Hydrocarbon leakage

Vented risers should be provided on most cooling towers to release only light hydrocarbon leakage from the cooling water before the spray header. No ignition or source of spark should be within 30 m of the vented riser. 

Ritchie L.J., Ferguson C.P., Bessant C., Saini S., A ten channel fibre-optic device for distributed sensing of underground hydrocarbon leakage, J.Environ. Monitor. 2000 2 670-673. 

A deposit analysis report indicating a high loss on ignition, plus significant organic solvent extractable content would tend to indicate hydrocarbon leakage. 

Matthews, M.D., 1981. Effects of hydrocarbon leakage on earth-surface materials. In B.M. Gottlieb (ed.). Unconventional Methods in Exploration for Petroleum and Natural Gas II. Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, pp. 29-31. 

Matthews, M.D., Jones, V.T. and Richers, D.M., 1984. Remote sensing and hydrocarbon leakage. Presented at 3rd Inti. Symp. Remote Sensing of Environment, Colorado Springs. 

Cap rock problems and hydrocarbon leakage in the southwestern Barents Sea... 

Several explanations for hydrocarbon leakage in the southwestern Barents Sea have been attempted. Although tilting of fault blocks and lack of continuity of the cap rocks may provide the simplest explanations, modelling suggests that other mechanisms must... 

It is found that the cap rocks of the Teistengmnnen Formation in the southwestern Barents Sea most probably were affected by fracturing during burial and/or unroofing. The frequency of fractures related to these events seems to be low, however, and they are regarded as a minor risk for hydrocarbon leakage on the regional scale. 

It is concluded that the relation between cap rock quality, uplift and erosion and tectonic reactivation and hydrocarbon leakage in the southwestern Barents Sea is still obscure, and will remain so until more rock mechanical data from the cap rocks become available. It is, however, still possible to assess a risk evaluation on both regional and field scales by applying the data presently available form the area. 

Nordgard Bolas, H. M. Hermanrud, C. 2003. Hydrocarbon leakage processes and trap retention capacities offshore Norway. Petroleum Geoscience, 9, 321-332,... 

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