A Case Study on Procedure Standardization of Heat Exchanger Retubing in KSA Oil and Gas Industries
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A Case Study on Procedure Standardization of Heat Exchanger Retubing in KSA Oil and Gas Industries Mohamed Fayas Saffiudeen . Fasil T. Mohammed . Abdullah Syed
Submitted: 19 January 2020 / Accepted: 8 July 2020 ASM International 2020
Abstract Plant shutdown also known as ‘‘turnarounds’’, is one of the most critical period in the oil gas refineries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Shutdowns have the ability to effect the plant’s financial future and commitments either in positive or negative way. A heat exchanger is a crucial and important equipment in the oil gas refineries used for various processes and heat transfers. It also impacts the duration of plant turnaround. When the operation of the plant starts the after turnaround, a failed heat exchanger within short duration of normal plant operation even though warranty of contractor exists, can create major loss in terms of money due to reduced downtime or production loss. Heat exchangers are subjected to different repairs including partial or full retubing by various methods or by simple plugging. Heat exchanger repair during the turnaround helps to reduce the down time loss (repair) of heat exchanger and will ensure the integrity for smooth running of plant. After studying the retubing of more than 75 heat exchangers, standardized procedure was incorporated to satisfy all the standard codes like ASME, TEMA, SAES, SES, NBIC and all the end users like Aramco, Sabic and its affiliates. Keywords Shell and heat exchanger maintenance Heat exchanger retubing Tubesheet cutting Tube expansion
Introduction In oil gas field, heat exchanger plays a vital role during the turnaround. They are used transfer the heat by inlet/outlet nozzles without mixing in different manufacturing processes and helps to function the plant more efficiently with profit. In many industries, the heat loss is not utilized properly and it was wasted. Because of this, heat exchangers were created to arrest and reuse heat that would otherwise it would be lost to the environment. A heat exchanger is a device built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another in order to carry and process energy [1]. Another crucial factor is safety during the repair and reinstallation. It is essential to confirm that heat exchangers must remain in good working condition at always. Systematic periodic maintenance, infrequent repair and retubing services during turnaround, cleaning of service deposits. Shell and tube heat exchangers are commonly found in all the Saudi Aramco Plants, SABIC its affiliates plants in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. When the tubes leak, efficiency of the shell is reduced. Tube heat exchangers then are restored through tubes plugging by tapered plug temporarily. When the number of tubes plugged or the impact of plugging decreases the efficiency of the heat exchanger, retubing needs to be done. Replacing the complete heat exchanger is expensive also it requires preplanning. On the other hand, retubing is a cost-effective option to increase the efficiency without re
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