This Tip of the Month will discuss energy issues in the U.S, and highlight why there must be an “all of the above” approach to electricity generation technologies to ensure availability and reliability. The type of technology selected should be based upon what the local resources and environment can provide as there is no silver bullet, or one size fits all solution. Energy density of the various electricity generation technologies will be covered, and some examples of current performance will be examined. [Keep reading]
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There are several “non-metallic” options for gas gathering system applications. To a large degree, non-metallics eliminate the corrosion concerns – both internal and external – associated with metallic – typically carbon steel – pipelines. [Keep reading]
Hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide are the principal objectionable acid gas components often present in natural gas, synthetic gas, and various refinery gas streams. These acid gas components must be removed for corrosion prevention in gas pipelines, process equipment, and for health and safety reasons. Reference [1] provides current acceptable concentration levels for these acid gases in various gas streams. Hydrogen sulfide removal often requires the production of sulfur in the sulfur recovery units to meet emission limits. Sulfur is a product used to produce sulfuric acid and fertilizers. Carbon dioxide removal is used for enhanced oil recovery and is required for carbon capture and sequestering (CCS) operations. [Keep reading]
In some cases, a choke/line heater is required at the wellsite to deal with the large JT expansion cooling effect experienced by choked high-pressure wells, especially during start-up. This is a somewhat different application than prevention of hydrates in the GGS but there are some common aspects to the equipment utilized. First, the hydrate temperature of the flowing wellstream is estimated. From Figure 1, for 0.65 SG gas and assuming any free water present is condensed/fresh water, the estimated hydrate temp at an assumed average GGS pressure of 1,100 psig is ~ 65 F. [Keep reading]
Part 1 : Shale gas is typically considered an “unconventional” resource, along with tight gas and coalbed methane. Of these three, coalbed methane (CBM) has several characteristics that make it quite different than shale gas and tight gas, including: shallow depth, low pressure and temperature, and the need for a significant early life “de-watering” stage. As a result, CBM developments have some considerably different aspects to them and will not be discussed further in this article. [Keep reading]
By 2020, many companies had already begun attempts to transition their training from face-to-face and add more e-learning and virtual delivery, but the COVID-19 pandemic hastened these companies to make their move with immediacy! Additionally, the industry’s financial health, used to previous highs and lows of economic cycles, faced an oil price decline in the beginning of 2020 that was coupled with a collapse in demand due to COVID-19 restrictions unlike other times. This case study is about how one company successfully converted key operator training from Face-to-Face to Blended quickly and inexpensively in response to COVID-19 concerns by using PetroSkills ePilot e-learning to deliver awareness and knowledge-level content. [Keep reading]
