With fluctuations in the crude market from over-supply and negative prices to supply shortages and price wars, the diversity of crude is ever changing. And while it may be attractive to refinery purchasing, crude blending is often an overlooked after thought in relation to how certain process mixes can create unwanted operational challenges.
How to gain control of your crude distillation unit (CDU)
Sep 30, 2021 11:07:12 AM
Topics: nucleonic instrumentation, desalter optimization, Tracerco Profiler, insights, nucleonic instrument, desalter performance, instrumentation, real-time measurement, real-time insights, multiphase separation, crude distillation unit, process control, process optimisation, instrumentation control, crude unit, CDU
How to use actionable insights to optimise trayed tower performance
Apr 29, 2021 10:35:15 AM
Gas plants play a critical role in cleaning raw natural gas after being extracted from subterranean deposits.
This process isolates hydrocarbons, non-methane fluids, hydrates and impurities to produce dry pipeline quality gas, which is then transported to the end user. These plants are generally low maintenance compared to oil refineries and most chemical processing complexes. However, they have limited options in the event of disruptions, degrading conditions or incoming raw gas flows. If these conditions do arise, scanning technology has proven to be an effective screening tool for providing detailed information about the hydraulic performance of trayed towers.
Topics: Tru-Scan, tower scanning, tower gamma scan, trayed columns, trayed tower, gas plant, insights, tower performance
How to ensure accurate and reliable pipeline pig tracking
Mar 24, 2021 7:38:56 AM
The ultimate objective of every pig run is to complete the required task, and return the pipeline to its original operating condition in the shortest time possible. A stuck pig causes delays, resulting in higher project costs, so it is important to have a contingency plan should the pig become stuck.
In this blog, we will discuss using a case study example how the implementation of our pig tracking technology allowed a customer to effectively and accurately track/time the pig trains progression down the length of the pipeline, thus resulting in huge savings on vessel and equipment costs.
Topics: pipeline inspection, pipeline integrity, pipe in pipe, subsea pipelines, pigging, stuck pig, pig tracking, gammatrac, pig run, pig tracking services
Using tracer technology to identify the source of fugitive emissions
Mar 23, 2021 10:54:54 AM
With government regulations constantly evolving and varying based on localities, being able to isolate sources of fugitive emissions and repair or replace faulty equipment allows customers to remain compliant and avoid costly fines. To aid in this endeavour, Tracerco injects a variety of liquid and gaseous tracers to detect the presence of leaks within equipment whilst remaining fully operational.
Topics: leak tests, small leaks, online leak detection, chemical leak test, pressure safety valve, leaking psv, leaking pressure safety valve, leak study, fugitive emissions, PSV, leak detection
Optimise oil production using inflow, interwell and completion integrity tracers
Mar 22, 2021 4:01:23 PM
Mature oilfields are often characterised by increased water production. This results in costly water treatment and reduced oil processing capacity. Unwanted produced water may stem from well integrity failure, wellbore tortuosity, high waterflood injection rates, high permeability channelling, thief zones or injector / producer well spacing as well as water coning. Identifying the source of excessive water production and mitigating for its costly impact is critical during field development in reducing costs and maximising oil production.
Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, interwell, reservoir characterisation, fluid inflow, tracers, oil inflow, water inflow, inflow measurement, inflow, waterflood, injected water, water breakthrough, water production, wellbore, mature offshore field, waterflood injection
Interwell partitioning tracers to measure the effectiveness of a chemical EOR flood
Mar 17, 2021 12:57:25 PM
Tracer technology is proven to be critical to assess remaining oil saturation measurement in a reservoir following secondary recovery. It allows the measurement of remaining oil saturation between wells, rather than just surrounding a wellbore. This technique is normally used before and after an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project to establish changes in crude oil saturation.
In this blog we will discuss using a case study example, how our range of specialist chemical tracers can allow operators to identify the amount of remaining oil saturation in a mature waterflood and determine the effectiveness of specific enhanced oil recovery techniques at reducing remaining oil to residual levels.
Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, interwell, reservoir characterisation, fluid inflow, tracers, oil inflow, water inflow, inflow measurement, inflow, waterflood, injected water, water breakthrough, water production, water tracer, chemical tracer technology, wellbore, mature offshore field, waterflood injection, residual oil saturation, remaining oil saturation
Pre-turnaround scans enable better critical path planning
Mar 1, 2021 7:49:02 AM
Pre-turnaround scans are very useful tools for facilities to utilise for planning turnaround projects. They can indicate some damage within a vessel, allowing for parts to be ordered and onsite ahead of time. They can also indicate an operational issue, which can be corrected without an entry into the vessel. If required they can indicate that the vessel is healthy and no work is needed on it at this time.
Topics: distillation column, Distillation Column Performance, Column Performance, packed column performance, packed column, distillation column maintenance, gamma scanning distillation columns, trayed columns, turnaround schedules, turnarounds, distillation column scan, distillation column scanning, turnaround planning, packed bed towers, trayed tower, manage turnaround costs, turnaround critical path project, pre-turnaround scans, baseline scan, column troubleshooting, pre-turnaround planning, critical path planning
Baseline scanning is critical to diagnose future column problems
Jan 18, 2021 8:49:22 AM
Baseline scans of a vessel are undertaken when it is known to be clean, operating normally, and in good mechanical condition. They are often used for comparison purposes on future troubleshooting scans. Any anomaly, or abnormal absorption observed on a baseline scan, that cannot be explained by a visible external interference or by something indicated in the column drawings, may be able to be eliminated as a potential problem area in future troubleshooting scans.
Topics: distillation column, Distillation Column Performance, Column Performance, distillation column maintenance, gamma scanning distillation columns, distillation column scan, distillation column scanning, baseline scan, column troubleshooting
Monitor parent-child well communication using chemical tracers
Jan 7, 2021 3:14:34 PM
Interactions between fractures in adjacent horizontal wells and development of methods for mitigating their costly negative effects has become the focus of much discussion within the industry. Operators are now acutely aware that one of the key challenges of infill development is avoiding interwell communication between Parent and newly drilled and fractured infill wells.
Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, reservoir characterisation, fracture diagnostics, well communication
Top tips for a successful safety stand-down
Dec 18, 2019 4:14:49 PM
At Tracerco, we recognise that our people are our business and represent the future of our business.
Safety is one of the core foundations we value the most. Tracerco and its employees partnered with businesses and charitable organisations in its local communities for its annual safety stand-down day in December 2019. During the event, we focussed on a range of safety issues, from the more common concerns such as slips, trips and falls, to protecting the environment and how personal wellness and mental well- being can have an impact on safety.
In this blog, we will highlight and discuss our top tips for hosting a successful safety stand-down in the workplace.
Topics: safety, safety stand-down, education, health and safety, safety awareness, EHS culture, safety education, people, EHS, safety culture, mental wellbeing, workplace safety, work safe home safe, safety behaviour, EHS behaviour, employees