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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

A holistic approach to reducing small-bore fitting and tubing failures in oil and gas facilities

Rajinesh Singh A * and Robert Swindell B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Wood Vibration, Dynamics, and Noise, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.

B Wood Vibration, Dynamics, and Noise, Southampton, UK.

* Correspondence to: raj.singh@woodplc.com

The APPEA Journal 62 S177-S181 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21179
Accepted: 23 March 2022   Published: 13 May 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

Small-bore piping and instrument tubing vibration failures are not just a hidden risk to production, reliability, and safety, but also a frequent source of emissions through leaks and plant flaring when issues arise. Vibration-induced failure risks are often overlooked and detected too late, despite making up a significant portion of leaks and lost production incidents. Conventional approaches to managing these hidden risks have resulted in recurring failures and unplanned downtime at process plants. Large inventories of Small-Bore Fittings (SBFs) and tubing generally require management as most are integral parts of the plant and can be classed as safety and/or production critical. Small-bore tubing assemblies are at risk of fatigue failure due to a general lack of awareness of the best-practice design for reducing vibration response and how to manage this risk. A holistic approach to manage and pro-actively reduce small-bore piping and tubing vibration anomalies in the field is presented in this paper. This involves a risk-based assessment approach combined with the use of digital tools to register, manage, and visualise the status of the risk to the plant and the improvement in risk with the implementation of remedial actions. Best-practice and a short case study is discussed to demonstrate how the approach can be implemented to effectively reduce and manage vibration-induced small-bore piping and tubing failure incidents.

Keywords: anomaly management, digital, emissions, environment, failures, fatigue, gas plant, hydrocarbon, leaks, machinery, oil and gas, piping, production, rotating equipment, safety, small-bore, tubing, vibration.

Rajinesh (Raj) Singh has 15 years’ experience working in the field of piping vibration and structural dynamics including mobile mining equipment, gas and water pipelines, gas compression facilities, and power plants. His experience encompasses measurement, advanced modelling, troubleshooting, and mitigation of piping and tubing vibration in gas processing and transport facilities. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and is currently APAC Manager for Static Equipment & Structures within the Vibration, Dynamics, and Noise (VDN) business of Wood.

Robert (Rob) Swindell has over 30 years’ oil and gas experience, working on a wide variety of on and offshore structural integrity projects related to vibration-induced fatigue issues on piping systems. He is co-author of the Energy Institute document ‘Guidelines for the Avoidance of Vibration Induced Fatigue Failure in Process Pipework’ and has delivered a number of technical papers and participated in many industry forums throughout his career. He is currently the Global Service Line Lead for Static Equipment & Structures within the Vibration, Dynamics, and Noise (VDN) business of Wood.


References

Energy Institute (2008) ‘Guidelines for the Avoidance of Vibration Induced Fatigue Failure in Process Pipework’, 2nd edn. (Energy Institute: UK)

Energy Institute (2013) ‘Guidelines for the Design, Installation and Management of Small Bore Tubing Assemblies’, 2nd edn. (Energy Institute: UK)