800 Offshore Facilities

Abstract
This section covers regulations, guidelines, drawings and references, and piping practices that are unique to offshore producing facilities. It is not a comprehensive guide to offshore piping design or construction. It attempts to highlight some offshore practices that differ from the practices discussed in the rest of this manual. For details on routine design procedures or pieces of equipment the user is directed to other sections of this manual and other Company manuals. The cross reference guide in Section 50 will help locate information in other manuals. Contents 810 820 821 822 823 830 840 850 851 852 860 General Considerations Codes, Regulations, and Legal Requirements 30 CFR 250 API RP 14E ANSI/ASME B31.3 Pressure Design Piping Practices Maintainability Coating Maintenance Equipment Access Piping Specifications 800-9 800-4 800-4 800-5 Page 800-2 800-3

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810 General Considerations

Because offshore facilities are generally more congested than comparable ones onshore, the design should minimize the size, weight, and amount of piping material. Offshore piping cannot tolerate pipeline leaks of any kind. Environmental regulations that impose large punitive penalties for product spills provide incentive to design conservatively. This means that the designer must add a generous corrosion allowance, pay particular attention to materials of construction and make full use of welded and confined joints. The specifications and practices used are very conservative and are fully embraced by most government agencies as strict requirements. As a general rule, offshore piping costs at least twice as much as piping onshore. Piping modifications made once a platform is installed are even more costly. Piping should be fabricated onshore to the greatest extent practical. Also, hot work permits for welding on platforms are discouraged, because often the entire platform production is shut in while welding is underway. In addition to all the important considerations listed in Section 700 for onshore, the following apply to offshore piping.

Piping Layout
Most of the information in Section 320 applies to offshore facilities. However, space is more limited. Piping should generally be overhead, in centralized racks, or under the deck. The last choice is on top of the deck, because this choice limits access to equipment.

Materials
Painted carbon steel is recommended. Copper, brass, or aluminum should not be used in a salt environment.

Fabrication
Threaded piping is not recommended for hydrocarbon service. Connections over water should be minimized. All lines should have flanges installed periodically so sections can be removed for modification without undue disturbance to operations. Sour service piping must conform to NACE Code MR-01-75, latest edition. Leave random length connections on shop-fabricated spoolsmake the last weld on the platform. 100% shop-fabricated spools seldom fit.

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820 Codes, Regulations, and Legal Requirements

The design and installation of piping systems for offshore producing facilities in United States waters are covered by the following regulations, in order of precedence: Code of Federal Regulations Title 30, Part 250 (30 CFR 250), Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf API RP 14E, Recommended Practice for Design and Installation of Offshore Production Platform Piping Systems ANSI/ASME B31.3, Chemical Plant and Petroleum Refinery Piping

Some areas of operation outside the U.S., such as the North Sea, have entirely different, more stringent regulations. Other areas such as offshore Africa have less stringent ones. It is outside the scope of this manual to present all the possible permutations of these laws. The engineer should determine what regulations are applicable in his area of operation. These regulations provide the solid and proven basis on which the Company's guidelines are built. As such they should be considered the minimum requirements. The Company's recommendations should exceed them where practical experience has proven the need for more stringent guidelines. This subsection discusses how Company practices interact with the listed regulations.

821 30 CFR 250

30 CFR 250 replaced the OCS Orders in 1988. It is comprehensive and incorporates, by reference, numerous other industry standards. Although it is not provided in this manual, we recommend that each location dealing with offshore facilities obtain a copy of 30 CFR 250.

822 API RP 14E

The following excerpt is from API RP 14E Section 1.1, Scope: This document recommends minimum requirements and guidelines for the design and installation of new piping systems on production platforms located offshore. The maximum design pressure within the scope of this document is 10,000 psig and the temperature range is -20F to 650F. We highly recommend that anyone dealing with offshore production facilities become familiar with this document as it contains many sound practices and incorporates others by reference. A copy of API RP 14E can be found in Volume 2 of this manual. Additional detailed comments are not warranted at this time because API RP 14E is currently under revision.

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823 ANSI/ASME B31.3

ANSI/ASME B31.3 is discussed at some length in Sections 200 and 300 of this manual. Essential piping design information including a table of maximum allowable working pressures for various sizes of pipe is contained in API RP 14E.

830 Pressure Design

Offshore piping design is divided into two areas; on platform and off platform. Onplatform piping pressure design is based on ANSI/ASME B31.3, which is covered in Sections 200 and 300 of this manual. Off-platform piping (pipeline) is designed per 29 CFR 192 and 29 CFR 195 (which reference ANSI/ASME B31.4 and B31.8) and is covered in Section 900 of the Pipeline Manual. For more discussion of the limits of jurisdiction between 30 CFR 250, 29 CFR 192, 29 CFR 195, and ANSI B31.3, refer to Chevron Pipeline Companys Guide to Pipeline Safety Regulations, the Pipeline Manual, and the codes themselves.

