THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

88-GT-249
^
y 345 E. 47 St., New York, N.Y. 10017
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cussion at meetings of the Society or of its Divisions or Sections or printed in its publications
M Discussion is printed only if the paper is published in an ASME Journal. Papers are available
]^C ® from ASME for fifteen months after the meeting_
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Copyright © 1988 by ASME

Gas Turbine Application Over Thirty Years

in a Middle East Oil Production Facility

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PATRICK J. NORRIS
Specialist—Rotating & Reciprocating
Equipment
JOHN CUNNINGHAM
Superintendent Special Duties
Kuwait Oil Company
Ahmadi—Kuwait.

ABSTRACT CONTENTS

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has 1. INTRODUCTION

installed and operated gas turbines since
1957. There are currently 79 Gas Turbines 2. PIONEER APPLICATION OF GAS TURBINES AT
ranging in size from 700 to 33,000 H.P. KOC.
of various types, from industrial to
aero-derivative. 3. EARLY APPLICATION CONCEPTS FOR THE GAS
Gas turbines provide more than half a TURBINE.
million in horsepower, which is more than
80% of the power, for machinery and power 4. THE RUSTON MODEL TA GAS TURBINE.
generation at KOC.
4.1 Development/Modifications of
This paper covers the introduction TA-1250 Turbine Discs & Disc
and the rappid growth of gas turbine power Cooling.
at KOC. Operational sites at KOC are
subject to severe heat, dust and humidity. 4.2 Problems with Combustion Hardware.
The experience in the operation and
maintenance in the early years of the gas 4.3 Problems with Accessories and
turbines at KOC are described. Supporting Equipment.

Gas turbines have played a major role 4.4 Turbine Controls

in the success of the Company.
4.5 Overhauls

4.6 Vibration Criteria

5. OTHER GAS TURBINE AT KOC

6. SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION
This paper covers experiences in the The oil era started in Kuwait in the 1930's,
application of gas turbines at the with the formation in 1934 of the Kuwait Oil
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), production Company by Gulf Oil & Anglo- Persian Oil
facilities. (later BP). In December of that year, the
formal concession was signed. In February
To set the scene a brief history of 1938, Burgan "One" well came in as a gusher
oil in Kuwait is herewith presented. and this early success was followed by more
wells which confirmed the earlier hopes of
extensive production. The advent of World

