1 March 2022
BULK PIPING FOR OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to choosing pipe material for oil & gas, water, wastewater and other utility projects. The tasks and requirements of the specific industry determine the type and material of bulk piping being leveraged.
Essentially, there are two types of pipes which are arrayed in oil and gas industry. These are the seamless pipes, and the welded pipes which are available in different grades and materials. While a seamless pipe is manufactured without any welding or formation of any rod or hard steel billet; Welded pipes are mass-produced by leveraging processes such as bending and cutting along with final welding of plates and coils.
Bulk piping is deployed for different purposes in the oil and gas industry such as upstream, midstream and downstream operations, including process piping to refine oil and gas, distribution and transport of different fluids such as oil, gas, water, steam, slurries, and acids-Whether these are carbon steel pipes, chrome alloy steel pipes, stainless steel pipes, duplex or super duplex pipes.
Like any other system, the bulk piping and fittings infrastructure engaged in fluid handling operations will sooner or later need to be replaced. When executing or building a fluid handling system, one is required to make several decisions based on the industry, material being handled and the objective. When discussing Oil & gas industry in particular, there are mainly two types of oil and natural gas pipelines which have been divided basis their transportation material, that is the fluid that they transfer.
The Liquid Petroleum Pipelines transfer crude oil and liquid petroleum, and, in this process, there is a system of three types of liquid petroleum pipelines are involved: these include crude oil pipelines systems, gathering systems and refined products pipelines systems. The process begins with gathering pipeline systems which collect the crude oil and gas in liquid format from the production wells. It is transported via the crude oil pipeline to a refinery. Post the refining these pipelines are further divided basis the material- such as carbon dioxide lines, refined product lines, crude oil lines, and highly volatile liquid lines.
Lastly, there are Natural Gas Lines which help transport natural gas from still facilities such as gas wells and import or export facilities, and deliver to several key locations, be it export facility or homes. This system again includes three different types of pipelines: gathering pipeline systems, transmission pipelines, and finally the distribution pipeline systems. Very much like the petroleum gathering systems, the pipeline collects the natural gas raw material from production wells. In the end, the distribution system has a network which distributes the natural gas product to industrial facilities and homes.
In the end, every oil and gas manufacturing facility is unique and has its own set of requirements for bulk piping and fittings. Hence when considering which is the best solution, one would want to be careful with material, grades and overall infrastructural end-industry needs.