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Reliability and Integrity Management of Fired Heaters, Boilers and Furnaces in Upstream Oil and Gas: A Review
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Fired Heaters, Boilers and Furnaces
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV3I5-1722580
Abstract
Fired heaters, boilers and furnaces are among the most safety-critical and failure-prone classes of static equipment in upstream oil and gas facilities. They supply the process heat required for crude stabilization, dehydration, glycol and amine regeneration, steam generation for enhanced oil recovery, and heavy oil processing, and they do so under conditions of high temperature, cyclic loading, aggressive combustion environments and, in many upstream settings, variable fuel quality. Failures of fired equipment carry disproportionate consequences: loss of containment of hydrocarbons at a live ignition source, tube ruptures, firebox explosions and extended production deferment. This paper reviews the state of practice and the published literature, up to 2019, on the reliability and integrity management of fired equipment in upstream service. It surveys the dominant damage mechanisms, including creep, high temperature hydrogen attack, external and internal corrosion, oxidation, carburization, thermal fatigue, fouling and flame impingement damage. It then examines the governing codes and recommended practices, principally API 560, API 530, API 573, API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, API 580 and 581, and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, and reviews inspection and condition monitoring techniques ranging from conventional non-destructive examination to infrared thermography, intelligent tube inspection tools and online tube-skin temperature monitoring. The review further evaluates risk-based inspection, fitness-for-service assessment and reliability-centered maintenance as the organizing frameworks of modern integrity management, and considers emerging digital approaches such as predictive analytics and digital twins. Gaps identified include the scarcity of upstream-specific reliability data, limited treatment of aging fired equipment in remote and offshore locations, and the immaturity of prognostic models for combined damage mechanisms. Directions for future research are proposed.
Keywords
fired heaters; boilers; furnaces; asset integrity; reliability; risk-based inspection; fitness-for-service; upstream oil and gas; damage mechanisms; non-destructive examination.
How to cite this paper
@article{1722580,
author = {Paul Chibuike Obetta},
title = {Reliability and Integrity Management of Fired Heaters, Boilers and Furnaces in Upstream Oil and Gas: A Review},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2019},
volume = {3},
number = {5},
pages = {599-626},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1722580.pdf},
abstract = {Fired heaters, boilers and furnaces are among the most safety-critical and failure-prone classes of static equipment in upstream oil and gas facilities. They supply the process heat required for crude stabilization, dehydration, glycol and amine regeneration, steam generation for enhanced oil recovery, and heavy oil processing, and they do so under conditions of high temperature, cyclic loading, aggressive combustion environments and, in many upstream settings, variable fuel quality. Failures of fired equipment carry disproportionate consequences: loss of containment of hydrocarbons at a live ignition source, tube ruptures, firebox explosions and extended production deferment. This paper reviews the state of practice and the published literature, up to 2019, on the reliability and integrity management of fired equipment in upstream service. It surveys the dominant damage mechanisms, including creep, high temperature hydrogen attack, external and internal corrosion, oxidation, carburization, thermal fatigue, fouling and flame impingement damage. It then examines the governing codes and recommended practices, principally API 560, API 530, API 573, API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, API 580 and 581, and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, and reviews inspection and condition monitoring techniques ranging from conventional non-destructive examination to infrared thermography, intelligent tube inspection tools and online tube-skin temperature monitoring. The review further evaluates risk-based inspection, fitness-for-service assessment and reliability-centered maintenance as the organizing frameworks of modern integrity management, and considers emerging digital approaches such as predictive analytics and digital twins. Gaps identified include the scarcity of upstream-specific reliability data, limited treatment of aging fired equipment in remote and offshore locations, and the immaturity of prognostic models for combined damage mechanisms. Directions for future research are proposed.},
keywords = {fired heaters; boilers; furnaces; asset integrity; reliability; risk-based inspection; fitness-for-service; upstream oil and gas; damage mechanisms; non-destructive examination.},
month = {November},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV3I5-1722580}
}