Liquid, Chemical & Gas Handling

SHOAL, the pan-European information and communication technology project, has successfully developed and delivered intelligent robotic fish capable of detecting and identifying pollution in ports and other aquatic areas. Luke Speller, SHOAL project leader and senior research scientist at BMT Group Ltd, believes that underwater robots will revolutionise the way we manage our oceans. He describes the key areas of major development and the significant role each of the partners have played in bringing these mechanical fish to life.

Canada is the world’s third largest producer of natural gas, with approximately 97 percent produced from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, which spans Alberta and British Columbia. Kitimat LNG, which draws on the basin’s supplies, represents Canada’s first LNG export terminal. Kitimat LNG, which draws on the basin’s supplies, represents Canada’s first LNG export terminal. Co-owned by Apache Corporation, EOG Resources and Encana Corporation, Kitimat LNG is located on Bish Cove, approximately 650 kilometers north of Vancouver.

Together, Implico and TanQuid have achieved their goal and turned three companies with different systems into a single group with a coherent terminal management and automation system. The successful changeover has brought two key benefits: the data at the different storage terminals is comparable and can be managed centrally, and each individual site has gained from having the fully automated OpenTAS solution.

Berth space at terminals is a limited resource, and development of new berth space is expensive, time-consuming and may be limited by natural constraints. Effective berth scheduling allows terminals to maximize utilization of their berth space; therefore, berth scheduling is critical to the overall efficiency of the terminal and the associated supply chain.

The potential benefits of the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel are widely recognized. In summary, the use of this fuel would allow the elimination of emissions of sulphur compounds (SOX), reduction of emissions of nitrogen compounds (NOX) and particulates, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2). From a port operational aspect, this is positive as it embraces the mitigation of local air quality issues and assists with the reduction of the carbon footprint of the port.

The North American natural gas market is characterised by strong and growing demand, an extensive pipeline grid with numerous options for transportation and trading, and dwindling domestic supplies which are keeping pace with demand only through increased rates of drilling.

With Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as one of the key solutions to the rapid increase in energy demand, there is a need to employ integrated planning to deal with the marine transport and terminal design issues for new LNG facilities.

Kinder Morgan terminals embarked on a voyage to establish a corporate culture built around safety, quality, and environmental compliance. This ongoing process began several years ago and, though great strides have been made, the simple fact is Kinder Morgan will never be completely satisfied until zero incidents can be claimed.

Terminal operators and their customers are concerned more than ever with increasing working capacity, reducing heel, extending service life and reducing emissions and evaporative product loss. This article takes a closer look at these key concerns and considers some potential strategies to improve performance, increase tank working capacity and reduce heel.

The transfer of fluids is the backbone of companies who produce or trade these fluids or provide storage capacity. At the end of the day, it is the fluid flow that keeps the meters counting and that generates the cash flow. This article will discuss the last part of the liquid transfer line: the loading facility; the most critical part of the transfer of fluids between a storage tank and a tanker.

The recent DeepWater Horizon incident has brought into sharp focus the requirement for current, up to date contingency planning, the correct mix of anti-pollution equipment and well practised recovery techniques and crews.

During a mayor offshore oil spill, response teams are facing difficult challenges. Going out to the casualty as quickly as possible is vital, however, collecting the oil in order to minimize the environmental impact of the oil coming ashore is not an easy task.