In the wake of a record-breaking hurricane season in 2020, Gulf and Atlantic Coast industrial facilities are in the midst of the sixth consecutive "above average" year of storm activity. For those impacted by the named storms in 2020 -- especially Hurricane Laura -- this is troubling news.
Hurricane-force winds can cause significant damage to critical elevated equipment such as flares, communication towers, stacks and columns. Unfortunately, structural damage to flare bodies and derricks, stretched guy wires, broken pipes and tubing, and detached aviation warning lights are common after strong storms and force unplanned outages and downtime. As operating facilities recover from a challenging market, these interruptions can be especially damaging.
One unique team stands ready to support facilities by preparing for the storm season and responding to damages to these elevated components. Liberty Flare of Kemah, Texas, specializes in field and shop services for flares, towers, stacks and other elevated equipment. Since 1979, the Liberty team has assisted facilities across North America with preventive and emergency maintenance needs for tall structures and combustion equipment.
In the summer of 2020, with industry paralyzed by the global pandemic, Gulf Coast plant operators took advantage of the downtime by contacting Liberty to survey and inspect their flare systems. Liberty's experienced technicians utilized proprietary automated crawling equipment (ERIC™) to perform video analysis on guy wires for flares, towers and vent stacks. Liberty CEO Chris LeBoeuf said, "We also deployed aerial drones to record high-resolution images of flare equipment, even entire facility maps -- most of our customers had no idea we could generate such impressive 3-D inspection images."
In late August 2020, Hurricane Laura slammed Lake Charles, Louisiana, with Category 4 winds and created unprecedented damage to the facilities in its path. Many of the affected plants were forced to shut down to perform inspections and critical maintenance before they could consider resuming operations. The Liberty team was on point to respond and deliver, working tirelessly to meet emergency repair schedules.
One company expressed their appreciation by stating, "The team from Liberty provided a quick assessment of the condition of Lake Charles' flares immediately after the storm. The drone inspector even offered to perform a thorough drone inspection of the entire facility and not just the flares. This inspection proved invaluable in obtaining a historical record of the site's condition to archive for future reference. The restoration process to the flares was handled promptly and, most importantly, the scope was completed with GoalZERO safety performance ... It is clear [we] would not have been able to restore operations this quickly without the support from Liberty."
In 2020, Gulf Coast industrial operations learned once again that inspection and preparation are critical to developing an emergency maintenance plan. Many of them rest more easily knowing that Liberty Flare is on their team at a moment's notice.
Contact the Liberty Flare team to perform a complimentary flare survey, assessing risk factors and potential hazards before the winds even begin to blow.
For more information, visit www.fixmyflare.com, email info@Liberty-Flare.com or call (281) 339-3743.
