The TRACERCO Profiler™ - '+domain...
Transcript of The TRACERCO Profiler™ - '+domain...
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Contents
Trust TRACERCO to bring you the complete solution 4
How The TRACERCO Profiler™ works 5
Cost effective installation, low maintenance and safe operation 6
Increase oil production, reduce chemical usage and prevent overboard spills 7
The TRACERCO Profiler™ in action 8
At last you have total control 10
The TRACERCO Profiler™ for desalter optimization 12
The TRACERCO Profiler™—unlocking subsea potential 14
Specifications 15
The TRACERCO Profiler™ customer list 16
The TRACERCO advantage 18
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Trust TRACERCO to bring you thecomplete solution
From the North Sea and North America to the South China Seas,
from the Far East to West Africa, oil companies including BP,
Chevron, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Kerr McGee, StatoilHydro,
ConocoPhillips, Talisman, ADCO, CNOOC, PetroCanada, Syncrude,
Total, Woodside, Pemex and Petrobras have all benefited in from
improved production, reduced cost and better environmental
performance due to The TRACERCO Profiler™.
Conventional separator instruments were designed to give a single
point measurement not a profile. Conventional methods cannot
register sand, emulsion or foam. Incorrect separation information can
cause a high concentration of oil to be carried through the water
outlet, overloading downstream de-oiling equipment and causing oil
to be discharged to sea. Conversely, this can allow too high a
concentration of water to be carried over with the oil phase and
hence cause downstream knock-on separation problems.
Additionally, foam carry over through the gas outlet can cause rapid
build up in downstream flare liquid knock out vessels. Sand
accumulation reduces the working volume of the vessel and
therefore its efficiency. Excessive amounts of costly and
environmentally unfriendly anti-foam and de-emulsifying agents
must be added to ensure a safe margin and generally the plant does
not operate to its design capability. All of these problems can result
in unnecessary trips, production and environmental problems.
In contrast the Profiler not only measures the interfaces but the
extent of phase dispersion, that is, the quality of the interface
between phases. It brings you the complete solution.
Over the course of 50 years, Tracerco has grown to become a world
leader in radioisotope technology to measure, diagnose and analyse
critical process parameters for the oil and gas industry. Tracerco is
part of Johnson Matthey, the global catalyst and technology
company. Today, Tracerco remains committed to its founding principle
to harness its scientific skills to provide unique solutions to its
customers. A double winner of the prestigious UK Queen’s Award for
Enterprise in Innovation and International Trade. Tracerco continues
to be a vibrant force in creating the future for process control and
optimisation.
In separator applications, the multi-award winning TRACERCO
Profiler™ supersedes the traditional methods which attempt to mimic
the interface between oil and water within vessels.
The TRACERCO Profiler™ measures in real time and high
resolution the vertical distribution of all phases within a separator.
This information gives operators the confidence to exert optimum
control, turning problems into opportunities:
• optimizing throughput
• cutting chemical costs
• eliminating maintenance
• keeping a clean environmental record.
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How The TRACERCO Profiler™ works The information is converted into serial data and sent via fibre optic
cable to the plant computer. The fluid density at each point can then
be depicted in real time on a screen in the control room..
For the first time ever you can see a complete profile of the
distribution of fluids within the separator:
• the interface between water and oil or oil and gas
• the quality of the separation
• the extent of foam build up
• the total liquid position
• the level of sand build-up
The image below shows The TRACERCO Profiler™ insitu in a topsides
separator vessel.
Profiler
Gas out
Weir
Water out Oil out
Inlet: oil/water/gas/sand
Foam Oil Emulsion Water Sand
Tracerco’s instrumentation had already proved its accuracy and
reliability onshore in vessels for more than 20 years when the
technology was applied to refinery separator measurement and control.
The TRACERCO Profiler™ for topside applications comprises two or
three dip-pipes installed within the separator through a single nozzle.
A narrow dip-pipe holds a vertical array of low energy gamma
emitters. The other dip-pipe(s) holds a corresponding array of
gamma detectors. Each detector is matched to the gamma emitter
in the same plane.
The emitter directs radiation to be picked up by the detector through
the fluid within the separator. Due to oil, water, sand, foam and
emulsion all having different densities, they attenuate the signal
passing through them by different amounts. The density registered
by each tube is transmitted to a signal-processing unit housed in
the dome above the dip-pipes.
