Radiography requirement for Hydrocarbon service

[sree60]

Dear members
In one of our project specifications for Piping the requirement for Radiography is spelt as under:
"100% of welds in hydrocarbon service shall be radiographically inspected.This shall include all lines classified as process lines,instrument gas,utility gas,diesel fuel,fuel gas,blanket gas( if hydrocarbon)and utility oils as defined in technical requirements"

The query is whether disel and utility oil lines fall under hydrocarbon category? Is there any broad definition in codes as to which service lines are classified as hydrocarbon service.

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

sree60

 

[BigInch]

If the fluid is composed of Carbon and Hydrogen atoms, its a hydrocarbon.

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[gerhardl]

When it is a specified requirement from the customer, it is a specified requirement from the customer.

Your problem is, probably, how to exactly perform or read the test in detail, or to contain the cost or timeframe for this particular project.

As 100% is 100%, you have to discuss your problems and alternatives, economical and practical, with the responsible person for the project, to get approval for any changes or particular details.

 

[BigInch]

A list of all of the HCs would probably be the longest list of any class of fluids found on this planet.

more info,

http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/diesel/L2_4_4_fs.htm

http://www.nist.gov/srd/PDFfiles/jpcrd351.pdf

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[stanweld]

I would recommend that you ask for clarification from the owner/engineer that "100% of welds" means 100% of butt welds.

 

[0707]

diesel is a hydrocarbon

utility oil normaly is fuel oil so a hydrocarbon

your piping requirement seems to me perfectly clear.

What can be questionable is the rx percentage which normaly is defined on ASME B31.3

 

[sree60]

Thanks to everyone for the valuable inputs.
sree 60

 

[dcasto]

Wait till you try to xray less than 2" too! Sugar water is a hydrocarbon, now what. Seems your client doesn't understand his business or is trying for zero risk or believes our courts will let him off if he tests everything LOL.

 

[GregLamberson]

If it's not a lump sum, the client's paying for it, do 100% radiography and then everyone's covered.

Might also want to let him know the cost delta had he had some good engineering and constructability input early.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website:

http://www.oil-gas-consulting.com

 

[MJCronin]

scree..

The 100% radiography requirement of virtually all piping seems to me to be a huge waste of time and money. This is what happens when you hire a temp employee to write all of your important specifications and his supervisors all have MBAs...

Obviously, this requirement was written by someone who doesn't understand what radiography is, how it will slow down a project, and what kind of expense is involved.

It is impossible to radiograph small tubing.....

IMHO, 100% radiography is only justified in ASME "lethal" service.

None of the piping codes/standards require this for hydrocarbon service at moderate temperatures and pressures.

(See ASME B31.1 and B31.3 for inspection requirements)

My opinion only..

-MJC

 

[BigInch]

True, its not required by code, as are a lot of stuff I do. Codes specify minimum requirements. Too many people get into the frame of mind that's its all you have to do. Where is the corporate responsibility that shows up on all the advertising?

Actually 100% x-ray is not unusual at all and this kind of spec is not what you get from temp employees, well ... except for including the 2" and less. It is almost universal offshore and on any serious large diameter pipeline project I've worked on in the last 15 years, where newly trained welders from unheard-of corners of the Earth are coming and going and you never can be sure if they're current or not.

With environmental cleanup costs of well over $ 1,000,000 USD/BBL, not to mention actually killing animals or people or chancing polluting groundwater supplies, the extra insurance is well worth the minor additional cost of x-ray film. How much is that in comparison to what you just paid for a bad weld and ...its faster than coating the joint anyway, so where's the holdup, what's the problem?

IMO

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[BigInch]

Here's the hard evidence FOR. Remember all the way back to 2005 and how much lost sales BP had and how much the price of gasoline went up during the shortage. Now, who really paid the price of BP not doing 100%?

Pipe Leak Spews Gas, Oil at Alaska's Prudhoe Bay
USA: April 14, 2005


ANCHORAGE - An estimated 1.4 million cubic feetof natural gas and an unknown quantity of crude oil spewed from a leak in a pipeline at the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska's North Slope, state environmental regulators said Tuesday.


The resulting mist of crude oil coated an area nearly a mile long and averaged about 300 feet wide, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement.
Field operator BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. discovered and reported the leak, the state agency said. BP was trying to calculate the amount of oil spilled.

The leak came from a [COLOR=red white]failed weld[/color] in a pipe that carries natural gas for injection into a well.

BP immediately shut down production at the affected drill site to control the situation, said company spokesman Andrew Van Chau. Production at the site, typically 10,000 barrels per day, resumed late in the afternoon.

The cleanup will be conducted "as long as it takes," Van Chau said.

Prudhoe Bay is Alaska's biggest oil field. Along with operator BP, major field owners are ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

I'll give 100% : 1 that BP's doing it.

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[BigInch]

So, I think they were down for 21 days( or was it longer?) If I remember correctly, I believe they stayed down longer (was it 90 days) while they did a complete inspection on the entire gathering system. OK, just take the initial 21 days. 10M BOPD * $60/bbl * 21 = over 12 million for 1 busted weld ONLY in lost production.

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