Presented at the Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress

Amsterdam, The Netherlands—June 6-9, 1988
War II interrupted production and it
was not until 30th June 1946 that the
first crude oil exports were made.
At this time there was one refinery in
operation with a total capacity of
250,000 barrels per day. By 1983 oil
production had peaked to 1,097,718,782
barrels per year (over 3 million
barrels per day).
Negotiations for nationalisation of
Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) which
recommenced in the early seventies
culminated with full control by the
State of Kuwait in 1975.
In January 1980, Kuwait Petroleum
Corporation (KPC) was established to
bring together several nationally
owned companies operating in the
fields of oil production, processing
petro-chemicals and transportation.
KOC, now one of a group of KPC
companies, assumes the responsibility
for exploration and production of oil
and gas, within Kuwait. It is one of,
the largest oil production companies
in the world. There are now three
refineries which operate under the KPC
Corporation, they have a total
capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
PIONEER APPLICATION OF GAS TURBINES AT
KOC
Gas turbines played a major role in
the early years of KOC's history. As
far back as 1957 the Ruston Model
TA-1250 was installed in Oil Gathering
Centre (GC) No.11 followed by two more
at GC-12 in the same year, two at
GC-13 in 1958 one at GC-14 in 1959,
three in 1960 and one in 1964 at
GC-15. The 10th TA-1250 was installed
at GC-8 in 1968. These ten TA-1250's,
plus another seven more installed
subsequently are still in operation,
are driving crude oil pumps and
generators.
EARLY APPLICATION CONCEPTS FOR THE GAS
TURBINE
Messrs Ruston and Horsby Ltd., U.K.,
having established a world wide
reputation for their land and marine
diesel engines embarked upon the
design and development of a 1,070 H.P.
industrial gas turbine in early 1945
when it was realised that war time
developments in the field of the aero
gas turbine had paved the way for an
industrial unit. (See Reference 1).
It was then appreciated that the
thermal efficiency (with heat
2
exchanger) could not be expected to
exceed 25%, but it was felt that
despite this handicap, the gas turbine
would be suitable for power plants in
which low fuel consumption is of
secondary importance to lightness of
construction, portability, ease of
maintenance, and for the generation of
power in areas where water is scarce or
not available.
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An article in the Readers Digest of
November 1943, titled "Tornado in a Box"
(Reference 2) noted that
".........future possibilities of the
gas turbine are exciting. The gas
turbine may revolutionise aviation by
making really big planes possible". The
article also mentions that the gas
turbine could be used as a power plant
for ships, to drive an automobile, to
pump water or grind corn. In these
early years of gas turbine development
it is doubtful if anyone foresaw the
major role that gas turbines would play
in the multi-billion dollar business of
oil/gas production and transmission in
the next two decades. Gas turbines
capable of operating in hostile
environments were a vital need in the
remote corners of the globe where oil
fields and gas field were discovered.
Kuwait is a typical example of such a
location. Here the gas turbine played a
vital role not only in oil and gas
production but also in the subsequent
rapid development of the City and State
of Kuwait. The utilities throughout the
State use gas turbines with current
installed capacity of some 400 Mega
Watts.
THE RUSTON MODEL TA GAS TURBINE
The model TA was the first range of
production turbines manufactured by
Messrs. Ruston and Hornsby Ltd.,
Lincoln, U.K. The design, manufacturing
and operational experience for the
proto-type TA was derived from the first
Ruston Turbine described in Reference 1.
However while Ruston's first turbine was
a recuperated unit, the TA version that
proved to be so popular was the simple
cycle TA.
The Model TA-1250, seventeen of which
are still in service at KOC, is a very
reliable machine and one of the most
successful small industrial turbines of
all times, worldwide. It owes much of
its success to the team of engineers
(that came from the Power Jets Company)
headed by Dr.Robert Fielden at Ruston.
The Operating Cycle of the TA-1250 is
presented in the Schematic of Fig. 1
below: Fig.l

AIR INLET COMPRESSOR COMPRESSOR TURBINE

(13 STAGE, P,R: 4:15) (2 STAGE.)
IS ° C

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60F
187.0 .y REDUCTION
14.7 P 475° C
368F 887° F y^hF;., GEAR
61 P ,y;4-"''. i
14.7 P

STARTER
11500 R.P.M. ,.0 • •. 6000 R.P.M. I 1560 RP.M
DRIVE

754C 570° C
_ tt ' . 1390F 1060F
60P 24 P
BURNER -.

POWER TURBINE
( 2 STAGE)

OPERATING CYCLE
FOR RUSTON TA-1250

The components of the TA-1250 Gas Generator The functional design of this first
Suction are shown in the illustration of generation gas turbine is noticeable.
Fig. 2 below:

Fig. 2

TA-1250 Gas generator unit

I. Compressor turbine casing

2. C.T. inlet casing
3. Cross-over duct
4. Air inlet duct

5. Combustion chamber
6. Air inlet casing
7. Compressor
8• Compressor outlet volute

3
Specifications and Data for the Ruston
TA-1250 are listed below:

RUSTAN TA-1250
ENGINE DATA

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Power

Normal Rating - At sea level and air inlet 1300 B.H.P.

temperature of 60°F (15°C).
Site Rating - For each 1000 feet (300 metres)
above sea level reduce normal
rating by 37j%.
For each 10°F (5.5°C) above
60°F (15°C) reduce normal
rating by 5%.
For each 10° F (5.5°C) below
60°F (15°C) to a minimum of
45 ° F (7.2°C) increase normal
rating by 5%.