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Cost effective installation, lowmaintenance and safe operation
Installation
Each system, complete with field and safe area equipment, is custom
designed to fit particular processing conditions. We will discuss with
your engineering and operations staff the protocols, displays, running
speed and all other specification details so that we can configure the
output of the Profiler to your control systems.
Installation topsides requires a single nozzle on your vessel, there are
no valves, no bridles, no stilling wells, no heat tracing, no vents or
drains. A single Profiler can replace multiple conventional
instruments, saving you space, weight, design and installation time.
Following factory acceptance tests, the Profiler is installed at a
convenient vessel outage. Our worldwide network of experienced
support engineers will carry out testing and commissioning. For a
new build application, designed for the next fifteen to twenty years,
the Profiler gives operations the complete picture and not just a
single point measurement.
Maintenance
There are no moving parts. The working elements are inserted
into titanium dip pipes, safe from any contact with any material in
the separator. Dip pipe internals can be removed on line without
depressurizing the vessel or shutting down the process. Operator
and maintenance intervention is negligible.
Safety
The Profiler is certified for use in hazardous areas where
flammable gases may occur. Each detector system is supplied
through a galvanic isolator housed in the safe area. The data signal is
via fibre optic links. The system uses a sealed radiation source similar
to that used in a domestic smoke alarm. Radiation cannot be
detected anywhere on the outside of the separator, even when the
vessel is empty. Source isolation for vessel entry is a simple external
lever operation.
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Increase oil production, reducechemical usage and preventoverboard spills
In what part of the offshore oil production process would greaterinformation yield the biggest benefits? This was the question weasked major oil producing companies.
The greatest wish was for a way to see precisely what was happening
inside the separator vessels. We responded with the greatest step
forward in separator measurement and control in 50 years:
The TRACERCO Profiler™.
The feedback identified the separation process as the key; “Let’s face
it, the basic function of an offshore installation is simply to separate
oil from the produced water and pump the valuable part back to
shore. Any advances in this process would be welcome”.
Lack of accurate measurement of the levels of oil and water—as well
as any sand, emulsion, foam, naphthenic acids, asphaltenes and
scales, meant that facilities are operated at less than their design
capability. As a result output was suffering; spend was high on effect
chemicals; maintenance was intensive; and there was a high risk of
discharging oily water to the sea.
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Chevron Kuito
The Kuito field lies within the offshore Cabinda Province in Angola’s
deep-water Block 14. Kuito was Angola’s first deep-water oil field
to come on stream in December 1999. Oil is produced via an
FPSO chartered through SBM and Sonangol on behalf of
operator Chevron.
Kuito is a heavy oil ranging from 18–22 API. The FPSO has two oil
production trains with a throughput of 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
Horizontal, gravity separation vessels are used to separate oil and
gas from produced water and solids. Following production start-up,
separation problems began to emerge, these were manifested in
numerous process upsets and shutdowns. Kuito oil can form
emulsions quickly and calcium naphthenate, or ‘Kuito Gunk’ as it is
referred to on the FPSO, is produced at higher temperatures and if
allowed to cool, solidifies. The traditional point instrumentation was
unable to detect these emulsion and naphthenate layers resulting in
the instrumentation becoming fouled and ceasing to function.
The Profilers were retro-fitted to three vessels and operations were
then able to identify the different layers within the separators. This
enabled oil production uptime to be increased and chemicals,
emulsion breakers and de-foamers, to be pro-actively dosed before
the plant became unstable.
Feedback
“The Profilers have proved not only to be totally reliable and trouble
free but also a very important tool for managing the levels within the
process. Because the Profilers clearly identify the emulsion phase
within the vessels we are quickly alerted to any adverse shift in
chemical dosage rates and are then able to do something about it in
a proactive manner.
Prior to the installation of the Profilers, we would often find ourselves
in an unstable or trip condition before we realised there was a
problem with the chemicals. This is a huge advantage, being able to
optimise chemical injection i.e. not needlessly over-dosing expensive
chemicals. There is absolutely no doubt that we have kept the plant
running longer and have sustained fewer plant trips since installation
of this equipment.”
The TRACERCO Profiler™ in action
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Figure 1 Vessel mimic. Operator can see different phases. Note downstreamof the weir the conventional instrument does not register the foam leveland gives a slightly incorrect measurement.
Figure 2. Screen shot showing vessel ‘A’ at start up, note the large waterlayer and the small build-up of foam on top of the water.
Figure 3. 12 minutes later, note oil has been introduced and the large build-up of foam.
