DESIGN TIPS FOR ENGINEERING

P&IDs

■ Notes: Minimize. Insert short notes inside P&ID. Common repeated

notes in Legend Sheets
■ Add caution box e.g. “Do NOT drain under pressure”. “Purge the
firebox before lighting a burner”. Glossy operating manuals stay
locked in glass cabinets. P&ID Caution Boxes help in daily operation
■ Don’t run flare/drain/utility headers across P&IDs. Piping connections
are NOT as in P&IDs but are based on physical location. 1 cm in a
P&ID may be a 1 km away in a plant. Route the connections to a box
marked HP/ LP Flare; Open /Closed Drain; CM/HM Supply/ Return
etc

Wellheads & Flowlines

■ Riser SDV: Avoid 2” pressurisation across SDV to avoid small bore

pipe rupture due to dropped objects. Pressurise the downstream
cavity with diesel via a portable pump. Or go for a 4” line
■ Choke: High upstream pressure during start-up may result in low
temperature in downstream piping, brittle failure, hydrate / icing
blockage. Add a P&D Caution Box: “Throttle choke and pressurise
slowly watching for low temperature/ icing downstream”. Best:
Pressurise with diesel. Use suitable metallurgy
■ Waxy Oil: High pour point oils cool, congeal and plug. Plugged lines
impose high backpressure on pumps/wells and make restart difficult.
Heat trace/ insulate/ flush the lines with hot water (produced or
seawater) as soon production is stopped
 ■ HIPPS: It takes time to sense and close HIPPS valves. Perform
transient analysis and check Process Safety Time (PST) w.r.t
downstream obstruction/ hydrate blockage. Provide minimum length
of HP piping (fortified section) downstream of HIPPS valve to allow
pressure build up during PST. Locate HP/LP break accordingly. Add a
PSV in LP section sized for 2*HIPPS valve leak rates, per API 14C
and 14H. No PSV for export pipeline as it’s large volume can handle
pressure spikes
■ Lower Rated Inlet Header: PSV sized for 2 out of 5 wells, an old rule
of thumb. Do SIL study to decide SDVs failure to close on demand to
size PSV
■ Production Header / Flowlines: Mark in P&ID: “Slug prone lines.
Support properly”. New hire pipers miss
■ Water Injection line: P&ID Caution Box: “Oil, Gas and H2S may
backflow. Caution while breaking flanges”
■ No small-bore fittings or instruments take-off outside of well SDV
envelopes. See Safety Alert

Pipelines

■ Offshore SSIV Location: Dropped objects or boat hit damage riser or

pipeline. SSIVs minimize inboard (platform side) inventory and
release. Assist if Riser SDV fails to close or passes during a topsides
fire. (1) Min distance: Dropped object = Crane Boom + Water depth.
DNV 107 5.3.3. Assumes 45° deflection when dropped object hits
sea surface. If water depth is 100 m, drop point is 100 m away from
surface hit. (2) Max distance: Safety Zone or no-go area for vessels.
≈ 500m. SSIVs not required for oil lines; only for gas lines in shallow
waters. Not for deep waters: large inboard inventory renders SSIV
use questionable. In <100m waters, locate risers inside jacket as
boat hits are common than dropped objects.
Pig Launchers/ Receivers

■ Occasional ID mismatch with pipeline creates operational problems.

P&ID Note: “IDs of minor barrel, outlet valve bore and main line
should match”
■ Design Pressure: Usually same as upstream. Upstream PSV sized
for all demands except fire. Usually thermal PSV. Launchers/
Receivers are kept isolated at atmospheric pressure - filled with N2 or
HC gas. Practice varies + H2S level. PSV required if designed to
ASME. No PSV to pipeline code. Agree early
■ Pressure Balance: Add 2” line with a Normally Open valve, from inlet
piping to door end to equalize pressure across a pig stuck in neck.
Allows simultaneous venting from either end of a pig before opening
door. Unrelieved pressure upstream of pig will shoot it out causing
injury. See Safety Alert. Balance line helps to keep lower dP across a
pig preventing sudden pig movement that can damage it and valves
while launching or receiving
■ Drain: Close to the door in Receiver. Close to outlet in Launcher.
Mark slope towards drain
■ Nozzles: Minimize holes. All tappings for vent, UC, PSV and PI from
2” balance line
■ Door: P&ID note: “Door to face seaside or fence.” (Precaution against
pigs that may fly off!)
■ Drip Tray: Below door with a drain line (no valve) terminating at the
nearest Open Drain funnel
■ Dead leg: Potential dead leg in the cavity between DBB valves. High
corrosion.