A team of BP engineers made a systematic study of the Forties platforms, examining the safety of interfaces where pressure drop occurs in piping or plant containing hydrocarbons between high and low pressure. Their recommendations are being implemented by operations staff, a dedicated engineering group, and as part of other projects. Making the changes to the existing plant has required an intensive design effort. The high cost of the retrofits, £12 million per platform, reflects the difficulty in modifying an offshore process plant.

Keywords:
relief valve, information, system integrity study, overpressure, production separator, platform, interface, upstream oil & gas, procedure, consequence
Subjects:
Safety, Environment, Produced water management and control, Water use, produced water discharge and disposal, Well Operations and Optimization, Well Operations, Optimization and Stimulation
Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.