840 Piping Practices

Offshore piping practices are the same as for onshore piping but in a more confined space. The discussion below amplifies practices that exceed those covered in Section 700 for onshore piping.

Wellhead Flowline Piping

Wellheads on offshore facilities are normally spaced very close together (5 to 7 feet apart) and manifolded into common lines leading to processing equipment. These common lines are equipped with target tees rather than ells to keep sand or other materials from eroding the fitting. Common lines may also be constructed by use of spools with self-energizing connections (Grayloc or equal). These spools can be easily replaced if they become corroded or eroded.

Threaded Piping
No piping NPS 2 or larger shall be threaded. Threaded piping vulnerable to vibration fatigue, high external loads or mechanical damage should be seal (or bridge) welded, and securely braced, if possible. All threaded connections or piping attached to process hydrocarbon tanks and vessels should be seal welded up to and including the first block valve. No threaded fittings (e.g., thredolets) should be directly attached to process hydrocarbon tanks or vessels. Connections should be made by using NPS 1 (minimum) weld neck flange. Connections smaller than NPS 1, except for instrument leads, are discouraged.

Drain Piping
All vessel and instrument bridle drains should be connected to a pressure drain system to confine hydrocarbon vapors.

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All floor drains should be equipped with traps to prevent back flow of gases. The minimum size of these lines should be NPS 4, and they should have a slope of inch per foot and a cleanout every fifty feet or at changes in direction. Deck penetrations must have collars.

850 Maintainability
Offshore facilities have certain design considerations that are unique due to the conditions found there. These conditions include: Harsh environment with high external corrosion rates Relatively limited space for equipment and piping Difficulty in obtaining support services such as mobile cranes

This section emphasizes maintenance and accessibility while considering the unique conditions related to piping design and installation.

851 Coating Maintenance

The Coatings Manual provides information on coatings selection and installation. However, even the best system can fail if there are moisture traps between two metallic surfaces cells. A prime example of this can be found in pipe supports where the pipe rests against an angle iron or beam and is held in place with standard Ubolts. Although this is a simple way to support piping, the pipe invariably corrodes at the supports. Several methods to eliminate this problem are shown in Figures 800-1 through 800-5. If piping is permanently fixed, use the configurations shown in Figures 800-1 through 800-3. If piping needs to be removable for servicing equipment or other reasons, use the types shown in Figures 800-4 and 800-5. All of the pipe supports shown eliminate moisture traps directly against the pipe, thereby lessening the chance of localized corrosion. The use of rubber also minimizes vibration. Another area of consideration in coating maintenance is adequate space to allow surface preparation and recoating. Some examples include spaces between pipe, between pipes and decks or beams, and deck penetrations. Clearance of 2 to 3 inches between parallel surfaces should be adequate for most systems. A typical deck penetration is shown in Figure 800-6.

852 Equipment Access

Most of the information in Section 320 is applicable to offshore facilities. However, the space you have to work with is usually more limited. Piping should be routed to allow removal of equipment. If this cannot be done, the piping should be provided with removable spool pieces. Piping should generally be overhead, in centralized racks, or under the deck. The last choice is on top of the deck, because this choice limits access for operating and maintaining equipment.

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Fig. 800-1

Flow Line Supports Type A and B

Pipe spools, machinery, and valves tend to be heavy and bulky. If they cant be lifted directly by the structure crane, alternative lifting and moving methods should be furnished. These include overhead hoists and trolley systems and adequate walkways for truck dollies. Lifting equipment should be sited so it can readily handle most equipment without the need for a derrick barge. Careful foresight and planning for equipment changeout will not only forestall potential injury to operating personnel, but also foster good working relations. Finally, adequate space must be provided so that equipment can be moved horizontally to the edge of the platform for loading onto a service boat and shipment to shore.

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Fig. 800-2

Flow Line Support Type D

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Fig. 800-3

Flow Line Supports Type J

Fig. 800-4

Flow Line Support Type C

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860 Piping Specifications

Various producing organizations have developed their own piping practices for offshore facilities, to fit their particular region, for the same reasons as discussed in Section 700, Onshore Facilities. Although these specifications are too voluminous to present in this section, several that may be useful may be obtained as noted below: Specification SP-50-1 (Platform Hidalgo): General Design Piping Specification. Available from CUSA Western Region Production Department. Specification SP-409801-50-1 (Platform Hermosa): General Design Piping Specifications. Available from CUSA Western Region Production Department. Specification C-P-001 (Platform Gail): General Piping Construction Specification. Available from CUSA Western Region Production Department. General Specification for Fabrication of Miscellaneous Structures and Equipment and Field Construction Work. Available from CUSA Eastern Region Production Department.

These or similar specifications should be consulted before developing a new offshore piping specification, because they contain a wealth of practical details about offshore piping. One of the main tools used to describe piping specifications is the piping classification sheet, as shown in Section 700 and the Corporation Piping Specification.

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Fig. 800-5

Flow Line Support Type E

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Fig. 800-6

Deck Penetration Collar

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