Figure 4. 6 minutes later, de-foamer chemical injected and foam level is falling.
Figure 5. 1 hour 39 minutes later showing foam level has gone; note thatthere is not a clean interface. The residence time or emulsion breakerdosage needs adjusting.
Figure 6. 2 hours 47 minutes later showing full production. Note the flatprofile of the water layer and oil layer. Operations can be confident that atthis residence time no more separation is taking place. There is opportunityto increase flow, or reduce chemical injection.
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ConocoPhillips – Kuparuk North Slope Alaska
Located on the Arctic Coastal Plain, the Kuparuk facility is the
second largest oilfield in North America. When ConocoPhillips
brought on a new field with viscous oil and high solids content,
the 1st Stage production separator needed upgrading. The original
separator utilised displacers and differential pressure cells for
both oil and interface measurements and had also been fitted
with guided wave radar instrumentation.
In an environment where extreme winter temperatures of minus
60°F are the norm, high reliability and maintenance-free
operation is crucial when specifying instruments. ConocoPhillips
wanted to see how various level measurement technologies
performed under these conditions while also dealing with oil
production that is difficult to separate.
Feedback
The TRACERCO Profiler™ was the only technology able to measure
interface and level reliably and accurately. The Profiler has been
extremely helpful in identifying emulsion build-up, allowing the
operator to attack the issue quickly with chemicals.
The operator has also been able to improve the interface control
tuning on the water outlet valves. Sand monitoring capability was an
unexpected benefit. Operations suspected they would be able to
see sand production, but results have exceeded expectations. The
operator anticipated sand-jetting the vessel about once per week,
but with the new viscous oil field producing more solids than
expected, knowing when to sand jet has been a huge advantage.
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Figure 1. Vessel CPF1 Primary level. Screen shot showing 12-hour trend of all phases.Note sand build-up from 0 to 15% level over this 12-hour period.
Figure 2. Screen shot showing actual levels for sand, water, emulsion, oil andfoam plus the trend from the previous hour.
Figure 3. Screen shot showing actual profile quality for separation for sand, water,emulsion, oil and foam. Note lack of defined oil / water interface causes radar to fail.
Figure 4. Screen shot showing 6 hour trend. Note sand washing is now in operationreducing the sand level to 0%.
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Within many refineries, there is a growing tendency to process
heavier crudes or blend these into lighter feedstocks. During crude
oil refining it is advantageous to optimize the blend to reduce overall
feedstock costs whilst at the same time ensuring the final mix can be
adequately processed with minimal upset. One of the fundamental
needs is the efficient separation of water from the crude using a
desalter after water washing the feedstock to reduce salt levels.
Using The TRACERCO Profiler™ within a desalter has allowed a
number of measurable benefits to be realised which include;
• The ability to process lower quality crudes with enhanced margin
for refined products
• The elimination of process upsets resulting from water carryover
or oil carry under from the desalter vessel
• Optimize upstream desalter mixing to enhance salt removal from
downstream vessels thus reducing corrosion and deposit issues
• Operator confidence to run the interface level closer to the lower
electrostatic grid thus optimizing separation of difficult blends
• Reduced production losses due to difficult to treat crude
At last you have complete control
For the first time, the operator can tell how much solid/sludge has
built up within the desalter vessel, assess what effect this is having on
throughput, and jet wash the separator to rid it of the problem.
The TRACERCO Profiler™ also makes possible the optimum use of
effect chemicals. It will not only detect the presence of emulsion but
its dispersion. Again for the first time, the operator can see the effect
of a dose of asphaltene dispersant or de-emulsifier, and therefore
add only the minimum amount to achieve the desired effect.
As well as saving money, this reduces the amounts of chemical used
and allows the choice of chemicals to be optimised.
The TRACERCO Profiler™ forDesalter Optimization
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The TRACERCO Profiler™ can handle any crude oil specification and has
provided almost immediate payback in refinery desalter applications.
Tracerco was requested to help a major oil and gas operator prevent
unplanned shutdowns during the refining of crude oil. Tracerco was
able to develop its existing Profiler unit to withstand the elevated
operating temperatures typically experienced within a desalter.
Tracerco’s in-house development capability of leading edge scientists
and physicists was used to produce, test and commission a new
instrument with suitable design specification to meet a planned
shutdown at the refinery.
To optimise the performance of a desalter, emulsion breaking
chemicals are added to the incoming crude to assist in oil/water
separation. The continuous change of oil/water concentrations make it
very difficult to optimize the process and if salt crystals reach a
distillation column, the damage could be extensive.
