VOLUME 1, SEPTEMBER 2008

FLUOR
P I P E R ’ S T R I B U N E

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: Total DCP
UPCOMING
1 By: Joshua Hoffman
EVENTS

TOTAL DCP 1
Total Petrochemicals units, Total’s Port Ar- or early 2011. By use
GIANT STEPS 2-3 USA, one of the six thur Refinery will be of the work share pro-
PUZZLE
3
“Supermajor” oil com- more competitive and gram, offices in Irvine
CORNER
panies in the world, keep up with the Fed- (US), New Delhi (India),
STARTING
FRESH 4-7 continues upgrades on eral fuel standards Houston (US), and
its Port Arthur Refin- which will be imple- Long Beach (US) have
HYDROSTATIC
TESTING 7-8 ery. Located in Texas mented in 2010. made and continue to
on the Gulf Coast, the These new units will make great progress
DID YOU KNOW 8 refinery currently proc- increase the refinery’s on Total’s DCP.
esses upwards of deep-conversion ca- 1. www.hydrocarbonst
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR
240,000 bpd of pacity and expand its
THE MONTH echnology.com/
crude oil. With Fluor’s ability to process projects/portarthur/
9/16 & 9/30
recent $1.9 billion heavy and sour crude
♦ Materials Engineer Train-
ing Session I contract for engineer- oil. Fluor has been
Lecturer: TBD ing, procurement and working with Total NEXT MONTH’S BY:
Location: IS601-106A/B construction for the since mid 2006 and
(GASCO Building)
Deep Conversion Pro- the project is ex- Paola Chavira
Time: 7:30am-11:00am
ject (DCP) at Total’s pected to reach com-
9/23 Port Arthur Refinery, pletion by late 2010
♦ So. Cal. United Way the refinery will be able
Kick-
Kick-off
to process an
9/24 “additional 3 million
♦ UW Walkabout tons-per-year of ultra-
low sulphur automotive
9/25
diesel.” (1) This will
♦ IRV UW Soccer Challenge
eventually lead to an
♦ AV Run/Walk
approximate increase
Time: 11:30am-1pm
of 12 million tons-per-
♦ Jeans Day (with ticket
purchase) year of refinery out-
put. With these up-
9/29
grades to the coker,
♦ UW Ugly Tie/Hat Display
desulphurization, vac-
9/30 uum distillation unit, as
Port Arthur Refinery
♦ UW Blackjack Tournament well as a few other
 PIPER’S TRIBUNE
Giant Steps
By: Daniel Low
It’s difficult to believe that I
started my internship here at Fluor
two years ago as a Piping Techni-
cian. I still remember that first day
waiting in the Aliso Viejo office
with about twenty other new hires
and interns. That morning, Kevin
Lombardo briefly introduced him-
self and greeted us in an affable
manner, as he headed out to the
Long Beach office. I can distinctly
recall his last words, saying with a
smile, “you won't be needing that
tie.”
After the morning orienta-
tion, some of the other piping in-
terns and I, as well as the new
hires, were immediately put to
work doing a valve takeoff. While
squinting at these complex and
confusing P&ID’s searching for
gate, globe, check, and bleeder
valves, a lot of us wondered how
we got thrown into this without
any training since we didn't exactly
know what we were looking for. As
a result, several of us were con-
stantly asking questions to the
designers and engineers. Although
it seemed a little overwhelming, by
the end of the day we completed
our task and learned about P&ID’s,
valves, and were later told that
the guys didn’t know it was our
first day working at Fluor.
My first project was a re-
vamp job for Irving Oil with Ignacio
Corrales, better known as Nacho.
From what Kevin told me and as I
Page 2
later realized, Nacho was one of
the friendliest down to Earth
supervisors. Not only did he al-
ways patiently answer my ques-
tions, he talked to me about life
lessons and helping others. “you won't
While on the project, I used
Smart Plant and did some P&ID be needing
work using the tie-in lists. Eve- that tie.”
ryone on my project was so
friendly and always willing to an-
swer the myriad amount of
questions I had each day
whether simple or complex. In
addition, while on the internship
program, I received Phase 1
Training from Jeff Keith, who
was a fantastic teacher with a
great sense of humor. Now as
an Associate Design Engineer
creating and editing material
specs on MATMAN, I’m glad I
received that training because it
provided me with a good basis
on piping design and a better
Daniel with his piping mentor
insight into pipe engineering. Mark
 VOLUME 1, SEPTEMBER 2008
In a sense, transitioning
from an intern to a full fledged pip-
ing engineer, not much has
changed. I’m still an intern in the
fact that I continue to ask a lot of
questions as well as grasp the pip-
ing knowledge and experience from
my coworkers. Some things have
changed though; my once fellow
peers are now my teachers. The
new hires, which started the first
day of my internship and whom I
took Phase 1 training with, are now
the teachers for my Piping Material
Engineering class. I'm constantly
amazed at how much they have
Puzzle Corner
Page 3
learned in these two years. As
I continue my career here at
Fluor, I look forward to the po-
tential of attaining as much
knowledge and experience as
they have. Each day I realize “my once
that this wouldn’t be possible
without the friendly personali-
