TABLE OF CONTENTS Oil and Gas production facilities consist of many diverse and complex processes that have special safety challenges that are similar to and also significantly different from those in Chemical and Petrochemical plants. These processes must run with the highest possible reliability under differing and difficult operating terrain that changes from permafrost to desert conditions to deep seas. Under these harsh conditions, continuous and safe operation is expected 24 hours per day, 7 days per week with negligible impact to the environment. The remote location of the facilities also creates special maintenance and operating challenges.
The processes mainly consist of:
Offshore platforms that are structures erected in seas primarily for the extraction of petroleum products.
Onshore oil and gas fields with wells and associated controls.
Tank farms and underground storage facilities that may consist of salt caverns or porous layers underground.
Oil and Gas treatment facilities. Once pumped from a well, the oil and gas has to be separated from other contaminants such as water, sulfur, additives and other hydrocarbons that harm equipment and the environment or reduce the quality and usability of the product. Installations for carrying out these treatments can vary considerably.
Pumping systems for the transportation of liquids.
Compression facilities for transportation of gases.
Injection facilities for injecting gas and liquids into wells and storage facilities. Since production pressure from wells tends to decline over time, hydrocarbons are re-injected to maintain or increase the pressure.
Pipelines for the transportation of various hydrocarbon products using pipeline systems, compression...
