Installation of Electrical Motors: Do Not Mix the Requirements of Hazardous Location Areas

ALTHOUGH THE PROCESSES AND types of gases are the same in refineries around the world, the design and installation of the electrical equipment will vary to comply with the selected installation requirements. There are essentially two major systems of installation requirements for hazardous areas commonly found in the oil and gas industry. The first is the North American system, with hazardous area installations in accordance with either the National Electric Code (NEC)-American National Standards Institute/National Fire Protection Association (ANSI/NFPA) 70 [1] for the United States or the Canadian Electric Code (CEC)-CSA C22.1 [2] for Canada. The second system is based on the European or international codes and standards for the installations of concern. In Europe, the hazardous area installations are in accordance with HD 60364 and EN 60079-14 [8], and, in many other parts of the world, they are are in accordance with HD 60364 and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60079-14 [8]. The European standards are essentially identical to the IEC standards.