KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

MINISTRY OF INTERIOR
HIGH COMMISSION FOR INDUSTRIAL SECURITY

SAFETY AND FIRE PROTECTION DIRECTIVES

FOR INDUSTRIAL FACILITlES

SAF-12
Electrical Safety

Issue Date: 12f611431H 126/05/2010

RESTRICTED
AI! Rights reserved to HCIS. Copying or distribution prohibited without written pennission from HeIS

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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High Commission for Industrial Security

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Secretariat General

Electrical Safety

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

2
3
4

Administration
l.l Scope
1.2 Application
1.3 Conflicts and Deviations
Definitions
References
General Requirements
4.1 Electrical Power System Design
4.2 Electrical Design for Fire
Water Pumps
4.3 Substation and Relay Buildings
4.4 Security

3
3
3
3
5
6
6

7
7
7

Issue Date: 12161143lH 12610512010

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Ministry ofInterior
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Electrical Safety

1.

Administration

1.1

Scope
This Directive provides the minimum requirements for companies and establishments
that are subject to the supervision of the High Commission for Industrial Security
(HCIS), Ministry of Interior, for (a) the design and installation of privately owned
electrical systems and (b) electrical area classification of hazardous (classified) locations
for electrical and electronic equipment and wiring for all industrial plant operations.

1.2

Application
This Directive is applicable to all facilities, including new projects, the expansion of
existing facilities, and upgrades. For application to existing facilities, the Owner shall
assess his facilities against the requirements of these Directives and coordinate with the
General Secretariat of the HCIS to comply with the security, safety, and fire protection
requirements according to these Directives and add to or modify the existing facilities as
required. Where the General Secretariat of the HCIS has assessed deficiencies in existing
facilities during a survey, comparing the current state of the facilities to the requirements
of these Directives, those identified deficiencies shall be corrected by the Owner.

1.3

Conflicts and Deviations

Where implementation of a requirement is unsuitable or impractical, where other
equivalent company or industry Standards and Codes are followed, or where any conflict
exists between this Directive and other company standards and Codes, the deviations
shall be resolved by the General Secretariat of the HCIS. Deviations lower than the
requirements of this Directive shall be listed and submitted in a report of non-compliance,
with justification and rationale for not following the requirement, and approval shall be
received from the General Secretariat of the HCIS prior to implementation. The
documents shall be retained by the company in its permanent engineering files.

2.

Definitions
API: American Petroleum Institute, Website: http://api-ec.api.org/
CESI: Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano,
Website: www.scame.com/itlinfotec/enti/cesi.htm
Combustible Liquid:

A liquid that has a flash point greater than 54C (130F).

Issue Date: 121611431H 126105/2010

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Electrical Safety

Examples are fluids such as diesel, C7+ feed stocks, bunker fuel, and sulfur.
CSA: Canadian Standards Association, Canada. Website: http://www.csa.ca/
Flammable Liquid: A liquid that has a flash point equal to or less than 54C (l30F).
Examples are fluids such as stabilized crude, gasoline, C6 and lighter feed and blending
stocks, and methanol. For purposes of this directive, a combustible liquid stored or
processed at a temperature equal to or higher than 8C (1 5F) below its flash point shall
be considered to be a flammable liquid.
FM: FM Global (Factory Mutual), Website: http://www.fmglobal.com/
Hazardous (Classified) Location: An area or space as defined in the referenced
standards where there is a fire or explosion hazard due to the handling or processing of
flammable gases, liquid-produced vapors, combustible dusts, or ignitable fibers or
flyings.
HCIS: High Commission for Industrial Security, Ministry ofinterior.
IEC: International Electrotechnical Commission,
Website: http://www.iec.org/
IEEE:
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.,
http://www.ieee.org/

Website:

ITSNA: Intertek Testing Services, United Kingdom

Website: http://www.uk.intertek-etlsemko.com/
KEMA: KEMA Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
Website: http://www.kema.com/products_and-'processes/
LCIE: Laboratoire Central des Industries Electriques, France.
Website: http://www.lcie.com/homePage_ frameset.html
NFPA: National Fire Protection Association, Website: http://www.nfpa.org/
Owner: Person, partnership, or company that has possession of a facility or
establishment.
Plant: Facilities used to manufacture, process, store, transport, or transfer hydrocarbons
or other chemical substances.

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Ministry of Interior

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High Commission for Industrial Security

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Secretariat General
SAF-12

Electrical Safety

PTB:

Physikalisch Technische
http://www.ptb.delindex_ en.html

Bundesanstalt,

Germany.

Website:

Shall: Indicates a mandatory requirement.

Should: Indicates a recommendation or that which is advised but not required.

UL: Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Website: http://www.ul.com/

3.

References
This directive adopts the latest edition of the references listed.

