The accurate and timely localization of the vandalization and leak point on an oil pipeline provides operators with information to aid with the development of robust security response and intervention plans. These plans have the potential of reducing the impact of leaks on the environment by enabling operators to take actions to mitigate their effect. A major challenge with current leak and vandalization detection systems is the generation of spurious signals which in time slows down the response to these alerts. This paper presents results of the field trial of a Fiber Optic Cable based Oil/ Gas leak and intruder detection system. Oil and Gas leaks were simulated on a pipeline section buried in a swamp location with 1mm and 2mm Orifices located at the 0o, 90o and 180o positions on the pipe with a section of the pipe exposed for third party intruder detection tests. The orifices were connected to compressed air and water used in place of Oil and gas. The fiber optic cable was buried on both sides of the pipeline and hooked up to the Helios Integrator. The system was able to detect and localize leaks from the orifices with the signal intensity proportional to the leak intensity. It was able to detect third party activities such as cutting and the use of hammers on the pipeline and also walking near the pipeline. The results coupled with the security intervention plan which is developed to provide varying levels of response will eliminate response to spurious signals thus providing a robust response and intervention plan to oil and gas leak and intruder detection. File Size 338 KB Number of Pages 8 Some of the OnePetro partner societies have developed subject-specific wikis that may help.
Marginal Oilfield status is the terminal point of all mature producing oilfields before they are finally abandoned. At this point, it becomes uneconomical for most operators to continue producing the field due to the very low oil production from the fields coupled with the increasing water cut and sand production from the wells. In spite of the low production from these fields, records show that the field still contains up to 40% of its reserves. The field at this point is either abandoned or sold out to marginal operators who manage the fields with minimal OPEX to maintain profitability. The strategies to be deployed to ensure profitability of the field must guarantee very minimal or zero OPEX both for the production and the operation of the field. Artificial lift is a technique used for increasing the flow from low producing oil wells and the Electric Submersible Pump is a tool used in facilitating the increase of the well flow especially when the crude oil production has decreased. This work presents the development of solar power driven Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) for increasing the flow from oil wells. The system operation is managed by a controller which manages the operation of the ESP. It also utilizes the ESP and the choke to control well pressure while a sand trap is inserted between the wellhead and the choke to separate the sand from the oil. The utilization of solar power for the ESP eliminates the need for other sources of power supply which require increasing OPEX costs and integration of the electronic choke enables remote operation and control of the wellhead, thus minimizing operator visits. This system will enable marginal field operators produce from remote wells with minimal OPEX. It will also enable major operators extend the production from their oil fields especially in this era of low oil prices where new explorations are too expensive to consider.
This paper presents the report of a pipeline intruder detection system using the Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) based Distributed Vibration Sensor technology (DVS). A 12 km optic fiber cable was buried under a 0.9m thick slab of concrete buried 1.6m deep along an SPDC 18" pipeline within the pipeline right of way (ROW). The application of the OTDR was to detect some predefined types of intrusion (walking, digging, driving, etc.,) normally associated with vandalism and bunkering activities along the pipeline ROW. The system was able to identify with sufficient signal clarity; the footsteps of a man weighing about 80kg walking up to 3m near the buried sensor, digging activities at about 3m away from the optic fiber cable, a moving herd of cattle crossing the pipeline ROW from 15m to the ROW, the presence of a wheeled 4x4 vehicle 10m away from the buried cable and a 5 ton truck 50m away from the cable was also detected. The results were displayed on a graphical user interface with different colour codes for each intrusion event or category. The system was found to be able to detect the different possible types of intrusion activities prevalent around pipelines. The concrete slab was found to have minimal effect on the sensitivity of the optic fiber with respect to its ability to detect intrusion activities up to 5m from the optic fiber cable, but for areas without the concrete slab, the system sensitivity much better, hence the received intrusion signal strength was found to be very high. This system can be deployed along our pipeline ROW to provide intrusion detection for SPDC pipelines and provide an early warning system for malicious intents on the pipelines.
The local content policy is enforced by Governments to get local contractors more involved in the supply of services to the Oil industries in their countries so that funds spent on foreign companies for the provision of these services can be retained in the country. This increases the capacities of these companies at providing jobs and reducing unemployment in their countries. The Oil industry in Nigeria spends over $15Billion annually for services such as fabrication, procurement and engineering. These services can be provided by local companies. The main issue with the implementation of the local content policy is in the quality of services rendered by local companies which raises the question as to whether the value delivered is commensurate with the funds spent. Other issues include: Do these companies possess the required expertise to enable them deliver to the required standards? Are these companies being run in such a manner as to grow them into multinational companies capable of providing service to the global oil and gas companies? With the discovery of oil in other African countries, Nigeria should be a source of high quality and low cost alternative for the supply of the required technical expertise in these countries. The local content bill can only be successful if the benefitting local companies grow in terms of technical, financial and managerial capacities to be able to compete globally. For this to happen, the companies must be made to conform to international best practices, the scope of projects to be delivered must be thoroughly understood and the contract terms should include incentives for timely delivery of projects and services within the cost, schedule and quality. The contract terms should also include penalties for slippages by either party and these terms should be adhered to very strictly.
Manual data acquisition of pressure readings in order to build a static pipeline hydraulic profile for a pipeline network, increases the security exposure of personnel, logistics cost with the attendant delay in determining and reporting pipeline pressure used in Hydrocarbon accounting, making it prone to errors, inaccurate and unrepresentative of the actual situations on the network. This paper presents results of a wireless pipeline real time (RT) pressure monitoring system using low power wireless transmitters installed at selected pressure points on the pipeline networks located in remote areas of SPDC operations. The system utilizes secure wireless transmission and special encryption systems designed to protect the data transmission from interference and degradation. The system achieved a data transmission over a 10km range from a pipeline pressure point to the gateway, with a battery life of over 6 months. Longer battery life durations can be achieved by the deployment of exception based reporting. The system provides a means of monitoring the pipeline pressure and thus enables the development of a dynamic pipeline pressure profile for the monitored pipelines. The data from the system can also be used with special algorithms to monitor the pipeline for leaks. The system versatility has also been tested as means of collating vital well data to a data concentrator enroute an enterprise intranet
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