fellow peers
ties here who foster a fantastic are now my
learning and working environ-
ment. teachers.”
NEXT MONTH’S ITEM IS OPEN
TO SUBMITTALS
Last Month’s Puzzle
 PIPER’S TRIBUNE
Starting Fresh
By: Brad Wineland
My work at Fluor began
in May of 2006 with much en-
thusiasm and only a basic
knowledge of piping systems.
Fresh out of college, I dis-
tinctly remember the feelings
of confident anticipatory enthu-
siasm while sitting in the Aliso
Viejo office foyer at 6:30 a.m.
on my first day of work. It was
there that I met a future fellow
Piper, Jeff Lanzisera, while
waiting for our orientation/
safety briefing.
For the next four weeks
I was engaged in Phase One
courses under the humorous
direction of Jeff Keith. I was
taught the essential fundamen-
tals of piping components and
manual isometric generation.
During one class Mr. Keith told
Golden Eagle Refinery
Page 4
a story of a time when he was in
the field, “pulling a tape” while in
a trench crowded with pipe,
when a steam trap unexpectedly
discharged down the back of his
pants. His reaction to this re-
sulted in him quickly straighten-
ing up only to displace his hard
hat by contact with overhead
pipes, ultimately loosing his
measurement. It was a comical
picture painted in my memory as “a steam trap
something resembling a 3
Stooges TV episode; a story I unexpectedly
still laugh at today. Thanks Jeff.
In the interim of the group edu-
discharged
cation sessions I was deter- down the back
mined to soak up as much addi-
tional supportive information as I of his pants.”
possibly could. I gathered infor-
mation from piping design/layout
manuals, the Internet and
conversations with experi-
enced co-workers from all
disciplines.
After four weeks of
employment, Kevin
Lombardo had made the
prudent decision to send
some of us “fresh fish” to
various project sites for
direct, hands-on exposure.
Jeff Lanzisera and I were
selected to go assist with
the Coker Modification
Project (CMP) at Tesoro’s
Golden Eagle Refinery
(GER) in Northern Califor-
nia. Within a week, Jeff
VOLUME 1, SEPTEMBER 2008
and I met at John Wayne Airport
for a quick one-hour jump to
Oakland. Only a week before my
birthday, Kevin had given me a
gift that would prove to be an
invaluable foundation forming ex-
perience. Once on the ground,
Jeff and I made our way to a
nearby Avis rental yard where we
were fitted with a not-so-stylish
maroon colored Plymouth PT
Cruiser. Nevertheless, with our
over-packed luggage and high-
way directions given to us by
Fluor’s Site Project Manager,
Julie Kinder, Jeff and I were fast
on our way to majestic GER.
After a scenic drive filled
with forest trees, old highway
tunnels and hillside tucked
homes, we pulled into the park-
ing lot of GER. Upon checking
in with security, Jeff and I pro-
ceeded 1.5 miles north on the
dead straight Solano Way. I was
intrigued by the long, product
transfer pipe runs, full of rusty
expansion loops on my left and
the vast field of storage tanks
to my right. At the north end of
the refinery we met Julie Kinder
who greeted us with her busy
smile and introduced us to the
rest of the field team.
Bob Zeppieri was my field
piping lead and soon he had me
generating manual isometrics
from preliminary ACAD transposi-
tions and coworker’s drawings.
From this point on my learning
curve skyrocketed as I became
progressively and productively
involved with the CMP. When
I arrived at GER, CMP con-
struction had just commenced
with the excavation of thou-
sands of cubic yards of soil in
preparation for the thousands
of piles to be set as the foun-
dation for the monstrous De-
layed Coking Unit (DCU)
structure. I have been ex-
posed to residential/
commercial construction my
entire life, but witnessing
large-scale heavy construction
in close proximity was a fasci-
nating sight. 500-ton crane
lifts, massive concrete pours,
helicopter survey and miles of
extremely thick gauge rebar
made me appreciate the gran-
deur of what I was involved in.
My role in the CMP
started with deciphering
P&ID’s and applying them to
the identification of roughly
300 initial tie-in/demolition
points located within the ex-
isting Fluid Coking Unit (FCU).
Unloading two coke drums
Page 5
This involved much time
spent within the FCU walk-
ing down piping systems
and generating a scheme
for the routing of revamp
pipe, in order to facilitate
an expedient turnaround
period. The goal was to
link selected existing FCU
equipment to the new DCU
while safely and simultane-
ously decommissioning the
antiquated FCU and adja-
cent Boiler House Unit.
This is where I quickly
“witnessing
large-
large-scale
heavy
construction in
close proximity
was a
fascinating
sight.”
PIPER’S TRIBUNE Page 6

learned that Piping is much

more than just placing pipe
between two destinations.
Basic piping becomes a com- “Piping is much
plex art form that must be
more than just
complimented with a broad
sense of project scope; placing pipe
time, money, client/ between two
contractor opinions and
destinations.”
other factors encountered
make field piping an interac- DCU construction

tive and exciting experience.

being open to accept-
This is the premise that kept
ing any field assignment
me enthusiastically involved in
offered to you; the
the CMP.
hands-on experience
Over the course of will make you a proud
the next two years I inevita- Piper.
bly developed close working
relationships and great
friendships with many co- NEXT MONTH’S ITEM
workers, clients and contrac- IS OPEN TO
tors. I went white-water
rafting with Cherne construc- SUBMITTALS
tion contractors, snow-
Setting of a coker drum
boarded in Tahoe, wake-
boarded on the Delta and
regularly played golf with Don
Gray of Tesoro Operations.
These excursions were a valu-
able part of my experience
and brought good balance to
exhausting and productive
work. I was also very lucky
to have had an amazingly sup-
portive and fun group of
peers. Bob Zeppieri,
Freddie Shima, Julie Kinder,
Kevin Lombardo and many
others played such an inte-
gral role in my success thus
far as a Piper. I encourage

DCU fractionator delivery

 VOLUME 1, SEPTEMBER 2008
Hydrostatic Testing
By: Anthony Lopez and Ami Desai
Hydrostatic testing is a
widely used test procedure
to detect any leakage pre-
sent in pressure vessels,
pipelines and other piping
components. It is also
used to verify the perform-
ance of tanks, valves or
pressure vessels under fluid
pressure and validates its
safety and durability. An
initial leak test is always
performed before any me-
dium is subject to use in a
newly constructed system
Hydrostatic isolation tool demonstration
Page 7
thus preventing a potential
explosion at the jobsite.
The components are then
continually re-qualified by
modified hydrostatic test
at regular intervals at cli-
ent’s requirements (4). Control fluid leak
Any defects identified dur-
ing the test can critically
affect the pressure pipe-
line capacity and material
strength
Hydrostatic test proce-
dure for process piping
system is governed by the
ASME B31.3 code at “An
An initial leak
minimum requirements
unless noted by either in- test is always
dustry or client specifica- performed
tion. The component to be
examined is filled with test before any
fluid, which can be mixed medium is
with a dye, and is internally
pressurized for a certain subject to
period of time. It is then use“
visually inspected for any
leaks and deformations
caused by the test pres-
sure. Dyes with fluores-
cent color help make visual
inspection easier since
they reveal leaks in the
system even after it has
dried (Figure 1).
The test fluid is generally
an incompressible and non-
toxic liquid such as water
 PIPER’S TRIBUNE
(unless the given conditions would
freeze the water) for safety reasons.
A compressible fluid could expand and
cause damage in case of an explosion.
The test pressure is typically 1.5
times the commodity design pres-
sure. As an assurance, the engineer
should determine the minimum and
maximum test pressure range. The
flange rating and the presence of
pressure safety relief valves must be
taken into account when determining
the test pressure. A more detailed
procedure for hydro-testing is avail-
able in ASTM E1003 (3). Large pipe-
lines are typically blinded off in seg-
ments using blind flanges for testing
purposes.
A safer and practical method for pipe-
line isolation is the use of a hydro-
static isolation tool by Car-ber Test-
ing services. The hydrostatic isolation
tool allows a weld to be tested and
isolated without using blind flange
segment isolation. The medium fills
the ring-shaped space around the
tool and pressurized to form a posi-
tive pressure vapor barrier that can
be monitored during hot-work. A
pressure gauge is used to regulate
the pressure from the hydrocarbons
or water venting to atmosphere. After
welding is complete, the test tool will
Did you know...
A snowboard doesn’t actually slide on snow. Rather, the friction of the board’s nose as
it encounters frozen water particles heats the snow into water, and the board glides over this
thin film of water. Knowing this, product engineers must design the undersides of snowboards
to ride on a surface that rapidly changes state.
Page 8
slide over the tools’
hoses and vent to per-
form the hydrostatic
weld test. This proce-
dure is very effective
since the process does
not disturb the liquid
filled pressure barrier
isolation. Currently, Car-
ber has service centers
which houses tool sets Typical hydrostatic pump
from common sizes
1/2 - 24 inches to a maximum of 72
inches (1).
“A compressible
Hydrostatic test can be substituted
fluid could
by pneumatic, hydrostatic-
pneumatic, sensitive leak test or expand and cause
other alternative test in cases
damage in case
where hydrostatic test would be
impracticable upon client’s approval. of an explosion.”
More information is available in
ASME B31.3 para 345.1 (5).
1. www.carbertesting.com
2. www.offshore-technology.com
3. www.amgas.com
4. www.wkipedia.com
5. www.catpumps.com
NEXT MONTH’S BY:
Yakobus Yanuar