NFPA 59A

Covers — LNG production, storage, and handling facilities: cryogenic transfer and process piping, storage tanks, materials for −162 °C service, insulation, spacing/siting, and fire protection and emergency systems.

Does NOT cover (exclusions) — gas transmission/distribution → ASME B31.8; building fuel-gas piping → NFPA 54; baseline pressure design of piping → ASME B31.3 (used within the facility).

NFPA 59A governs LNG facilities and their cryogenic piping/safety; B31.8/B31.3 cover the pipelines and general process piping.

NFPA 59A sets requirements for LNG facilities:

• Cryogenic Materials — materials qualified for ~−162 °C (austenitic stainless, 9% Ni steel, aluminum).
• Transfer/Process Piping — cryogenic piping and insulation with the B31.3 pressure basis.
• Siting & Spacing — thermal-exclusion and spill-containment spacing.
• Fire Protection & Emergency — detection, emergency shutdown, and fire-protection systems.

NFPA 59A governs the production, storage, and handling of liquefied natural gas, including the cryogenic transfer and process piping. At about −162 °C, LNG demands cryogenic materials (austenitic stainless, 9% nickel steel, aluminum), rigorous insulation, and design against extreme low-temperature brittle fracture and the hazards of a cryogenic flammable liquid — rapid vapor expansion, spill spread, and vapor-cloud ignition.

It uses the B31.3 pressure-design basis within the facility and adds LNG-specific material, insulation, siting/spacing, and fire-protection and emergency-shutdown requirements. Pipelines to and from the facility follow B31.8.

Engineering Note: Material toughness and spill/thermal-exclusion spacing are the defining LNG concerns — a carbon-steel component mistakenly used in cryogenic service will fail by brittle fracture, and inadequate spacing/containment turns a spill into a facility-wide hazard.