ISO 10418:2003 provides objectives, functional requirements and guidelines for techniques for the analysis, design and testing of surface process safety systems for offshore installations for the recovery of hydrocarbon resources. The basic concepts associated with the analysis and design of a process safety system for an offshore oil and gas production facility are described, together with examples of the application to typical (simple) process components. These examples are contained in the annexes of ISO 10418:2003.

ISO 10418:2003 is applicable to fixed offshore structures, floating production, storage and off-take systems for the petroleum and natural gas industries.

ISO 10418:2003 is not applicable to mobile offshore units and subsea installations, although many of the principles contained in it may be used as guidance.