This is an intensive 5-day course providing a comprehensive overview of relief and flare systems for oil and gas processing facilities. The course begins with the need for pressure control/overpressure protection, continues with the key engineering and design aspects including Code considerations, and concludes with selecting and defining the components of a relief and flare system. The material of the course is applicable to onshore field production facilities, pipelines, gas plants, terminals, and offshore production facilities.
Engineers & senior operating personnel responsible for designing, operating and maintaining relief and flare systems in oil and gas facilities.
You will Learn:
- Purposes of relief and flare systems and their importance in safe operations
- Causes of overpressure and the ways to control/mitigate
- Defining the relief cases considering operations, upset/abnormal conditions and emergency situations (such as fire)
- Commonly used pressure relieving devices and how to select and size these devices
- Determining set/relieving pressures to meet operational, safety and Code requirements
- Operational considerations of maintenance, testing, certification, and disposal of fluids
- Designing and operating relief and flare header systems considering fluid characteristics, service conditions, volumes, gas dispersion and radiation
- Defining requirements, selecting and sizing the components of a relief/flare system such as knockout drums, flare stack and tips, pilot and ignition systems
Course Content:
- Purposes and overview of typical relief and flare systems and key components
- Safety implications and the causes of overpressure
- Codes and standards as well as good practices typical in oil and gas facilities
- Overpressure protection philosophy including source isolation and relief
- Determination of relief requirements and defining set point pressures
- Types and applications of common relief devices
- Blow-down/depressurizing - purpose & design/operational considerations
- Design and specification considerations for relief valves and header systems including fluid characteristics, services conditions, material selection, and header sizing.
- Environmental considerations including flare versus vent decisions, emissions, noise and radiation levels.
- Radiation calculations and the impact of flare tip design
- Selection and sizing of key components such as knockout and seal drums, vent/flare stack, vent/flare tips, and flare ignition systems
- Defining need and quantity of purge gas
- Use of environmental friendly strategies such as flare gas recovery, smokeless flaring, and purge gas conservation.
- Operational and troubleshooting tips
Photo from Diamondback Energy Inc.
Members Only Content
Map from NOAA Biological and Conference Opinion.
Chevron Benguela-Belize Lobito-Tomboco Platform fact sheet
