The oil and gas industry

Management of the environmental impact of projects is of major concern in the oil and gas industry, not only to meet the legislative requirements in host countries, but is also viewed as good business because it is ... 

The oil and gas industry produces much waste material, such as scrap metal, human waste, unspent chemicals, oily sludges and radiation. All of the incoming streams to a facility such as a production platform end up somewhere, and only few of the outgoing streams are useful product. It is one of the responsibilities of the engineer to try to limit the amount of incoming material which will finally become waste material. 

The parametric method is an established statistical technique used for combining variables containing uncertainties, and has been advocated for use within the oil and gas industry as an alternative to Monte Carlo simulation. The main advantages of the method are its simplicity and its ability to identify the sensitivity of the result to the input variables. This allows a ranking of the variables in terms of their impact on the uncertainty of the result, and hence indicates where effort should be directed to better understand or manage the key variables in order to intervene to mitigate downside and/or take advantage of upside in the outcome. 

Cobalt in Catalysis. Over 40% of the cobalt in nonmetaUic appHcations is used in catalysis. About 80% of those catalysts are employed in three areas (/) hydrotreating/desulfurization in combination with molybdenum for the oil and gas industry (see Sulfurremoval and recovery) (2) homogeneous catalysts used in the production of terphthaUc acid or dimethylterphthalate (see Phthalic acid and otherbenzene polycarboxylic acids) and (i) the high pressure oxo process for the production of aldehydes (qv) and alcohols (see Alcohols, higher aliphatic Alcohols, polyhydric). There are also several smaller scale uses of cobalt as oxidation and polymerization catalysts (44—46). 

A eoaleseer aehieves separation of an oily phase from water on the basis of density differences between the two fluids. These systems obviously work best with non-emulsified oils. Applications historically have been in the oil and gas industry, and hence the most famous oil/water separator is the API separator (API being the abbreviation for the American Petroleum Institute). 

Both two- and four-stroke cycle engines are used in commercial applications. For the purpose of this discussion, however, comments will be limited to applications normally encountered in the oil and gas industry. Some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with each engine type are as follows ... 

The American Petroleum Institute s Recommended Practice 750 describes process safety management elements recommended for operations in the oil and gas industry. 

The most common use of the gas turbine power system in the oil and gas industry is in combination with an electrical system (i.e., electric generators and electric motors). In 1965 such a system was used to power a rotary rig. This was a 3,000-hp rig developed by Continental-Ensco. The rig used three 1,100-hp Solar Saturn single-shaft gas turbines. These gas turbines operated at 22,300 rpm and were connected through double reduction gear transmissions to DC generators. 

In general, the typical electric motor applications in the oil and gas industry arc polyphase motors (either squirrel-cage or wound-rotor motors). 

The oil and gas industry utilizes electric motors as prime movers in a number of industry operations. The major applications and the electric motors typically utilized are now described [8,10]. 

In nearly all mechanical power applications in the oil and gas industry it is necessary to transmit the power generated by a prime mover to an operation (e.g., drawworks of a drilling rig, or a production pumping system). The transmission of rotary power to such operation elements is carried out by a power transmission system. Mechanical power transmission is typically carried out by power betting systems, chain systems, gear systems and by hydraulic systems, or some combination of these three [1,5]. 

Pumps are a very essential part of the oil and gas industry. They are used throughout the industry, from drilling operations through to final delivery to the customer. 

The most widely used pumps in the oil and gas industry are reciprocating displacement pumps (in particular piston plunger type), the rotary displacement pump, and the centrifugal dynamic pump. Only these pumps will be discussed in detail. 

The centrifugal pump is the most important pump of the dynamic class of pumps for the oil and gas industry. Other pumps in this class are covered in other references [17,18]. 

Compressors of various designs and manufacturers are used in many operations throughout the oil and gas industry. Compressors are used in some drilling operations, in many production operations, and extensively used in surface transportation of oil and gas via pipelines. 

In the early 1960s efforts were made in the United States to operate vane motors and reciprocating motors with compressed air. The vane motors experienced some limited test success but were not competitive in the market of that day [84]. Out of these development efforts evolved the reciprocating (compressed) air hammers that have been quite successful and are operated extensively in the mining industry and have some limited application in the oil and gas industry [85]. The air hammer is not a motor in the true sense of rotating equipment. The reciprocating action of the air hammer provides a percussion effect on the drill bit, the rotation of the bit to new rock face location is carried out by the conventional rotation of the drill string. 

