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What happened?
A crude oil transfer pump (CTOP) began to exhibit high vibrations which activated an alarm in the control centre.
The pump then tripped on low seal oil pressure.
An operator entered the pump area and saw a spray of hydrocarbon 4-5metres (13-16.5 feet) in radius coming from the pump location.
The operator activated emergency shut down (ESD).
The spray of hydrocarbon was from a damaged seal on the non-drive end of the COTP.
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Why did it happen?
The seal damage was found to be caused by excessive vibration as a result of the failure of the non-drive end bearing.
The bearing failure occurred due to lack of lubrication by the oil slinging ring, which was incorrectly angled (slinging oil out of the bearing) due to the incorrect installation of the journal sleeve.
The pump bearings have been changed a month prior to the incident during repairs of a faulty seal on the COTP (internal leak with no loss of containment and no relations to this event). During the repairs:
- There weren’t enough workers were on site to perform the task, resulting in a supervisor forming part of the work team.
- The team felt pressured to complete the work under-resourced.
- They had insufficient process documentation on site.
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What did they learn?
Make sure that there are always enough workers to complete the tasks, so others are not assigned to replace them.
Confirm that all inspection and work plans are available in workshops and on site.
Ensure that all work procedures and documentation are specific and include adequately sized assembly drawings.
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Ask yourself or your crew
What is the worst that could have happened?
How can you identify faulty seals/bearings before an incident occurs?
How often do we carry out inspections on our equipment? Should we do it more often?
Have you ever worked in a team with not enough people to perform the task, or where you felt pressured to rush? What happened?
Do you have all the procedures and documentation you need to do your job properly? If not, what should you do?
What measures do we have in place to prevent this from happening on our site? How can we improve?
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Published on 17/06/21
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A crude oil transfer pump (CTOP) tripped on low seal oil pressure. An operator entered the pump area and saw a spray of hydrocarbon 4-5 metres (13-16.5 feet) radius coming from the pump location.
