Hazardous Areas in ADNOC-Style Facilities: Selecting Trays, Covers, and Bonding to Align with ATEX/IECE
In ADNOC-style oil and gas facilities, hazardous area design is not merely a compliance exercise, it is an operational philosophy. Cable management systems, often underestimated and frequently specified through cable tray manufacturers In UAE, play a critical role in controlling ignition risk, maintaining asset integrity, and ensuring long-term compliance with ATEX and IECEx regimes. This article examines how cable trays, protective covers, and bonding strategies should be selected and engineered within Zone 0, Zone 1, and Zone 2 environments to meet ADNOC expectations while aligning with international explosion protection standards.
Hazardous Area Reality In ADNOC Operations
Hydrocarbon processing plants in the UAE are designed to operate under some of the harshest and most risk-intensive conditions in the global energy sector. Within ADNOC facilities, the routine handling of flammable gases, vapours, and mists means that the potential for release is an inherent part of day-to-day operations, whether continuous or occasional. As a result, Hazardous Area Classification (HAC) is treated as a fundamental engineering discipline rather than a compliance checkbox. In accordance with IEC 60079-10-1, these environments are defined as Zone 0, Zone 1, or Zone 2, depending on how frequently an explosive atmosphere may occur and the length of time it is expected to remain.
Industry data indicates that over 60% of hydrocarbon-related ignition incidents originate from secondary sources, including static discharge, poor earthing continuity, and degraded metallic infrastructure rather than from primary process equipment. This places cable containment systems directly in the risk spotlight.
Cable Trays: Structural Integrity Meets Explosion Philosophy
In hazardous zones, cable trays are not passive supports; they are conductive structures exposed to vibration, corrosion, and electrostatic charge accumulation. ADNOC specifications increasingly favour metallic trays typically hot-dip galvanized or stainless steel over polymeric alternatives, particularly in Zone 1 and Zone 2 areas.
From an ATEX and IECEx perspective, trays themselves are not “certified equipment,” but their material selection and installation influence compliance. Ferrous trays offer predictable conductivity and bonding continuity, whereas GRP trays, while corrosion-resistant, require additional grounding measures to mitigate electrostatic risks. IEC guidance explicitly warns against non-conductive materials in areas with high gas group severity (IIB/IIC), common in hydrogen and H₂S service.
Covers: Protection Beyond Mechanical Damage
Cable tray covers serve multiple safety functions in ADNOC-style facilities. Mechanically, they shield cables from falling debris and UV degradation. Electrically, they reduce the likelihood of spark propagation caused by external metallic impact. Environmentally, they help limit dust accumulation, which is critical where gas and dust hazards coexist.
Analytics from Middle East offshore projects show that covered trays reduce cable failure rates by approximately 25–30% over a 10-year lifecycle, particularly in coastal and desert installations. However, covers must be electrically continuous with the tray body. Floating or loosely fitted covers undermine bonding integrity and introduce intermittent resistance and often-overlooked ignition risk during fault conditions.
Bonding And Earthing: The Silent Safety System
Bonding is where many hazardous area installations fail not in design intent, but in execution. ATEX and IECEx do not treat bonding as optional; it is foundational to explosion prevention. Every tray section, cover, splice plate, and cable tray accessories must be electrically continuous and bonded back to the main earthing network.
ADNOC internal HSE audits have repeatedly highlighted missing or poorly torqued bonding jumpers as a top non-conformance during Zone 2 inspections. IECEx-aligned best practice recommends maintaining resistance values typically below 0.1 ohms across tray joints, verified during commissioning and periodically thereafter.
Static electricity is not theoretical. A discharge energy as low as 0.25 mJ is sufficient to ignite hydrogen-air mixtures, well within the range of accumulated charge on isolated metallic systems. Effective bonding eliminates this risk pathway entirely.
Aligning ADNOC Expectations With ATEX And IECEx
While ATEX originates from EU directives and IECEx operates as a global certification framework, ADNOC effectively harmonizes both. Equipment and installations are expected to meet IEC 60079 standards, supported by third-party inspection and documented in HAC reports and as-built drawings.
Critically, ADNOC goes further than baseline compliance. Lifecycle durability, maintainability, and inspection accessibility are weighted just as heavily as initial conformity. Cable tray systems that degrade, corrode, or lose bonding continuity over time are considered latent hazards, regardless of their original design intent.
In hazardous areas, safety is cumulative. Cable trays, covers, and bonding systems may appear mundane compared to flameproof motors or intrinsically safe instruments, but history shows that small conductive failures often trigger large explosive consequences. ADNOC-style facilities demand an engineering mindset where every metallic path is intentional, continuous, and verifiable.
Designers who treat cable management as part of the explosion protection strategy not merely an electrical accessory will not only satisfy ATEX and IECEx requirements but also align with ADNOC’s uncompromising safety culture. In hazardous areas, there are no secondary systems, only secondary thinking.