Refinery has had its 140km-long crude transport line cleaned using a technique that is hardly ever seen in Europe The 100th Seaeye Falcon ROV has been delivered to Fugro-Rovtech in Aberdeen as a part of the Fugro ROV fleet expansion and update planned for 2007. MPU Offshore Lift ASA (MPU) has entered into a contract with a Dutch joint-venture consisting of companies Van Hattum en Blankevoort BV (VHB) and BAM Civiel BV (BAM) for the construction of the concrete hull of the MPU Heavy Lifter. Assessing the suitability of processing plant and equipment throughout the full asset lifecycle, understanding what the real integrity risks are and where the real vulnerabilities lie is not an easy task. The production of natural gas is a complex activity dependant on the many diverse relationships between reservoirs, topsides equipment and pipelines, which collectively or individually dictate deliverability. Premature pipeline corrosion is usually, but not always, due to the failure of the protective coating. A major cause is the presence of flaws in the finished coating, which are collectively referred to as porosity or holidays. A major Norwegian operator had two gas lifted oil wells shut-in due to wellhead integrity issues. Both of these wells had communication between the A & B annuluses across the 103/4-in packoffs. Leak rates were recorded at 2.3litres per minute at 800psi and 2.6litres per minute at 600psi. Leading E&P companies are continuously looking to deploy new technologies faster to improve production and maintenance efficiency and safety, while lowering operating costs and reducing risk. Technologies that enable integrated operations are already delivering strong returns, and they offer E&P companies opportunities to accomplish much more. On the worldwide list of countries transporting and producing liquefied natural gas or, in short, LNG, Malaysia is in third place. The country’s largest manufacturer Petronas recently invited tenders for a De-bottlenecking Project for one of its three LNG plants. With this system, gas escaping while natural gas is converted into liquefied gas in the existing plants, is to be recirculated, resulting in an increase of the overall production output of liquefied gas. Voith Turbo contributes to the project with a geared variable-speed coupling. At the Nerefco refinery in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 400000 barrels of oil are processed daily. Annual statistics are equally impressive: 100million tons of crude oil, intermediate and end products are pumped through the refinery’s pipelines and the corresponding tank farm every year. In deepwater conditions, hydrates may form and plug production lines. There are currently two ways to avoid hydrates. Technical improvements in exploiting existing oil and gas fields and the continued high demand for hydrocarbons very often requires existing offshore structures to be modified and used beyond their design life. Currently the most accurate way of identifying corrosion in a pipeline is an in-line inspection with an intelligent pig. The results from this inspection can then be analysed carefully to provide a clear picture of the condition of the pipeline. One set of inspection data can give an idea of the current condition of the pipeline but having two sets of inspection data can show if the condition of the pipeline has deteriorated over time. The growing use of under-reamed well-bores and the ever decreasing annular clearance between tubulars has increased the demands placed on centraliser design and construction. The latest issue of the High Performance Elastomers guide from James Walker is a reference source intended for engineers and who need elastomers that operate to demanding performance specifications under extremes of temperature, pressure, chemical attack and/or abrasion. prev    next