Note 1. Maximum permissible site rating is 1550 BHP. for 1500 and
1800 r.p.m. gearboxes and 1420 BHP for 1100 r.p.m. gearboxes.

Note 2. At ambient temperature below 45°F. the correction for

temperature given above becomes inaccurate and site ratings
will be quoted for specific installations.

Gas Temperature

Design Maximum - At normal rating 727°C (1340 ° F)

Safety Device - High temperature warning 750°C (1382°F)
- High temperature shut-down 7700C (1418°F)

Speed

Compressor Turbine - At normal rating 11,500 rpm. approx.

Power Turbine 6,000 r.p.m.
Output Shaft - Dependent on gearbox ratio.
Overspeed - Shut-down 10% above rated
speed.
Permanent Droop - No load to full load 4% of rated speed.

Lubricating ii 1

Pressure - Normal operating 20 lb/sq.i'n.

(1.4 kg/cm 2 )
Temperature - Maximum operating 66°C (150°F)
Safety Device - Low pressure - Shut-down 13 lb/sq.in .
(0.9 kg/cm 2 )
- High temperature - Warning 66°C (150°F)
- High temperature - Shut-down 74°C (165°F)

Specifications

Lubricating Oil - First quality steam turbine

lubricant to SAE.lO viscosity
grade.
Fuel - Distillate - BSS.2869 (1957) Class A or
equivalent.
Fuel - Gas - Dry natural gas
Other fuels as agreed by R. & H.

4
The first TA -1250 was installed at Gathering
Centre No.11. Recently obtained photographs
of this installation are presented below in
fig. 3:
This TA -1250 has been in operation as a driver for
a crude oil pump since 1957 and has completed
166,259 hours up to October 31, 1987. The driven
unit is a MATHER AND PLANT PLATT Centrifugal pump
operating at 1710 rpm with a flow of 2538 g.p.m.

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at 711 ft. head.

ri

1T (flw1rT

Fig. No.3
TA-1250 INSTALLATION AT GATHERING CENTRE No. 11
 The start cycle on the TA-1250 is When 5,500 R.P.M. is reached, the catch should be lifted and the
manually controlled by the operator handwheel slowly moved towards the Run position until the governor
via a hand-wheel that can be seen on takes control (indicated by a momentary drop in fuel pressure).

the left top corner of the control NOTE Should the burner fail to light, the wheel should be moved
cabinet shown in fig.3 photograph of back to Position I for the cause to be investigated. The wheel can-
not be returned to the OFF position unless the catch on the wheel is
the GC-11 installation. It is lifted. This is to prevent the lubricating oil supply being cut off
necessary for the operator to whilst the compressor is still revolving.
constantly monitor the pressure, g. Move the control wheel to the RUN position.
temperature and speed indicators on
the control panel to ensure that The starting circuits are now broken and the output shaft will be
running at the speed selected and under control of the governor.
limitations are not exceeded. In
those early times when the TA-1250 The set can now accept load, the output shaft speed adjusted after
the application of load by means of the speed control switch.
was installed at KOC it was necessary

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that turbine operators be adequately
trained and to be alert to observe
and take action for malfunctions
during manual start. In our current The Seventeen TA-1250 Turbines at
high technology status of automatic KOC have accumulated 2,193,149
start units,it is educative to hours up to Oct. 31, 1987.
perform a manually controlled start Experiences with the TA-1250
on a turbine. turbines are described below:

The following extracted from the

TA-1250 manual, lists the procedures
and the precautions to be observed 4.1 Development/Modifications ot
when executing a manual starting TA-1250 Turbine Discs
sequence on the TA-1250 Turbine:

