Cross-departmental engagement and preparation for the work began in excess of one year ago, including identifying the scope of the work and long-lead items as well as materials that needed to be ordered in advance. Teams involved in the work included the TAR, DS-3 Production, Static Maintenance and HSE teams, as well as the Maintenance and Engineering, Operations and Projects departments. Support from external contractors was also key.

Comprehensive planning was a key factor in the success of this project, as Ed Kilday, Turnaround & Vessel Remediation Programme (VRP) Manager, explains, “We have learned that early engagement with all colleagues and good preparation is crucial to the success of TAR projects. Three years ago, when I joined the team, there was less of an emphasis on forward planning. Fast-forwarding to today, we now have a five-year strategy in place for TARs across all degassing stations. What we’ve found is that long-term planning allows for better integration – ensuring all colleagues are on board from the beginning is essential in enabling everyone to do their job to the best of their ability.”

From the onset, this work presented some logistical and unforeseen challenges. At any one time, there were up to 750 staff working on tasks in one location and as a part of this updated TAR process, an initiative set up with the Inspection Team also uncovered nine emergent work scopes – tasks that were not planned for but needed resolving during the TAR timeframe. The climbing temperatures of the summer months posed an additional challenge to contend with. However, the teams remained focused on the tasks at hand, avoiding rushing, and maintaining continuous communication allowed all work to be completed.

The business-critical TAR was completed safely and ahead of schedule, which will allow the next stage of work on the FWKO system to get underway later in August. This FWKO integration is part of ROO’s long-term programme to upgrade degassing stations across the field.