Relief and Flare Systems FEED Engineering Services

Design Confirmation

Engineering and construction firms excel at designing standard systems to meet most facilities' needs. However, many have in-house guidelines and standards on which they base their FEED packages, which may not align with specific owner/operator requirements. A third-party review from Smith & Burgess ensures the owner/operator is aware of all deviations from their standards in the FEED Package. While not all deviations require correction, it is preferable for the facility’s engineering team to decide which deviations are acceptable before the equipment is ordered.

Design Validation

Our team of relief and flare systems experts review high-impact systems to ensure relief and flare systems are designed optimally. We follow the Goldilocks principle, ensuring the design is just right and based on reasonable assumptions that result in a sound design basis.

At the end of our conceptual engineering review, the owner or operator can be assured that the large and long lead items related to relief and flare systems are sized according to their preferences. For most of our customers, this dramatically reduces scope creep.

• Conservative Assumptions – Our team is vigilant for inconsistent or overly conservative assumptions that drive up costs for relief devices, flare headers, and flare stacks and tips. Assumptions need to follow the owner's standards and guidelines and be consistent with RAGAGEP. Our team ensures this consistency.
• Missed Scenarios – Worse than assuming an overly pessimistic worst-case scenario is missing the worst-case scenario altogether. Our engineers are highly experienced and can often detect issues at a glance. Nevertheless, we thoroughly review FEED packages based on the owner's standards and guidelines to ensure all scenarios are captured, eliminating surprise changes during detailed engineering.
• Inherently Safe Design – Applying inherently safe design principles during the FEED stage allows for incremental changes in equipment design pressures, significantly reducing potential flaring, header sizes, knockout drum dimensions, and stack height and diameter, leading to major environmental and economic benefits.

Long-Lead Item Sizing

Implicit in the previous points, our team is often asked to review long-lead items early in a FEED package review. Some clients request our engineers to completely re-size these items (large relief devices, flare headers, knockout/seal drums, and flare stacks), while others prefer a thorough review of the EPC-provided specifications. Either way, a proper third-party review ensures these items will not change during detailed design, preventing project derailment.

Our commitment to quality reviews ensures that resulting FEED packages will not undergo significant changes to expensive or long-lead items as the project progresses to the detailed engineering design phase. Our engineering services enhance overall project outcomes, ensuring a secure and efficient operational framework from the outset.