IMPORTANT The starting sequence should be limited, if possible, to Early models of the Ruston
approximately 1 minute in order to avoid excessive discharge of the
batteries.
TA-1250 Turbines at KOC used
REX-448 material for the
Should any of the safety devices come into operation, DO NOT compressor turbine disc.
ATTEMPT TO RF-START the Turbine without first ascertaining the 'clause Because of blade root failures
of the shut-down. Throughout the starting sequence, the intermediate
duct gas temperature should be observed closely, and should not be,
al-
on the TA Turbines at Iraq
lowed to exceed 575 ° C (1067 ° F) If this tempeirature is exceeded con- Petroleum Co., Ruston had
trol wheel should be moved back slightly until the temperature drops. introduced Nimonic 80 discs.
If the temperature continues to rise above this limiting figure, return
the control wheel to Position 1, allow the compressor to come to rest This change out of turbine discs
and carry out the starting sequence again, this time rotating the was implemented on the KOC
control handwheel at a slower rate.
turbines, and thereby pre-empted
STARTING on KOC turbines the occurrences
a.
of turbine disc problems.
Ensure that the required electrical switches are made and the fuel
valves open.

b. Move the control wheel to Position 1.

4.2 Problems with Cumbustion Harware

The auxiliaries ON lamp will light and the normal engine oil preb- The main problem with the early
sure should be recorded on the gauge. Fuel will be circulating models of the TA Turbine was at
freely through the governor fuel valve.
the combustion chamber diffuser
c. Move the, control wheel towards and into Position 2. cone. This diffuser cone had
The starter motor will commence to rotate. When the compressor
three dowel pin location holes
speed reaches 700-800 R.P.M. as indicated on the compressor speed from which cracks frequently
indicator, the handwheel may be moved into the next position. occurred and resulted poor flame
d. Move the control wheel to Position 3. distribution and also in down
time for execution of repairs or
The igniter circuits are completed and when the igniter light-up is change out of the cone.
seen through the observation window in the combustion chamber, the
control wheel can again be rotated further.
Design modifications by Rustons
e. Move the control wheel to Position L.
consisted in incorporation of an
The starter mdtor resistance is by-passed, and as the compressor adjustable combustion chamber
speed increases, the wheel may be moved slowly toward Position 5. back end. The swirler back end
f. Move the Control Wheel to Position 5. was subsequently introduced by
Ruston to replace the previous
The fuel pressure will slowly increase and fuel flow to the burner
will commence and ohould be ignited immediately by the igniter back end modification.
flame.

The handwheelmust remain in Position 5 until the compressor speed

reaches 5,5 00 H.P.M. A Catch on the index plate ensures a positive
stop at this position, and the catch must not be released to allow
further rotation until the above speed is attained.

The turbine will become self-supporting at a compressor speed of

about 4.,500 R.P.M. at which speed the starter motor will be auto-
matically switched off.

