Vibration diagnosis to increase oil production and limit flaring – TotalEnergies

The Tempa Rossa power plant is one of the most advanced in the oil industry. Located in southern Italy, it is operated by TotalEnergies. The aim is to produce 50,000 barrels of oil and 230,000 m3 of natural gas per day. Bureau Vertias, Vibratec’s contact, assisted TotalEnergies in the operation of the oil field.

Prior to the Vibratec diagnosis, the production rate was around 30,000 barrels per day, and there were cracked SBCs on the discharge line of the second stage of the sales gas compressor. Each SBC crack required the compressor to be shut down for repair, followed by a restart and a flare visible in the Sauro valley, which posed problems of acceptability to the neighborhood.

The contact included several questions:

• How soon can Vibratec experts visit the site?
• How quickly can they propose solutions?
• Why do the SBCs fail? How can these failures be prevented?
• Do the SBCs need to be removed or relocated? Are the brackets properly designed? Is it necessary to change their position?
• What production rate can be achieved with Vibratec’s solutions?

This type of problem often involves complex issues with many possible root causes. A methodical approach was needed to answer all TotalEnergies / BV’s questions.

Step 1: Document analysis

All available data and the history of the problem were analyzed by a cross-functional team.

Step 2: On-site diagnostics and root cause analysis

A field analysis was required to assess the problem. Measurements were taken in carefully selected areas and process conditions. Dynamic pressures, vibration levels and deformations were analyzed, enabling critical areas to be defined.

Step 3: Mitigation measures

There are many possible causes for pipe failures and high vibration levels in rotating equipment.

• Resonance of the supporting structure,
• Pipe resonance,
• Component resonance,
• Internal component fault (valve, cooler, etc.),
• Pulsation problem,
• Ineffective support system.

Specific solutions were proposed depending on the origin of the problem.

Step 4: Implementation

TotalEnergies applied the recommended mitigation measures.

Step 5: On-site inspection

In this sensitive case, TotalEnergies wanted to ensure that the piping system with the solutions implemented could indeed support the final production target; Vibratec was invited on site to confirm levels and conclude the project.

• Two Vibratec experts were on-site less than a week after receiving the order.
• On-site diagnostic mission with minimum impact on production.
• After a week of investigations, targeted measurements and close interaction with on-site personnel, initial solutions were proposed on site. A comprehensive set of analyses and practical solutions was presented in the final report, after post-processing and analysis of the measurement data.
• Three additional pieces of rotating equipment were verified on-site to help improve production.