With the view inside the vessel, the Profiler gave the operators
confidence in the operation of the vessel and allowed the operations
team to raise the oil / water interface higher in the vessel near to
the electrostatic grid. Once this was achieved, a much smaller
emulsion layer with a clean water outlet and no process upsets were
quickly observed.
Since being installed, the Profiler has eliminated all unplanned
desalter shutdowns at the refinery, enabling the company to
dramatically increase the number of barrels it can refine per day and
significantly reduce chemical usage.
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The TRACERCO Profiler™–unlocking subsea potential
The future of oil recovery lies in accessing increasingly complicated
reserves. In many applications seabed processing holds the key. This
presents many challenges including providing robust and reliable real
time information about key process parameters.
Tracerco has been involved in the revolutionary application of its
award winning Profiler technology for use in the first commercial
seabed processing plant.
Seabed processing
In the Tordis SSBI system delivered to Statoil by FMC Technologies,
Tracerco has provided six subsea Profiler instruments which give
indispensable operational information for measurement and control
of separators. Used to enable reliable two phase separation as well
as sand measurement ,the Profiler technology employed is already
capable of providing for the future needs of subsea separation. Each
Profiler supports the configuration of up to 6 specific phase
classifications which typically include sand, water, emulsion, water
and foaming measurements.
The subsea Profilers are qualified to ISO13628 and manufactured to
exacting NORSOK standards.
The benefits of the proven TRACERCO Profiler™ technology have now been taken subsea to provide the ultimate marriage betweenperformance, reliability and the environment.
Tordis SSBI delivered to Statoil by FMC Technologies
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SpecificationsModel PRI156/146 series PRI 176 series
Topsides and Onshore SubseaPerformanceLevel of accuracy +/-1% +/-1%
Density range 0-3000Kg/m 0-3000Kg/m
Max no. of density points Up to 150 Custom
Update interval 1 to 15 seconds 1 to 15 seconds
ElectricalSafety code EEx ib IIC T4 Not applicable
Operating temperature -20°C to +125°C -20°C to +125°C
Hazardous area approvals ATEX, FM, CSA Not applicable
CE standards Shock/Fire hazard conforms to BS EN 61010 Electromagnetic compatibility complies withcomplies with EMC Directive 89/336/EEC EMC Directive 89/336/EEC
Power requirement 100mA _ 10 volts DC 100mA _ 10 volts DC
Output from head MODBUS, Full duplex fibre optic communications link RS232/485 signal
Standard PLC option Allen Bradley Flexlogix Allen Bradley Flexlogix
Standard communications protocol Allen Bradley Ethernet CIP or DF1 Allen Bradley Ethernet CIP or DF1
Optional outputs Active 4–20mA analogue, digital volt free alarm Active 4–20mA analogue, digital volt free alarm
Intrinsically safe interfacesPower Galvanic isolator giving 100mA 10volts Not applicable
DC Isolator supply 14–35volts DC (24VDC nom.)
MechanicalVessel nozzle size Will fit 2” and greater Custom (retrievable or fixed)
Dip-pipe casing Titanium (suitable for sour service NACE MR-01-75) Superduplex (standard) or to customer specification
Operating pressure 115 Barg standard, 185 Barg UHP version 345 Barg standard, Water depth 3,000 m
Probe operating temp +125°C standard, +200°C with cooling jacket +125°C standard(subject to operating pressure)
Design code PD5500, ASME VIII Norsok M601, M650, ISO13628
Maximum Length Up to 20m* Up to 15m
Optional: *Bolt-on and split profiler options available for restricted access, applications over 12m FM Div 2.Please note: A Number of mechanical design and control system integration options are available. Please contact Tracerco for further information.
