RR430 - Offshore gas turbines (and major driven equipment) integrity and inspection guidance notes
Gas turbines are widely used offshore for a variety of purposes including power generation, compression, pumping and water injection. Relatively little information is included in safety cases, for example only the manufacture, model, power rating (MW), fuel types, and installation drawings showing the location of the turbines. Some descriptive text may be included on the power generation package, back-up generators and arrangements for power transmission to satellite platforms. Information on integrity management and maintenance is limited or at a high level.
This Inspection Guidance Note provides a more detailed assessment of gas turbines (GTs) and major driven equipment installed on UK offshore installations, focussing on integrity and maintenance issues. This complements the advice in HSE Guidance Note PM84, recently re-issued, covering control of risks for gas turbines used in power generation and HSE Research Report RR076 which provides general guidance on rotating equipment including turbines. The applications, systems and components of offshore gas turbines are reviewed. Guidance is given on the integrity issues and maintenance typical for different systems. Summaries are given of database information on the turbines installed on UK installations together with recent incident and accident data. Recent experience and anecdotal information from operators is also reviewed. The inspection guidance note is principally designed to provide information for HSE inspectors in safety assessments, incident investigations and prior to site visits. The note may also be of interest to manufacturers, suppliers and operators of gas turbines (GTs) used offshore.
This report and the work it describes was co-funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the EU's Fifth Framework Programme of Research. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
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