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A Risk-Based Inspection Concept for Fitness-for-Service Assessment of Ageing Pressure Vessels on Offshore Joint Venture Facilities
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Risk-Based Inspection
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV2I5-1722578
Abstract
A substantial proportion of offshore oil and gas production infrastructure operated under joint venture (JV) arrangements has now exceeded, or is approaching, its original design life. Static pressure equipment, and pressure vessels in particular, represents one of the most safety-critical categories of equipment on these facilities because failure can result in loss of containment, fire, explosion, environmental damage, and loss of life. Traditional time-based inspection regimes, in which vessels are opened and inspected at fixed calendar intervals, are increasingly recognised as both economically inefficient and technically unfocused when applied to ageing equipment whose condition and degradation behaviour vary widely. This paper presents a concept, developed in 2018, that integrates Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) planning with Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessment to form a single, continuous integrity management process for ageing pressure vessels on offshore JV facilities. The concept uses RBI methodologies aligned with API RP 580 and API RP 581 to prioritise vessels according to their probability and consequence of failure, and applies the assessment procedures of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 to determine whether vessels containing identified flaws or degradation remain fit for continued operation, and for how long. The framework explicitly addresses the organisational realities of JV operations, including shared decision-making, cost allocation between partners, differing corporate risk appetites, and regulatory oversight. A staged implementation methodology is proposed, together with an illustrative application to a generic ageing separator vessel. The concept is presented against the standards and published practice current in 2018. The paper argues that the integrated RBI-FFS concept enables JV operators to concentrate inspection resources where risk is highest, to justify continued operation or life extension of degraded but serviceable vessels on a rigorous engineering basis, and to provide a transparent, auditable framework for integrity decisions shared among JV partners and regulators.
Keywords
risk-based inspection; fitness-for-service; ageing assets; pressure vessels; offshore; joint venture; life extension; API 580; API 581; API 579-1/ASME FFS-1; asset integrity management.
How to cite this paper
@article{1722578,
author = {Paul Chibuike Obetta},
title = {A Risk-Based Inspection Concept for Fitness-for-Service Assessment of Ageing Pressure Vessels on Offshore Joint Venture Facilities},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2018},
volume = {2},
number = {5},
pages = {497-520},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1722578.pdf},
abstract = {A substantial proportion of offshore oil and gas production infrastructure operated under joint venture (JV) arrangements has now exceeded, or is approaching, its original design life. Static pressure equipment, and pressure vessels in particular, represents one of the most safety-critical categories of equipment on these facilities because failure can result in loss of containment, fire, explosion, environmental damage, and loss of life. Traditional time-based inspection regimes, in which vessels are opened and inspected at fixed calendar intervals, are increasingly recognised as both economically inefficient and technically unfocused when applied to ageing equipment whose condition and degradation behaviour vary widely. This paper presents a concept, developed in 2018, that integrates Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) planning with Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessment to form a single, continuous integrity management process for ageing pressure vessels on offshore JV facilities. The concept uses RBI methodologies aligned with API RP 580 and API RP 581 to prioritise vessels according to their probability and consequence of failure, and applies the assessment procedures of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 to determine whether vessels containing identified flaws or degradation remain fit for continued operation, and for how long. The framework explicitly addresses the organisational realities of JV operations, including shared decision-making, cost allocation between partners, differing corporate risk appetites, and regulatory oversight. A staged implementation methodology is proposed, together with an illustrative application to a generic ageing separator vessel. The concept is presented against the standards and published practice current in 2018. The paper argues that the integrated RBI-FFS concept enables JV operators to concentrate inspection resources where risk is highest, to justify continued operation or life extension of degraded but serviceable vessels on a rigorous engineering basis, and to provide a transparent, auditable framework for integrity decisions shared among JV partners and regulators.},
keywords = {risk-based inspection; fitness-for-service; ageing assets; pressure vessels; offshore; joint venture; life extension; API 580; API 581; API 579-1/ASME FFS-1; asset integrity management.},
month = {November},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV2I5-1722578}
}