6
4.3 Problems with Accessories and
Supporting Equipment
Air filtration: The early TA
Turbines had Vokes "Micro -Vee", dry
element, cleanable air filters
which under Kuwait weather
conditions demanded very frequent
maintenance. However downtime for
filter maintenance was avoided by
transfer to the standby filter via
a manually operated flap valve.
The Vokes dry element filters were
later replaced by Viscosine oil
screen filters. These motorized
oil wetted screens were much easier
to maintain but the cleaning
iciency was less than desireable
4.4 Turbine Controls:
The early KOC turbine controls had
a gas link arrangement to the
turbine starting cabinet. This
meant that gas passed to the
starting control unit before going
to the engine governor. Later
Ruston had the oil servo link which
were much safer in as much that gas
lines were not routed to the
cabinet that contained the 24 volts
DC & 250 V AC electrical circuits.
Nearly all the gas link units have
been removed and those that remain
are undergoing changes out at this
time.
The governor too has been modified
to incorporate internal maximum and
minimum running limit switches.
The early devices used for
achieving temperature control were
external and quite crude however
they served a very useful purpose
and kept crude oil production at
more than 3.5 million barrels at a
day, for quite a number of years.
KOC experienced difficulties in
controlling T-Max. temperatures at
starts, with the original gas link
control unit on the TA-1250 at
GC-11. The unit had a 24 volts
electric motor starter powered
through the mains via a step down
rectifier. More starts were
possible with the rectifier system
than with the 24 volt batteries
which were provided on the next
generation of TA-1250 turbines.
These 24 volt batteries required
constant boost charging between
starts and resulting down time.
However the batteries enabled
starting independent of mains
power.
To minimise the possibility of a
hot start, KOC fitted a needle
valve close to the hand wheel on
the control cabinet. Using the
needle valve in conjunction with
the main control, a very finely
controlled start up of the
turbine was possible. Bear in
mind too the very hot
environment in the turbine room
in summer conditions and the
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effect this would have on the
seals in the control unit. To
deal with a problem seal in the
control unit itself was quite
difficult. Another reason for
fitting the needle valve was to
minimise down time for control
unit repairs on an operational
unit. The later gas link units
appeared more reliable but
undoubtly the servo link,
incorporating P2 limiters, was a
tremendous inprovement and this
simple start arrangement has
proved very effective. There is
a disadvantage with the P2
limiter in as much that this
requires adjustment for summer
and winter conditions.
When gas starting motors were
fitted it was possible to
prolong the start, say over one
minute or wait for the P2
limiter. On electric starts
this was not possible and
constant tuning of the P2
limiter was necessary to reduce
wear and tear on the electric
starter and batteries.
KOC also purchased three early
auto start units from Rustons.
The auto control board, made up
of relays, were very similar to
the old post office relays. It
was interesting to start these
units and watch each relay click
in. The starter thermal switch
and starter engagement switch
were often the source of
starting problems and as KOC
always started their units in
the turbine room, these switches
were invariably by-passed. The
auto starts were also provided
with rotary converters to
provide 110 volt A/C to the
T' -Max equipment; these were very
unreliable. Mains transformers
were substituted and this
remains until the present
time.
4.5 Overhauls:
Major Overhauls for the TA-1250
Turbines were initially done at
8,000 hours and intermediate
overhauls at 4,000 hours. These
overhaul periods were gradually
increased over a period of 10 to 15
years to 20,000 hours for
major/10,000 hours for intermediate
and then increased further to
5. OTHER GAS TURBINES AT KOC:
Following the successful application
of the Ruston TB-1250 at KOC, over
sixty other turbines were installed
and operated at KOC for duties such
as crude oil pumping, gas compression
(for gas transmission and gas
injection) and power generation. The
gas turbines ranged from the Norwalk
(670 h.p.) to the GE Frame 5 (35,000

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24,000 hours for major/12,000 hours h.p.)
for intermediate. The current
schedule for overhauls are 30,000 Tabulation I gives a listing of the
hours major/15,000 hours for year of installation of the first
intermediate. turbine of each type at KOC, from
1957 to 1987.
Life of the hot elbow section
TABULATION I
seldom exceeded 25,000 hours LISTING OF YEAR OF INSTALLATION
because of fretting between this OF THE FIRST TURBINE OF EACH TYPE
component and the compressor AT R.O.C. FROM 1957 TO 1987
turbine inlet volute assembly.
Since these were costly Nimonic
items, damaged components were COMMISSIONING YEAR
returned to Ruston for repair MANUFACTURER MODEL NO. FOR FIRST UNIT
resulting in almost 100% recovery
rate. This repair work consisted RUSTON TA 1250 1957
in cutting out the damaged section BROWN BOVERI TA 10007 1960
and welding a new section. During
the development of the TA-1250 to BROWN BOVERI CT 1007 1961
the TA-1500, the contact areas WESTINGHOUSE W101 M 1961
between the hot elbow and turbine
volute were increased. This BROWN BOVERI TA 6305 1967
modification together with care on RUSTON TA 1500 1968
assembly to ensure good fit
increased the life of this RUSTON TA 1750 1978
component and TBO hours. SOLAR CENTAUR T-4002 1978

