Fire at Oil Refinery

A fire occurred at an oil refinery on September 2011. The fire started at about 1.00 am and was successfully put-off by a team of firefighters at about 4am. The damage was localized in nature and no injuries were reported.

Initial investigation found that the fire occurred during liquid product transfer from the storage tank onto a shipment at the jetty about 5 km away. The seal on the transfer pump was believed to be compromised, thus gushes of flammable liquid pour out from the leak. The leak caught fire (probably by the heat produced along the driven shaft and bearings).

Figure 1: A typical setup of an oil-ring lubrication

The pump bearing was lubricated using bronze oil-ring (refer Figure 1 and Figure 2 for general working principle of an oil-ring). Failure on the oil-ring has resulted in its failure to lubricate the bearing, thus damaging the bearing due to overheating. The failed bearings caused excessive vibration onto the system which eventually leads to the failure of the seal of the flammable liquid.

The pump was intermittently used, and was considered a low risk unit with very minimum supervision during operation.

Figure 1: A typical setup of an oil-ring lubrication

Suggestion for improvement:

1. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for pump operation shall be made thoroughly with due consideration towards the safety aspect of the machinery. This should include oil ring inspection during pump operation (as per API 610 requirement), correct oil level setting, and regular pump check during operation.
2. The shut-off valve must be designed to be of easy reach and isolated from potential source of leakage. In the event of intense fire, the valve should be able to be closed from a safe distance without compromising the safety of rescue personnel.
3. Appropriate parameters must be integrated within the monitoring system so that in the event of one component failure, it may trip or trigger an alarm before the failure affects other components which eventually leads to total disaster (E.g. motor vibration monitoring, induction motor maximum amperage cut-off, etc.).
4. If your plant may potentially affect the surroundings in the event of an incident, it is advisable to conduct regular meetings, briefings and mock exercise with the neighbouring plant or community to nurture a better coorporation and understanding in the event of an emergency and to keep them informed of the required tasks and duties.