects of LEMP

xxi) Lightning protection system (LPS)

Complete system used to reduce physical damage due to lightning flashes to a structure

xxii) Lightning protection zone (LPZ)

Zone where the lightning electromagnetic environment is defined

xiii) Lightning protection level (LPL)

Number related to a set of lightning current parameters values relevant to the probability
that the associated maximum and minimum design values will not be exceeded in naturally
occurring lightning

4.0 LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEM

4.1 Need for Protection

4.1.1 The necessity of providing lightning protection for structures located in non-hazardous areas
shall be assessed by calculating overall risk factor. However, for hazardous areas lightning
protection is essential considering the serious consequences of fire/damage due to lightning
strokes and shall be provided irrespective of the value of risk factor . As mentioned in IS/IEC
62305-2, at least class II LPS should be adopted for the structure with a risk of explosion,
though exception may be allowed when technically justified. Further, lightning protection level
III may be adopted where the infrequency of lightning activity and/ or the insensitivity of the
contents of the structure warrants it. Lightning protection shall be provided, as applicable, in
line with the guidelines given in the subsequent sections of this Guideline. IS/IEC 62305-1

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 4

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

should be referred for general principles of LPS.

4.1.2 IS/ IEC 62305-2 should be referred to calculate the overall risk factor for assessing the
requirement of lightning protection

Values of tolerable risk R T, where lightning flashes involve loss of human life or loss of social
or cultural values, are given below:

Type of Loss RƬ

-5
L1 Loss of human life or permanent injuries 10

-3
L2 Loss of service to the public 10

-4
L3 Loss of cultural heritage 10

If R ≤ RT, lightning protection is not necessary.

If R > R T, protection measures shall be adopted in order to reduce R≤ RT for all risks to

which the structure is subjected.

4.2 Zone of Protection

Lightning protection system shall be designed to protect the structures. The path between air
termination and earth shall be such that the lightning current is discharged to earth without
passing through non-conducting parts of the building and also without causing fire, flashover
and dangerous potential difference in and around the structure.

Providing the required protection along building, around the perimeter of flat or sloping roofs,
protecting vents, chimneys etc. will place these main roof areas under a protective zone of
the strike termination devices. The protected zone extends from these main protected roof
levels and can cover horizontal projections from lower walls and lower roof areas. Fig. 1
below depicts the geometric method for structure of selected heights up to 30 m. Based on
the air terminal on a fully protected roof level of 7.5m, 15m, 22.5 m or 30m, references of the
appropriate curve shows the anticipated zone of protection of a higher roof (horizontal
distance) on the lower elevation.

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 12

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

small isolated beams may be disregarded.

If portions of a structure vary considerably in height, any necessary air terminations or air
termination networks for the lower portions should be bonded to the down conductors of the
taller portions in addition to their own down conductors.

Typical examples of air terminations for flat roof, large area roof of various profiles are
illustrated in Fig.5 and 6. Appendix-III to be referred for minimum cross sectional area of LPS
components

Steel structure of communication tower can function as down conductor provided all structural
members are firmly connected with each other through bolt/nut properly tightened at more than
one point and whole structure is electrically continuous and earthed.

LPS air termination on a flat roof structure

LPS air termination on a sloped roof structure

W m = m esh size

Fig. 5

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 13

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Wm

Protection method
Class of LPS Rolling Sphere radius Mess Size Wm
r (m) (m)
I 20 5X5
II 30 10 X 10
III 45 15 X 15
IV 60 20 X 20

Fig. 6

Relationship of protection angle corresponding to the class of LPS is mentioned below:

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 14

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

5.4 Protection of Steel framed Compressor House, Truck Loading, Wagon Loading
Structures, Plant operating sheds

These are, in general, steel framed building structures; the frame work itself provides efficient
natural networks of many paths to earth provided the requirements with regards to natural/
mesh air terminal and min cross sectional area of LPS components, referred in this guideline,
are met. The structural steel columns shall be connected to the plant earth grid and as such
down conductors are not required. A network of horizontal conductors (air termination
system) should be fixed to the roof of structure as per the guidelines of IS/IEC 62305.

The resistance of the total structure to the general mass of earth shall be as per OISD-STD-
137

Ventilators and other roof projections of non-metallic construction shall be protected by

means of air terminal system and connected to the steel frame of structure.

Major metal forming part of the structure, including continuous metal reinforcement and
services, should be bonded together and connected to the lightning protective system. Such
connections should be made in at least two places and should, wherever possible, be equally
spaced around the perimeter of the structure as per IS/ IEC 62305-3.

Metal inside the structure should be bonded to the lightning protective system.

Vents and exhaust stacks from process plants emitting flammable vapours or dusts should be
fitted with flame traps.

5.5 Protection of Stacks.

Non-conducting chimneys whose overall width or diameter at top is up to 1.5m shall be

provided with one down conductor, and chimneys with overall width or diameter at top more
than 1.5m shall be provided with 2 no. down conductors as shown in Fig. 7

Metal stacks shall be properly earthed at the bottom. No air terminal/down conductors are
required if the thickness of sheet steel is more than 4.8 mm.

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 29

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

A system of overhead earth wires can be designed to provide complete protection to a

storage tank within the realm of rolling sphere concept based on a striking distance of 30 m.
A single earth wire with a m inimum clearance of about 8 m above the highest point of the
tank can protect a tank of about 6 to 8 m diameter. For tank diameters between 8 to 30 m
two parallel earth wires shall be required while for tank diameters between 30 to 80 m three
parallel overhead earth wires shall be needed as a minimum.

Protection zones using a system overhead earth wires are shown in Fig. 3B.

Fig. 3B
Supporting structures for the overhead earth wires can be either of tubular design or a
lattice structure. Height of the structure shall be decided based on the height of the
topmost point on the tank roof and the side flash distance. The supporting structure shall
also have to be located sufficiently away from the tank so as to prevent any side flash. The

earth-wire
conductor. shall be bonded
Earthing systemto ofthe
thesteel supporting
supporting structure
structure shallwhich can serve
be bonded with as
thea tank
down
earthing system.

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 30

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

Appendix –III

# Source: IS/ IEC 62305-3

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”
 OISD – GDN – 180 Page No. 31

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

# Source: IS/ IEC 62305-3

“OISD hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting
from the use of OISD Standards/Guidelines.”