Turbine rotors were returned to ROLLS ROYCE AVON 1534-10IG 1978

Ruston for hardness tests. These
hardness tests were done adjacent to
the fir-tree areas to examine for
exposure to over-temperature.
Sampling turbine blades were also
destructive tested for examination
for intergranular void and occurrance
of excessive creep. These blade
samples were taken from diametrically
opposite positions to minimise change
in balance of the turbine rotor.
When the tested blades were found in
satisfactory condition new blades
would be fitted at positions where
blades had been removed and the
turbine rotor with remaining
serviceable blades would be returned
for further duty.
4.6 Vibration Criteria
Ruston recommended a vibration
criteria of .3 in/sec. (Zero to
peak), many machines ran at near
this level particularly at the
compressor turbine flange
measurement position. The
vibration could frequently be
reduced by disassembly and
re-phasing of the carden shaft
coupling. An eliptical bearing was
eventually introduced by Ruston to
supress oil whirl excitation.
ROLLS ROYCE AVON 1533-76G 1978
GENERAL ELECTRIC MS 5262 A 1978
MS 5332 B 1978
NORWALK TM -7 1980
RUSTON TB-5000 1984
KAWASAKI M1A-OIS 1984
The gas turbines that followed the
Ruston TA-1250 at KOC are highlighted
as follows:-
The Brown Boveri TA-10007 Generator
Unit was commissioned at the KOC
Burgan Power Station in 1960. In
1961 the Brown Boveri CT-1007 added
to the station's generation capacity.
In the same year the Westinghouse
W101M powering a Ingersoll-Rand
centrifugal compressor was
commissioned for the gas injection
plant at Burgan. In 1967 a second
Brown Boveri model TA-6305 and a
second Westinghouse W101M were
installed at the Burgan Gas Injection
Plant. In 1968 two Rustons TA-1500's
were installed, followed by an
additional twenty three TA-1500's in
the subsequent years of 1970 to 1971
for crude oil pumping.

8
Gas Turbine Horsepower Additions at KOC
from 1957 to 1984 are shown in the Bar
Chart of Fig. 4 below.

The arrows on the Chart indicate when

first unit of each type was introduced.

1978 was a big year for gas turbines

at KOC and also for several turbine
manufacturers. In this year an 553,532

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additional 405,970 h.p. was contributed
by ten GE Frame 5's, six Rolls Royce 520
Avons, five Solar Centaurs and three
Ruston TA-1750's.

There was a tapering off on new 480

installations in 1980's when two Norwalk
TM-7's were commissioned in 1980. Two
Ruston TB-5000's driving Kawasaki 440
compressors and two Kawasaki M1A-01S gas
turbines driving Toshiba alternators
were added in 1984. There were no
further additions of gas turbine units 400 H
up to 1987.
0
Gas Turbine horsepower at KOC 360
is currently at 553,532 R
320 S
E
280 x 100
P
240
0
200 W
E
160_ 160
R
120

H.P. x 100
80 80

40 40

1 62
1957 4 4 1967
1 1
WESTINGHOUSE
TA 1250 BROWN BOVERI
TA 1500 INORWALK
TA 1750
']B 5000
KAWASAKI
SOLAR,RR,GE

Figure - 4
GAS TURBINE HORSEPC*ER ADDITIONS AT KOC FRCM 1957 TO 1984
(Also showing year when first unit of each type was introduced)
9
 Fig 4 below shows installations of the
Solar Centaur and Ruston TB-5000 turbines.

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Figure - 4

"._
• ^ 1111 ^
s ^►" _•.

t
n _

si)i LIE'
f1

5 p , r t

1
!•:
!