API RP 500

Classification of Locations for Electrical Installations at

Petroleum Facilities Classified as Class 1 Division 1 and Division 2

API RP 505

Classification of Locations for Electrical Installations at

Petroleum Facilities Classified as Class 1 Zone 0, Zone 1, and Zone 2

IEC 60364

Low Voltage Electrical Installations

IEC 60079

Electrical Apparatus for Explosive Atmospheres

IEEE 80

Guide for Safety in Alternating-Current Substation Grounding

IEEE 979

Guide for Substation Fire Protection

IEEE 980

Guide for Containment and Control of Oil Spills in Substations

IEEE 998

Guide for Direct Lighting Stroke Shielding of Substations

NFPA 20

Installation of Stationary Pumps

NFPA 30

Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code

NFPA 30A

Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities

NFPA 70

National Electrical Code

NFPA 70E

Electrical Safety in the Workplace

NFPA 497

Classification of Flammable Liquids, Gases or Vapors and of

Hazardous (Classified) Locations for Electrical Installations in
Chemical Process Areas

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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NFPA 499

Classification of Combustible Dusts and of Hazardous (Classified)

Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical Process Areas

4.

General Requirements

4.1

Electrical Power System Design

4.1.1

New construction of plants and expansion of plant areas shall provide for a high level of
electrical safety and reliability, together with cost-effective design.

4.1.2

Requirements of API RP 500, API RP 505, NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 497, and 499,
equivalent internationally recognized Codes (e.g. IEC 60364, IEC 60079) or Saudi Codes
shall be followed, as applicable to provide a safe electrical design.

4.1.3

Electrical power systems shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the latest
edition of NFPA 70 and NFPA 70E, IEC 60364, IEC 60079, or other equivalent
internationally recognized electrical Codes.

4.1.4

In plant operations where flammable liquids, flammable gases, or flammable vapors are
handled, processed, and can escape as a result of accidental rupture or breakdown of the
container or system, or as the result of the abnormal operation of the equipment, or where
ignitable concentrations of dusts or flyings may exist, all electrical and electronic devices
shall be certified for use in hazardous (classified) locations as defined in NFPA 70,
Chapter 5, Special Occupancies or IEC 60079.
a)

Combustible liquids, and flammable liquids shall be interpreted in accordance with

definitions given above.

b)

Electrical area classification drawings, based on the guidelines ofNFPA 30, NFPA
30A, NFPA 70, NFPA 497, NFPA 499, API 500, or API 505, or other equivalent
international or Saudi Codes shall be prepared and maintained for facilities where
flammable liquids or combustible gases are produced, processed, stored, or handled.
These drawings shall be kept in a suitable location in the plant.

c)

Equipment that is required by NFPA 70 to be "approved" shall be labeled as

certified by an internationally recognized independent test lab. Examples of
acceptable test lab agencies are the following:
- Canadian Standards Association (CSA) (Canada)

Issue Date: 1216/1431H 126105/2010

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Ministry ofInterior

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High Commission for Industrial Security

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Secretariat General
SAF-12

Electrical Safety

- Centro Elettrotechnico Sperimentale Italiano (CESI) (Italy)

- FM Global (FM) (USA)
- Intertek Testing Services (ITSNA) (International)
- KEMA Nederland B. V. (KEMA) (Netherlands)
- Laboratoire Central des Industries Electriques (LCIE) (France)
- Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) (Germany)
- Underwriters Laboratories. Inc. (UL) (USA)
Note: This listing is intended to provide useful information on the many test labs
available. This is not intended to list all acceptable certifYing agencies.
c)

Mobile radios, cellular telephones, pagers, personal digital assistants, portable

computers, flashlights, and other such portable electric and electronic devices shall
be controlled where hazardous (classified) locations exist. Their control and use
shall meet the requirements of directive SAF-22.

4.1.5

Ballasts, capacitors, transformers and other electrical components that contain oil shall be
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) free.

4.2

Electrical Design for Fire Water Pumps

Electrical design for firefighting water pump installations shall meet the requirements of
NFPA 20.

4.3

Substations and Relay Buildings

Substation control and relay buildings shall be designed to meet Section 6, SAF-19,
Electric Power Generating Plants and Associated Facilities.

4.4

Security

4.4.1

The Owners shall ensure that they provide an adequate level of security measures to
protect their facilities by applying the requirements of SEC-Ol, Application of Security
Directives, and other security directives issued by the HCIS.

4.4.2

Substations and transformers that are in an unsecured location, i.e. outside the plant
perimeter security fence, shall meet SEC-02, Security Fencing.

4.4.3

For plant operations that are secured, emergency power generation shall be installed for
emergency lighting needs; adequate power to control systems for safe shutdown of
operating production or manufacturing equipment; security lighting and integrated

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

~\.J!oZi)

Ministry of Interior
High Commission for Industrial Security

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Secretariat General
SAF-12

Electrical Safety

security system requirements; essential telephone, radio, and data transmission functions;
and other needs deemed appropriate for the facility. Requirements for securing
emergency generator facilities shall meet the appropriate security directive.
4.4.4

Cables, fuel lines, and other utilities to emergency power generation facilities shall be
underground to the extent possible. These utilities shall enter the inside the power
generation building from underground.

Issue Date: 121611431H 126/05/2010

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