Hello All!
I am a graduate engineer trainee who has recently joined the commissioning department of an EPC contracting company. As such, our work is centered around various tests/procedures/activities that need to be conducted at the project site post mechanical completion in order to make it ready and safe for Feed Cut-In and normal operation, such as N2/He Leak tests, Chemical Cleaning, Alkali Boil-Out, Passivation, Refractory Dry-Out, etc.
My question is with regards to these activities, which are fairly common amongst Oil & Gas projects. Are there any universally accepted standards (API, ASME, etc.) for conducting these tests and the specifications for the same? (For e.g. what is the standard procedure for conducting a N2 leak test in a tray tower and its associated piping? What is the accepted pressure at which it must be conducted and what must be the holding time?) In my limited experience, there seems to be a lack of consensus on the specifics of the test. Licensor/Asset Owner recommendations (if any even exist) for the tests are very vague and hardly ever practically followed during execution.
Would appreciate any clarifications I can get on the same!