LDAR 2026: Navigating Compliance and Meeting Underwriter Demands with Mechanical Seals
- Projects 2 -
Description:
Regulatory requirement for VOC reduction has been in force in the USA for several decades. In Canada best in class users have voluntarily adopted similar practices. Starting January 2022, facilities that produce liquid petroleum products by means of distillation of hydrocarbon compounds and associated petrochemical plants have had a strategy requirement to operate leakage detection and repair (LDAR) testing thrice/calendar year. Reporting the results of the LDAR program to the regulatory authorities became a requirement in January 2023. In December 2026 the definition of a ‘significant leak’ will be reduce to 1000ppm.
The regulations provide LDAR exemptions for certain configurations of pump dual mechanical sealing systems. However, the regulatory wording is ambiguous. This presentation will review the impact that the regulations will have on pump fleet reliability. Particularly, operators with older fleets of pumps. The LDAR exemption options will be discussed along with opportunities for improved reliability. A proposed improved wording that is aligned with terminology used in international standards such as API 682 & trade bodies such as the Hydraulic Institute will be offered.
Both American and European case studies for applications where technology has been applied to legacy pump with minimal intervention will be presented. Case studies of large fleets of legacy pumps that have been upgraded to dual seals will be presented. Some of these fleets have seen little or no improvement in MTBR. Whereas some now enjoy best in class reliability.
Presenter:
Richard J Smith
Technical Director (Oil & Gas) and API 682 Task Force Member, AESSEAL
Richard Smith trained as design engineer with the Ford Motor Company working in both production and product development. For the last 38 years Richard’s has focussed on sealing technology. Joining AESSEAL in 1989, Richard and has worked within the application engineering of sealing technology. Richard became a Director of AESSEAL in 1998 and for the past 19 years has been at the company’s forefront of the Oil Gas and Petrochemical industry sectors being involved with the development of products for both upstream and downstream applications.
Richard is currently AESSEAL’s representative on the API 682 Task Force. Richard has had many papers published at international rotating machinery events and numerous articles published in international journals. These have mainly been on the practical application of mechanical seal technology in Industry.
Richard is 61 years old, lives near London England.