×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Portable receiver

Portable receiver

Portable receiver

(OP)
HI,

We are in the process of designing a 30" crude oil line where the client wants to put a portable scraper trap.Does any one have an idea about portable scraper trap and how it looks (space occupied, etc.,) and the principle of operation. A sketch will help me in understanding.

Thanks in advance.  

RE: Portable receiver

This is not a standard contraption, and I would expect it to be incredibly heavy.  If you don't know where to start, you need to hire someone who does.

David

RE: Portable receiver

bartee

I've used portable pig traps before, typically in a scenario where you have allot of small gathering lines that are the same size(not over say 12") that need to be pigged occasionally and the client didn't want to build a bunch of pig traps - we just had connections on each end of every one (a flanged, full bore valve) and a trailer mounted receiver & launcher that could be flanged up to which ever line needed to be pigged.  Works good in that scenario, have not seen it for a single 30" line before or anything over around 12".  Not sure what the drivers behind wanting portable traps are?  It would help to know.  

In my experience on these portable traps, they are not conducive, simply because of the size, to larger diameter pipelines.  Again, it would help to know the rationale (if there is any) behind the clients request.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website: www.oil-gas-consulting.com
 

RE: Portable receiver

Reminds me of an old "Have Gun, Will Travel" episode for some reason.  

It doesn't make sense to have a portable launcher/receiver when the pigs themselves really arn't all that portable either.  You need a 18 wheeler to move more than 10 of the heavy ones.  Maybe that is considered portable .. in some parts of the world.  Or if it comes with its own D12 track rack?  Is the connection made with braided "pig tails"?

Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisors one in a thousand'  ...  Book of Ecclesiasticus

RE: Portable receiver

This is essentially a "pig receiving valve", which as already mentioned above is very commonly used in smaller sizes, so the technology is well known, although I don't see how you remove the pig in your drawing.  Otherwise you seem to be trying to scale pig valves up, which probably will work until you hit the ease of transportability wall.  I think you're still under that for this system, unless you try to carry a lot of balls around with it too. I'll let you think about the full implications of that problem.

  

Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisors one in a thousand'  ...  Book of Ecclesiasticus

RE: Portable receiver

bartee

Big Inch is correct.  Need to look at the client's reasoning behind this request - is it cost, schedule, space limitations.  

Also need to ask the client what type & frequency of pigging will they be doing.  Will inteliigent pigs be used?  The type of pigging will drive the length & configuration of the trap. There are nmany possibilities for pigging requirements and all need to be looked at:

For construction and commissioning:
 - Debris removal
 - Sizing platf/pig
 - Hydrotest
 - Dewatering
 - Drying
 - Geometry survey
 - Pipe defect survey

For operations:
 - Product segregation
 - Scale and/or wax removla
 - Solids removal
 - Inibitor batching
 - Condensate removal
 - Pipleine internal inspection
 - Geometric survey

How will these "traps" be tied into a drain system or collection area?

Typically, a min of 1 pig length (pig length depends on the type & manufactuer of the pig) of straight run pipe should be installed between bends & outlets coming into the trap.

Also, how will the pgis be detected - are there any pig sigs?  Pig traps on one hand are pretty simple devices, but they be complex depending on the applications.

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website: www.oil-gas-consulting.com
 

RE: Portable receiver

Actually what I'm having the hardest time imagining is why a crude oil line operator (especially at the 30" size) wants to mess around with building and hauling around a portable anything.  That size should guarantee to make enough money that, if you really need these things, or any other piece of equipment, you buy one and weld it down.  Hauling around a 30" valve on a regular basis seems like it must be a false economy and, if you only need it once every few years, there are probably other and far better solutions around.

Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisors one in a thousand'  ...  Book of Ecclesiasticus

RE: Portable receiver

Agree 100% BigInch - that's why I asked the question of why - generally there is some logic in decisions made, but it is not always obvious what that logic is or if it makes practical sense.  I struggle to see it on 30".

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website: www.oil-gas-consulting.com
 

RE: Portable receiver

If you're some nickle & dime operation trying to keep the last drops of an EOR well running downhill on its own, OK, I get it, but not for a 30".  That's gotta be raking in 1 MM/day on startup flows alone.

Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisors one in a thousand'  ...  Book of Ecclesiasticus

RE: Portable receiver

What I mean is that it simply wouldn't do to have to shut down the 1 $MM/day money flowrate because you had a flat tire on your pig trap moving vehicle, the access road washed out, or somebody missed the turn-off.

Let your acquaintances be many, but your advisors one in a thousand'  ...  Book of Ecclesiasticus

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources