Failures of Riser Emergency Shutdown Valves
The Health and Safety Executive has issued a research report on the analysis of failures of riser emergency shutdown valves (RESDVs).
Riser emergency shutdown valves (RESDVs) are an essential risk reduction measure for offshore installations and are a legal requirement under the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996. The RESDV should isolate the topsides from the well and subsea pipeline in the event of an emergency shutdown, to reduce the inventory for loss of containment or when required for maintenance.
Using RIDDOR information 180 failures can be identified. Duty holders report indicate that three most common causes for failure are corrosion, the age oft he RESDV and seizure/sticking, the report also states:
Two themes have emerged from the causal analysis of RESDV failures: the age of the valves that failed, and the failure to learn and implement lessons from previous incidents.
The report concludes that the main causes of failures are failure to maintain and monitor the equipment as found by KP4 inspectors who identified a “fix on failure” approach.
You can find the full report in the link below:
