Nexen – Innovative lance cleaning system washes gas cooler exchanger tubes in-situ
Submitted by Nexen Petroleum U.K Limited
Impact
The duration of the cleaning work scope was reduced by 72 hours, compared to the original forecast using traditional cleaning techniques.
The benefits of using the dual lance cleaning system resulted in a reduction in risk to personnel, manpower requirements and duration of workscope.
The system yielded superior cleaning results and an improved understanding of the inspection/integrity findings.
Description of Best Practice
The 2016 Scott Platform turnaround included a critical path workscope to clean the Dehydration Feed Gas Cooler. A combination of simultaneous operations and the design of the facilities necessitated that the exchanger tube bundle could not be removed, which meant that the exchanger tubes had to be cleaned whilst they remained in the exchanger shell.
Nexen’s turnaround team investigated techniques and technology to use in this workscope and discovered a solution based around lance cleaning systems. This lead the team to investigate a dual lance cleaning technique used by Stone Age. The benefits of using the dual lance cleaning system were found to be a reduction in risk to personnel, manpower requirements and work scope duration.
The company Stone Age were affiliated with Stork, with whom Nexen already has a contract, which enabled Nexen to further look into how the cleaning method could be used on the Scott Platform.
Through collaboration between Nexen and Stork, resulted in Stork purchasing the cleaning facilities and technique. Trial runs onshore were subsequently conducted, which were vital in ensuring the system worked proficiently. The successful offshore execution of the cleaning was the result of excellent team work and collaboration between Nexen and Stork over the course of about 6 months.
Contact: Tracey Miller