-.adhI4
0

F. -.

Above Top: Solar Centaur driven Gas Above Top: Ruston TB-5000 driving Kawasaki
Compression (Solar Tandem) Installation. Compressors.
Above Bottom: Solar Centaur Turbine Unit Above Bottom: Ruston TB-5000 Turbine Unit.
Tabulation II below shows installed horsepower The gas turbines at KOC have accumulated
for each type of turbine and corresponding an impressive 5-1/4 million hours of
operating hours: operation.

Tabulation Ii

GAS TURBINE IN SERVICE AT KOC

CCt?4. NO. RATING TOTAL PC%ER MAX.RUNNING TOTAL OPERAT

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MANUFACrURE MODEL NO. YEAR FO1 OF HP PER OF ALL UNIT HOURS ON AN HOURS ON ALL
1ST UNT UNIT UNIT (H.P.) ONE UNIT UNITS OF EACH
TYPE

TA 1250 1957 17 1,300 22,100 1,74,885 2,193,149

TA 1500 1968 25 1,450 36,250 1,07,019 1,451,537

RUS TON

TA 1750 1978 4 1,830 7,320 59,717 215,426

TB-5000 1984 2 3,736 7,472 20,497 37,063

RUSTON ALL 73,142 3,897,175

MODELS

4ESTINGHOUSE W101M 1 1961 12 I 8,000 16,000 78,904 152,102

TA 10007 1960 1 20,000 20,000 132,458 132,458

CT 1007 1961 2 10,000 20,000 206,063 410,900

BROWN BayER
TA 6305 1967 1 8,000 8,000 78,964 78,964

BROWN HOVER 48,000 622,322

ALL UNITS

S 0 L A R CENTAUR 1978 5 3,830 19,150 38,098 106,640

T-4002

AVON 1978 3 17,000 51,000 50,869 94,525

1534-101G
ROLLS ROYCE
AVON 1978 3 15,000 45,000 44,891 94,455
1533-76G

ROLLS-ROYCE 96,000 188,980

ALL UNITS

MS 5262A 1978 5 25,750 128,750 47,048 146,495

GENERAL
ELECTRIC
MS 5332B 1978 5 33,550 167,750 47,048 103,635

GEN.ELECTRI 296,500 250,130

ALL UNITS

NOR WALK TK-7 1980 2 670 1,340 28,304 I 54,752

KAWASAKI M1A-01S 1980 2 1,700 I 3,400 13,959 25,313

OC STURBINE1
KO 553,532 5,297,414

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6. SUMMARY

Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/GT/proceedings-pdf/GT1988/79207/V003T07A004/2397810/v003t07a004-88-gt-249.pdf by guest on 10 July 2023

Gas Turbines have played a vital role
for the past thirty years at the KOC oil
and gas production facilities. The peak
year for gas turbine application was
1978 when 405,970 h.p. was added.
There are seventy nine gas turbines at
KOC applied for driving crude oil pumps,
generators and compressors (for gas
transmission and gas re-injection). The
total installed h.p. at KOC is currently
at 553,532, this quantity comprises of
more that 80% of the power required for
installed machinery and generators.

Most of the KOC turbines are near, or

have exceeded 50,000 hours. Forty six
turbines have exceeded 50,000 hours and
nine have exceeded 150,000 hours. The
operational hours on KOC turbines are
over 5-1/4 million.

With turbines approaching the last phase

of the life cycle curve, KOC is now
actively pursuing a programme of
condition monitoring:

* For failure protection

* To optimise on maintenance/overhaul
costs

* To increase equipment availability,

and
* To extend the life of its now aging
gas turbine fleet.

7. REFERENCES

1) Ruston Industrial Gas Turbine -

Engineering, January 27, 1950.

2) "Tornado in Box" Readers Digest

November 1943.

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge
the support of KOC Management and the
assistance of engineers from the
Maintenance and Engineering
Departments in the making of this
paper.

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