P 85
JERP-execution experience
During the interim period between DTA and JERP, as the marketing project team implemented GRP vessels for Petroleum retail outlets, the management thought we can utilize the large bore GRP pipes with sleeve joints as best choice for sea water transfer system. As M/S Amiantit , a Goa based company only served that objective, they were contacted for exploring that possibility. But M/S Bechtel was dead against it since they had bitter experience with GRP piping implementation in one of their Chinese project. Reliance overturned that objection and decided to go with GRP piping. Considering the transport logistics and number of trips/load factors etc. It was decided that to opt for two diameters- 66" and 60" , so that they can be sleeved one in another and transport logistics were finalized. The party was given turn key contract as far as laying and testing; but the base civil works like trench cutting, bed preparation , load bearing points at turning radius etc. were in the scope of Reliance/Bechtel. Here came the crux of the issue! As the GRP pipe supplier did not have engineering back ground of pipe laying, they were clueless. Added to the misery, none in construction applied the fundamental rule of pipe laying with sleeve joints. Moreover, since Jamnagar site soil is full of rocky strata, people concerned overlooked the need for smooth and uniform bed preparation before lowering the pipes. Over and above these, the construction management failed to understand that the sleeve piping should not be taken in patches! So they cleared the trenching contractor to carry out trench digging at various fronts thinking that the pipe laying contractor can proceed fast. But the misery was that wherever the patch was ending, the end piping was projecting upwards; whenever sleeve was introduced to join the next pipe, it became a vertical cone. When a segment was taken for hydro-test, the joint was giving away and test failed. As the party did not have expertise, they failed miserably and as contractor they could not justify the faults in bed preparation. The end result was that the system could not pass even the line operating pressure conditions in both the diameter pipelines and panic set in at site. That forced the top management to organize some by pass arrangement with DTA executed sea water lines and managed the commissioning of JERP.
Having seen the issues with sea water transport pipelines, let us move to Cooling towers! As we had additional plants of Alkylation and Clean fuel projects in JERP and planned 5000 M3/Hr MED desalination modules, the cooling water capacity requirement increased very much. Also since we had bad experience of wind storm blowing away the wooden construction CTs, we changed the design for concrete towers with the same cell capacity size of 3150 M3/hr/cell. As at that time M/S Paharpur did not have design/experience with concrete towers, tender was floated to various international bidders. There too we looked for sweet water and sea water as media. The sea water tower was exclusively for usage with Desalination requirement and discharge brine cooling.
The requirement was for 6 towers for sweet water and one for sea water and they were all geographically distance apart and came under different plant areas and different construction management. Contd....
Key Aspects :- Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Technical issue
JERP-execution experience
During the interim period between DTA and JERP, as the marketing project team implemented GRP vessels for Petroleum retail outlets, the management thought we can utilize the large bore GRP pipes with sleeve joints as best choice for sea water transfer system. As M/S Amiantit , a Goa based company only served that objective, they were contacted for exploring that possibility. But M/S Bechtel was dead against it since they had bitter experience with GRP piping implementation in one of their Chinese project. Reliance overturned that objection and decided to go with GRP piping. Considering the transport logistics and number of trips/load factors etc. It was decided that to opt for two diameters- 66" and 60" , so that they can be sleeved one in another and transport logistics were finalized. The party was given turn key contract as far as laying and testing; but the base civil works like trench cutting, bed preparation , load bearing points at turning radius etc. were in the scope of Reliance/Bechtel. Here came the crux of the issue! As the GRP pipe supplier did not have engineering back ground of pipe laying, they were clueless. Added to the misery, none in construction applied the fundamental rule of pipe laying with sleeve joints. Moreover, since Jamnagar site soil is full of rocky strata, people concerned overlooked the need for smooth and uniform bed preparation before lowering the pipes. Over and above these, the construction management failed to understand that the sleeve piping should not be taken in patches! So they cleared the trenching contractor to carry out trench digging at various fronts thinking that the pipe laying contractor can proceed fast. But the misery was that wherever the patch was ending, the end piping was projecting upwards; whenever sleeve was introduced to join the next pipe, it became a vertical cone. When a segment was taken for hydro-test, the joint was giving away and test failed. As the party did not have expertise, they failed miserably and as contractor they could not justify the faults in bed preparation. The end result was that the system could not pass even the line operating pressure conditions in both the diameter pipelines and panic set in at site. That forced the top management to organize some by pass arrangement with DTA executed sea water lines and managed the commissioning of JERP.
Having seen the issues with sea water transport pipelines, let us move to Cooling towers! As we had additional plants of Alkylation and Clean fuel projects in JERP and planned 5000 M3/Hr MED desalination modules, the cooling water capacity requirement increased very much. Also since we had bad experience of wind storm blowing away the wooden construction CTs, we changed the design for concrete towers with the same cell capacity size of 3150 M3/hr/cell. As at that time M/S Paharpur did not have design/experience with concrete towers, tender was floated to various international bidders. There too we looked for sweet water and sea water as media. The sea water tower was exclusively for usage with Desalination requirement and discharge brine cooling.
The requirement was for 6 towers for sweet water and one for sea water and they were all geographically distance apart and came under different plant areas and different construction management. Contd....
Key Aspects :- Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Technical issue
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