Hydrocarbon Leak on MOL Pump

Cause & Consequence

• Uncontrolled release of a flammable gas or liquid

Incident Location

Fixed Installation

Incident Activity

Production operations

Specific Incident Equipment

MOL Pump (B) and a Flow Control Valve

Lessons Identified

• The available torqueing equipment could not properly access all of the bolts on the joint due to layout and space constraints

• There was a lack of manufacturer’s information on board the installation for reference, namely; correct torque settings and static design pressure of mechanical seal

• There was no torque setting/specification history from previous work on this equipment.

Incident Recommendations

• Failed gasket sent to suppliers to determine specific failure mode
• Appropriate torqueing tools acquired to address limited access to the MOL pump area
• Improved traceability of leak test process by introduction of leak test folder with method statements and leak test certification