Category Archives: Pipeline

In recent TOTMs (January through April, August, and September 2012 and again in January 2013), we discussed several aspects of the physical behavior and transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and natural gas in the dense phase. We illustrated how thermophysical properties change in the dense phase and their impacts on pressure drop calculations. The pressureContinue Reading

What is Mentoring? In this Tip of the Month, we explore how process safety competency can be enhanced through mentoring programs. This TOTM is the paper that was developed by JMC Instructor/Consultants Clyde Young and Keith Hodges presentation at the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) 8th Global Conference on Process Safety in April, 2012. Continue Reading

Capital Cost (CAPEX) Comparisons High pressure (or dense phase) is increasingly used for transporting large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and natural gas over long distances. In this month’s – Tip of the Month (TOTM), we continue to explore key aspects of dense phase transportation in pipelines. This month’s focus is on the estimation ofContinue Reading

OSHA mentions “near-misses” as recordable requirements in several passages as: “An unplanned and unforeseeable event that could have resulted, but did not result, in human injury, damage to property or the environment or other form of loss”.  And we know that all industrial maintenance organizations have a history of reactive, run-to-failure-then-run-to fix, maintenance management behaviors. Continue Reading

Dense phase is a favorable condition for transporting carbon dioxide (CO2) and natural gas as well as carbon dioxide injection into crude oil reservoir for enhanced oil recovery. Pipelines have been built to transport CO2 and natural gas [1] in the dense phase region due to its higher density, and this also provides the addedContinue Reading

In the August 2009 Tip of the Month (TOTM), it was shown that pumping power requirement varies as the crude oil °API changes. Increasing °API or line average temperature reduces the crude oil viscosity. The viscosity reduction caused higher Reynolds number, lower friction factor and in effect lowered pumping power requirements. Since the objective ofContinue Reading

During the life cycle of a crude oil pipeline the properties of transported oil change, because in gathering systems the produced oils come from different wells. New wells may be added or some wells may go out of production for maintenance and repair. Production rates during the life of wells vary, too. In addition theContinue Reading

One of the most important physical properties of a gas is the ratio of specific heats.  It is used in the design and evaluation of many processes.  For compressors, it is used in the design of components and determination of the overall performance of the machine.  Engineers are frequently asked to evaluate a compressor performanceContinue Reading

The formation of hydrates in processing facilities and pipelines has been a problem to the natural gas industry. Whether the problem occurs in transportation or processing, hydrate formation can cause shutdowns and even destruction of valuable equipment. Because of these devastating and often costly consequences of hydrate formation, methods have been applied to prevent hydrateContinue Reading

In the February 2007 tip of the month (TOTM), Joe Honeywell [1] presented a procedure for calculating fluid pressure drop for liquid in a piping system due to friction. Continuing Honeywell’s TOTM, we will outline procedures for calculation of friction losses in oil and gas pipelines. From an engineer’s point of view the question may arise “howContinue Reading