Table 1.29 tabulates most known examples of erosion corrosion problems occuring in aqueous systems. Historically, erosion corrosion first became a problem with the copper alloy (70%Cu 29%Zn l%Sn) condensers of naval shipsErosion corrosion of copper alloys has been an ongoing problem since then. The other major problem areas are (a) power plants where steels are exposed to water or water/steam mixtures in the temperature range 90°-280°C (b) the oil and gas industry where steels are exposed to various liquid, gas, and sometimes solids combinations containing carbon dioxide. 

Most metals and many refractory compounds can be thermal-sprayed. Applications include coating of gas-turbine components for aircraft and industrial use, components of steam turbines and diesel engines, components for the oil and gas industry, paper and pulp industry, and chemical processing industry. 

Y. R. Leonov, M. E. Lamosov, S. A. Ryabokon, V. A. Mosin, B. G. Dzetl, F. G. Mamulov, O. G. Bobrov, and V. M. Savoskin. Plugging material for wells in the oil and gas industry—contains mineral binder and powder waste from production of epoxide resins as epoxide resin-based additive. Patent RU 2036297-C, 1995. 

The understanding of mass transfer in porous media is highly relevant not only for the oil and gas industry, but also for process control or in chromatographic... 

The main facets of the oil and gas industry are exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing. A brief description of each of these sectors is provided in this chapter. Although some petroleum companies are fully integrated with each of these operations others are segmented and only operate in their particular area of expertise or highest financial return. 

Most fires involving gas in the oil and gas industry will be associated with a high pressure and labeled as "jet" fires. A jet fire is a pressurized stream of combustible gas or atomized liquid (such as a high pressure release from a gas pipe or wellhead blowout event) that is burning. If such a release is ignited soon after it occurs, (i.e., within 2 -3 minutes), the result is an intense jet... 

Fired heaters are extensively used in the oil and gas industry to process the raw materials into usable products in a variety of processes. Fuel gas is normally used to fire the units which heat process fluids. Control of the burner system is critical in order to avoid firebox explosions and uncontrolled heater fires due to malfunctions and deterioration of the heat transfer tubes. Microprocessor computers are used to manage and control the burner system. 

Gas detection is provided in the petroleum industry to warn of and possibly prevent the formation of a combustible gas or vapor mixture that could cause an explosive overpressure blast of damaging proportions. There are two types of gas detectors used in the oil and gas industry. The most common and widely used is the catalytic detector. More recently, infared (IR) beam detectors have been employed for special "line of sight" applications, such as perimeter, boundary or offsite monitoring, pump alleys, etc. 

In the oil. and gas industry there are generally five foam fire protection systems commonly encountered. ... 

On November 18, 2005, in Houston, the Texas Department of Health Services asked the public to help locate some radioactive vials that disappeared earlier that month from a shipment out of New Mexico. The vials contain antimony-124, a radioactive material for use in the oil and gas industry, with the label RADIOACTIVE. It is believed by authorities that the vials were removed within Texas when the carrier s tractor trailer stopped in Abilene, Austin, Dallas, and Tyler. Anyone finding the missing vials should not touch the box or the actual vials, and should stay at least ten feet away from them. Anyone with factual information should call 512-458-7460. 

The price of oil itself is not clearly accounted for until the subsidies for exploration and the actual cost of Middle East defense is added. Only recently have the true costs of fossil fuel energy been studied, from defense commitments to long term health care for nationwide respiratory illnesses. Hydrogen must face economic comparisons to gasoline, but we notice that the oil and gas industries are already investing in the hydrogen economy. 

Gas hydrates were first reported at the beginning of the 19th century, and until the 1930s they remained a scientific curiosity. At that time it was realized that hydrates were more likely to be the causative agent in blocking pipelines than ice. Today, gas hydrate control continues to be a problem in the oil and gas industry. In the 1960 s it was realized that natural gas hydrates are present in the geo-sphere with worldwide reserves estimated at 10,000 to 40,000 trillion cubic meters (TCM). Considerable efforts are underway to refine global estimates and to develop technology and exploit this resource. On the other hand these hydrates may... 

Currently, the only area where gas hydrates are practiced on an industrial scale is the area of flow assurance in oil and gas pipelines (Sloan, 1998 2005). This subject was reviewed recently by Kelland (2006). The oil and gas industry has relied mostly on the use of methanol and glycols to avoid plugging of transportation and processing facilities (Dholabhai et al. 

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