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The TRACERCO Profiler™ Customer ListADCO/Technip, Bab Field, Abu Dhabi
Agip KCO, Kashagan Field Development, Kazakhstan
Aker Kvaerner, Janice Platform, UK
Albian Sands, Albian Sands Project, Canada
BHP Billiton, Stybarrow, Australia
BP, Alaska North Slope, Alaska
BP, Cherry Point Refinery, USA
BP, Clair Platform, UK
BP, Forties Delta Platform, UK
BP, Greater Plutonio FPSO, Angola
BP, Harding Platform, UK
BP, Milne Point, Alaska
BP, Saqqara Field Project, Egypt
BP, Schiehallion, UK
BP, Schiehallion FPSO, UK
BP, Texas City, USA
BP, Valhall Platform, Norway
Chevron, Alba Northern Platform, UK
Chevron, Benguela Belize CPT, Angola
Chevron, Blind Faith, Gulf of Mexico
Chevron, Frade, Brazil
Chevron/SBM, Kuito FPSO Angola
CNR, Baobab, Ivory Coast
CNR, Horizon Oil Sands Project, Canada
CNR, Ninian Southern Platform, UK
Conoco Belanak FPSO, Indonesia
ConocoPhillips, Bohai Bay CFD FPSO, China
ConocoPhillips, Bohai Bay Phase II, China
ConocoPhillips, Ekofisk, Norway
ConocoPhillips, Kuparuk, Alaska
ConocoPhillips, North Belut, Indonesia
ConocoPhillips, PengLai 2, China
ConocoPhillips, Tahiti Project, USA
CNOOC, Nan Boa FPSO, China
ExxonMobil, Ringhorne Platform, Norway
Fluor/CNR, Horizon Oil Sands Project, Canada
FMC Kongsberg, Tordis SSBI, Norway
KBR, Tombua Landana, Angola
Kerr McGee, Leadon GPIII FPSO, UK
KMG/CNOOC, Bohai Bay CFD FPSO, China
Maersk Olie Qatar, Qatar
Pemex, Chac A Platform, Gulf of Mexico
Petrobras, Cenpes, Brazil
Petrobras, P35 FPSO, Brazil
Petrobras, P37, Brazil
PetroCanada, TerraNova FPSO Project, Canada
PetroCanada/Amerada Hess, Triton FPSO, UK
Petronas, Sumandak Phase II, Malaysia
PGS/BP, Foinaven FPSO, UK
Sakhalin Energy/Shell, Sakhalin Island II, Russia
Shell PDO, Tank Terminal, Oman
Shell, Tern Alpha Platform, UK
StatoilHydro, Fram Vest Platform, Norway
StatoilHydro, Gullfaks A Platform, Norway
StatoilHydro, Heidrun Platform, Norway
StatoilHydro, Ormen Lange, Norway
StatoilHydro, Snorre TLP, Norway
StatoilHydro, Statfjord B Platform, Norway
StatoilHydro, Troll C Platform, Norway
Syncrude, Alberta Oil Sands, Canada
Talisman/Bluewater, Bleo Holm FPSO, UK
TengizChevroil, Kazakhstan
Total, Dalia FPSO, Angola
Total, Moho Bilondo FPSO Project, Replublic of Congo
Vetco Aibel, Oseberg, Norway
Woodside Petroleum, Angel Platform, Australia
Woodside Petroleum, Enfield FPSO, Australia
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The TRACERCO Advantage
For separator measurement and control
• Gives a profile of all phases, not just a single point
• Not wetted by the process, can be removed without
interrupting the process
• More cost effective to install in a new vessel than
‘conventional instruments’
• Simplify vessel design, reduction of nozzles, could justify
smaller vessel size, less possible points of leakage
• Considerable weight reduction over bridle instrumentation
• High reliability, up to 150 individual measurements.
Can be used for trip, alarm and control functions
• Suitable for SIL2 applications
• No heat tracing required
• No sand blockage
• Environmental risk reduction
• Increased production throughput with no moving parts, minimal
cost of ownership over life of asset
• Cost savings on chemical additives
• World leadership in radioisotope detection technology
• Long established understanding of the needs of the world’s
petrochemical, chemical, oil and gas industries
• Dedicated team of specialists in offshore applications
• World-wide network of sales offices
How to find out more
There is no technology available which is comparable to The TRACERCO Profiler™. If you wish to gain the competitive advantages of lower costs,
higher throughput, and clean environmental credentials we invite you to contact us for further information.
Billingham, UKTel: +44 (0) 1642 375500
Aberdeen, UKTel: +44 (0) 1224 592527
Rotterdam, The NetherlandsTel: +31 (0) 10 26 46 5 10
Oldenburg, GermanyTel: +49 441 36 11 09-0
Milan, ItalyTel: +39 02 9098997 1
Bergen, NorwayTel: +47 55 36 55 40
Perth, AustraliaTel: +61 (0) 8 9480 3718
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTel: +603 7957 9821
Baku, AzerbaijanTel: +994 12 5141619
Shanghai, ChinaTel +86 21 57741234
Beijing, ChinaTel: +86 10 64107324 / 5
Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmeriatesTel: +971 501243144
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