Compressor Reliability Growth

The Compressor Reliability Growth in Riyadh Refinery reflects a remarkable improvement over the past three years. The compressor's availability during 2007 is a record as it reached 99.5% against 94% in 2004. In addition, the number of nuisance trips were significantly reduced with only one trip reported in 2007 compared to 6 trips in 2004, and with the cumulative number of trips over the three year period following 2004 being 7. In addition, there were no compressor breakdowns in the past 3 years, but 3 failures in 2004. This improvement is reflected in cost savings of $1.1MM per year for the past three years compared to a $3.25MM loss in 2003. These figures represent repair cost and associated production loss during compressor outage.

Key Words: Reliability Growth, Reliability Management, Cost Optimizing, Machinery Protection