Most Common Oil and Gas Interview Questions and Answers for Field Work Supervisors
20 Oil and Gas Interview Questions and Answers, here in this article I am covering the most common and likely questions in Oil and Gas job interviews. I will skip the general questions such as “Tell me about yourself” and “explain in details work summary.
I have focused on more specific questions for that matter for field work Supervisors.
Learning these questions and answers will help you be prepared and confident in your interview. Good luck:
Q1 How many types of insulation are there in Oil and Gas fields (Projects)?
Ans: There are mainly 4 types of insulations which are most commonly used:
Hot Insulation
Cold Insulation
Acoustic Insulation
Personnel Protection (PP) Insulation
Q2 How many types of insulation materials are there in Oil and Gas fields (Projects)?
Ans: There are mainly 4 types of insulation materials which are most commonly used:
Mineral wool
Calcium silicate
Foam glass
Polyisocyanurate (PIR)
Q3 Which are the main documents that are supposed to be followed in any projects?
Ans: Project Specification – , Method Statement, ITP, Drawings and standards,
Q4 What is the Adnoc Specification in the current Shutdown
Ans: Specification SOP10 Rev. 4
Q5 What are the different types of inspection methods in hot and cold insulation
Ans: Visual Inspection
Check for damage, corrosion, moisture intrusion, and proper installation.
Hot Insulation: Look for signs of heat damage, missing cladding, or corrosion under insulation (CUI).
Cold Insulation: Inspect for condensation, frost formation, and vapor barrier integrity.
Thickness Measurement: Confirm insulation thickness matches design specifications.
Moisture Detection (especially in cold insulation)
Insulation Integrity Testing
NDT inspections for CUI
Vapor Barrier Testing (cold insulation)
Q6 How do you start the job?
Ans: 1 I will check in the drawing the scope/limit of the insulation
2 I will also verify the scope with the Engineer/QC inspector
3 I will review the specification for any doubts
4 I will check that the pipe/equipment mechanical and painting reports are approved/signed
5 Check the drawing, the operating and design temperature
6 Check the insulation class and the insulation thickness
7 Check the material, whether Mineral Wool or Mineral Slab/Cladding Sheet – Type of sheet and the thickness
8 Check if expansion joint is required or not
9 Check whether belt/tie wire requirement
10 Check the belt distance/spacing to be followed
11 Check the stagerring requirement
12 Check if all the gaps/voids are correctly covered/filled up
13 After the completion of insulation offer for insulation inspection – raise an RFI
14 After the insulation inspection will start cladding
15 Cladding sheet will be applied in stagerring manner. Installation will be water shed type.
16 Screws will be fixed/applied at the required distance of 150mm approx
17 Belts will be fixed 300mm distance incase of pipeline
18 For Equipment will refer the spec for details
19 After cladding completion will apply metal joint sealant in a proper manner
20 Then tell the QC to raise final inspection RFI.
Q7 How many types of permits are there and what are the main documents need to be attached for permit approval?
Ans: “Three types of Permit – Hot work permit, Critical work permit & general work permit
Certificates to be attached – Atmospheric Test Certificate, Vehicle Entry ”
The documents requriement are mainly
Method Statement
Product Data Sheets
Material Safety Data sheets (MSDS)
Risk Assessment / Job Safety Analysis (JSA)
Inspection and Test Certificates (if applicable)
Training and Competency Records
Work Clearance Certificates (for isolation, lockout/tagout, etc.)
Q8 What is the temperature range of PIR?
Ans: The PIR range material is -196°C to +150°C
Q9 What is the temperature range of Foamglass
Ans: Minimum: – 260°C and maximum: 600°C
Q10 What is the surface preparation requirement prior to startup of insulation?
Ans Ensure that mechanical release is obtained, painting is completed and released. Clean/dust the pipe or the equipment before starting the insulation works
Q11 Explain step by step the method or the procedure of hot insulation
Ans After checking the mechanical release and painting release will dust the pipe/equipment and check if there are any clashings and then will follow the following sequence
1 Check the drawing, the operating and design temperature
2 Check the insulation class and the insulation thickness
3 Check the material, whether Mineral Wool or Mineral Slab/Cladding Sheet – Type of sheet and the thickness
4 Check if expansion joint is required or not
5 Check whether belt/tie wire requirement
6 Check the belt distance/spacing to be followed
7 Check the stagerring requirement
8 Check if all the gaps/voids are correctly covered/filled up
9 After the completion of insulation offer for insulation inspection – raise an RFI
10 After the insulation inspection will start cladding
11 Cladding sheet will be applied in stagerring manner. Installation will be water shed type.
12 Screws will be fixed/applied at the required distance of 150mm approx
13 Belts will be fixed 300mm distance incase of pipeline
14 For Equipment will refer the spec for details
15 After cladding completion will apply metal joint sealant in a proper manner
16 Then tell the QC to raise final inspection RFI.
Q12 If the drawing does not show the insulation thickness, then which document you will refer?
Ans: I will refer the Specification Insulation Thickness Table.
Q13 What is a Vapor Stop and where it is used?
Ans: Vapor stop is also called as vapor barrier is used to prevent moisture ingress. It is applied at all the terminations or at interruptions such as pipe supports, insulation supports, rings, elbows, flanges, valves, reducers etc.
Q14 For Cold insulation on the cladding sheet what you will use screws or rivets?
Ans: In cold insulation, we usually don’t use screws because they can damage the vapor barrier and let moisture in. Instead, we use rivets — they hold better and help keep the insulation sealed and dry.
Q10 For cold insulation applications, which type of joint is typically provided — an expansion joint or a contraction joint?
Ans: Contraction joint
Q11 What is the purpose of the contraction joint?
Ans: To manage shrinkage in materials due to cooling and temperature drop the contraction joint is provided. In cold insulation, the contraction joint helps accommodate the contraction (shrinking) of materials when they are exposed to low temperatures.
Q12 What is scrim cloth used for?
Ans: Scream cloth is used in cold insulation to reinforce the vapor barrier, making it stronger and more resistant to damage or tearing.
Q13 What is the purpose of insulation?
Ans: The purpose of hot insulation is to reduce heat loss, save energy, improve process efficiency, and prevent damage
Q14 What is the min overlap specified for the cladding material?
Ans: 50mm longitudinal and 50mm circumferential
Q15 What is the purpose of Acoustic Insulation?
Ans The purpose of acoustic insulation is to reduce noise by blocking or absorbing sound.
Q16 What is the requirement for PP insulation?
Ans: Personnel Protection Insulation is a barrier system made of insulation material or metal screens that prevents people from accidentally touching hot surfaces (or in some cases, extremely cold surfaces) on piping or equipment.
Q17 Where we use metal sealant and what is its thickness?
Ans It shall be applied to both longitudinal and circumferential joints and ball swages in a nominal 6 mm bead.
Q18 What is a floating ring and why we use the floating ring?
Ans: A floating ring is a metal ring used to help hold the insulation in place on round parts of a vessel, like the head. The floating ring is used to hold the insulation bands in place while still allowing them to move a little when the vessel heats up or cools down. This helps keep the insulation tight and secure without causing damage.
Q19 In metal cladding what is the minimum overlap that is required to be maintained?
Ans All the cladding shall have at least 50 mm overlap joints at their termination edges
Q20 At flange or valve area what is the nut bolt clearance to be maintained as per the Specification
Ans: Bolt clearance shall be the length of stud bolt plus 25 mm
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