re: ExxonMobil interview

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Good luck!

Hope you have a long career raping Mother Earth.

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Correction:

"I hope you have a long career providing the necessary materials I need to talk shite to you over my computer/smart device that I rely on everyday."

P.S. Thanks for the gasoline that powers my vehicle that I use daily.

GTFO

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Maybe the time Exxon refused to replace a pipe that was leaking jet fuel that eventually caused an explosion/fire in 2015. I happened to be working in that unit just hours before it exploded. I would have burned to death if I would have still been in that specific work area when the explosion happened. The pipe was leaking onto a compressor shed roof. It had been reported to Exxon previously.

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I know the explosion and fire you're talking about and I know for a FACT that's not what happened. Also, the explosion was at 4am so saying you were there "hours" before is embellishing a tad.

To the OP: like someone said before, they want you to be all about the "team" and safety. You will hear questions like "tell me about a time you made a mistake at a job and what did you do to correct it"; "What would you do if your working partner continuously took extended breaks?"; "You get assigned to work with an experienced employee and he will not show you the correct way to do things because he had to learn the job the hard way. What do you do about this?"

Be yourself and good luck.

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verify zero energy

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Is literally written on Exxon job scoping permits and tags that are zip tied to block valves.

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You sound like someone who got their arse in a crack and likes to redirect blame.

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I was the lowest guy in command on this job. My boss had never been involved in any type of plant related accident in over 16 years. Nor was he blamed for this one after all was said and done.

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I assume when you use the term "tighten the valve back on", you are referring to bleeding the pressurized hydrocarbon via an outlet or bleed line from the shut in line between the block valves?

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This was a very rare situation. Both block valves were positioned about 20 feet from the valve we were working on. Most of the time, block valve are much closer. in this scenario they couldn't place the block valves closer because of the structure of the unit itself. The operators drained the 20 feet of pipe after closing the two block valves and waited about 30 minutes before testing for pressure. Whoever conducted this test failed to realize that even without significant pressure, the 20 foot stretch of pipe had filled with oil because the block valves weren't working correctly. After all, that's what we were there to service. The operator failed to open the bleed valve closest to the valve we were working on. The stretch of pipe made a 45 and ran straight up right after the bleed valve and eventually made another 45 into the second block valve.

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Were all of your permits obtained and followed in accordance with permitting procedures or did someone take a short cut, if so, who was responsible for this?

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Yes. Exxon made an honest mistake, not a shortcut.

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Of course, I could be wrong and you are a highly skilled and responsible person who would never put yourself in a compromising situation.

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This is correct.

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If you are removing the valve properly how the hell does 40 gallons spill out?

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The valve we were removing was between two pieces of pipe. All bolts were out but the pipes were pinching both gaskets on each side with the valve in the middle. The valve was suspended by a chain hoist attached to an I-beam overhead. When we started moving the valve to get it to budge, the leak started. We couldn't get the valve and both gaskets back in place perfectly to seal the leak before a substantial amount of liquid got out.

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The valve we were removing was between two pieces of pipe. All bolts were out but the pipes were pinching both gaskets on each side with the valve in the middle. The valve was suspended by a chain hoist attached to an I-beam overhead. When we started moving the valve to get it to budge, the leak started. We couldn't get the valve and both gaskets back in place perfectly to seal the leak before a substantial amount of liquid got out.

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So you didn't use a flange spreader you just removed all the bolts and went to yank the valve out?

What a moron.

Loosen all the bolts and spread the flange. THEN remove the valve.

It is amazing you need someone to tell this to you.

The chain attached to the valve was not straight up and down. Using a flange spreader would have made the valve swing out completely allowing much more liquid to spill, moron.

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All bolts were out but the pipes were pinching both gaskets on each side with the valve in the middle

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Moron

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Who removes all the bolts before the actual flange break?

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We didn't realize the pipes were pinching the valve so hard that it couldn't even move. We figured the bolts were holding it all together. It was so tight that when we tried to get the valve back in place, we had to use a come along to pull the other side of the pipe away from the valve to get it back in. Oil was leaking the entire time this was happening.

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f you want me to walk you through the proper steps I can. I didn't realize what level of hard trader I was dealing with.

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I moved on to bigger and better things. Have fun changing valves for the rest of your life.


You weren't there is this exact scenario so frick off.

The flange is considered broken when 4 bolts are removed. That's why you have to be in fresh air when four out of eight are removed. We broke four bolts, and then 2. We could not break the flange with a flange spreader. The valve was pinched too tight. We would have had to use a come along to spread the pipes apart. This would have caused catastrophic leaking. You can't spread the pipes apart with the fricking bolts in.

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I have never seen a flange that could not be spread with bolts in.

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I know you're full of shite here. There were plenty of jobs where we were told not to use any type of spreader because of the risk of starting a fire.