PETROTECH SEPT 2011

Bongaigaon DHDT Commisioned, August 10, 2011

First DHDT unit based on indigenous technology of IndianOIl-R&D, EIL

Journal of

10TH INTERNATIONAL OIL & GAS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Hydrocarbon and Beyond: Changing Landscape 14th -17th October 2012, New Delhi

Petrotech July – September, 2011

Vol. VI Issue 2

CONTENT

Foreword Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman Petrotech, CMD ONGC

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Editorial Anand Kumar, Director & Editor Petrotech

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Messages Naresh Kumar, President Petrotech & CMD, Deepwater Drilling Industries Ltd. Ashok Anand, Director General Petrotech

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Petrotech welcomes New corporate leaders of oil and gas industry

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Shared vision Developing & Retaining Talent

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Sudhir Bhalla

Oil, Gas & India Economy

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B C Tripathi & Lalit Mansingh

Milestone: Cover page story First indigenous diesel hydrotreating technology commercialised

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Subir Raha Memorial Lecture Transition to a post hydrocarbon energy future

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Dr. R K Pachauri

Future of oil Have a Pick-Will oil peak or not?

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Dr. D M Kale

Asset reliability Protecting underground pipelines from corrosion

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Dr. Pavan K Shukla and Dr. Lietai Yang

Fitness for Purpose Assessment of Austenitic Stainless Steel

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Q. M. Amir, Keshav Kishore, S. Rajagopal

Duplex Stainless

Editorial Board

Alternative energy

Ashok Anand

India’s energy security

Director General

P K Bhowmick and R K Mishra

Anand Kumar Director & Editor

G Sarpal Secretary

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Yatinder Pal Singh Suri

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Petrotech excellence award / Innovation Super Sour Process

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Mukesh Kumar Sharma and Ashis Nag

Petrotech Sponsored Research Lignocellulosics for 2nd generation Bioethanol Production

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Prof Rintu Banerjee, Dr D K Tuli, Mainak Mukhopadhyay and Arindam Kulia Suman Gupta Manager

Technology update INDALIN: a versatile indigenous process technology

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Debasis Bhattacharyya, Brijesh Kumar and S Rajagopal

Sweetening of LPG

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Vivek Rathore, PVC Rao, V Suresh, Dr. Gautam Das, Sunil Kumar and Dr. MO Garg The views expressed by the authors are their own, and do not neccessarily represent that of the Petrotech.

Printed and published by Petrotech at 601-603, Tolstoy House, Tolstoy Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001

Fuels & additives The Global Marine Market

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Foreword factor from the matured fields; innovation in engineering to enhance the energy efficiency and reduce the energy intensity of this growing economy of India.

Government of India has constituted a National Innovation Council. In this context, with a view to prepare a roadmap to drive innovations, a ‘Sectoral Innovation Council for Petroleum & Natural Gas Sector’ has also been set up under the chairmanship of the Secretary, P&NG. The terms of reference of this council are:

Dear Colleagues, At the outset let me extend a very warm Season’s Greetings to all of you and wish you a very Happy and Prosperous Deepawali.

It is my proud privilege to address you all as the 5th Chairman of Petrotech Society that has already become synonymous to the industryacademia interface in the petroleum sector in India.

Oil and gas industry has always been eventful. Earlier a gusher or discovery of a giant field or merger and acquisitions of oil giants often used to be the newsmakers. Of late, though a gusher (the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico) made the news for wrong reason, it is the geopolitical turmoil surrounding oil, the ups and downs of speculative market forces and the resultant volatility in oil prices that often make the news headlines and influence global events in a significant way.

In the past couple of years, we have witnessed rapid changes in the global geopolitical and geo-economical landscape.

The fabric of global energy equilibrium has often been imbalanced by the geopolitical turbulence. Bilateral and multilateral relations have altered and become more pronounced.

The financial crisis triggered in 2008-09, the subsequent oil price spike and global economic recession, surging economic growth of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, the unrest in MENA (Middle East and North African) region, the second boom in oil prices, the economic crisis of euro zone are some of the most telling catalysts of these changes with substantial impact on all other regions of the world.

While these events have triggered a negative connotations on the petroleum industry, some cheering news have also come forward. Of late, Shale gas has been the most influential positive news in the energy space in the world. Over the past decades, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of natural gas that were trapped in shale and made it possible to economically produce. The United States has extensively exploited this technology to its advantage, and presently meeting their gas demand by more than 20% from shale gas production, thereby cooling down the gas prices as well as the price of LNG. Meanwhile, China, USA, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and many other countries including India have established/ assessed mindboggling figures of Shale gas reserves in their own shelves. Five years back which could be a fantasy story for

the energy experts has now become one of the most promising energy sources for the future.

Though a school of energy advocates cry about the peak oil theory and dwindling oil reserves of the earth, the huge new deepwater discoveries in Brazil, south-west coast of Nigeria and Angola, impressive discoveries in Argentina, Columbia, Cuban and Mexican waters, ever-expanding oil sands of Canada etc. are provoking the other school of energy proponents to opine that there is enough oil in the store of mother earth; it is only our hands to reach them.

In case of India, we are naturally neither as endowed as Middle East, nor blessed as Brazil. With about 0.6% of known source of prognosticated global hydrocarbon reserves, our exploratory success has not been as impressive after Mumbai High or Bassein field of ONGC. Mangala oil field in Rajasthan and Dhirubhai gas field in Offshore are two significant discoveries in recent few decades, but nevertheless, our oil and gas imports are steadily increasing, which is a matter of concern. Due to increase of crude oil price and incremental import volume our import bill is increasing every year.

Under such circumstances, we have no options but to explore all the options available in energy space. Alternate fuels, renewables, unconventional sources - everything are being tried and pursued but without significant success. Government has already decided to bet on nuclear energy. But considering the long shadow over nuclear energy cast by the recent Tsunami and the ensuing Fukushima crisis in Japan, the focus cannot afford to shift from the conventional fossil fuels.

In case of oil and gas, I believe the need of the hour is ‘innovation’. Innovation in science of exploration to enhance the success ratio so that the exorbitant cost of exploration in unexplored logistically challenged frontiers is minimized; innovation in technology to raise the recovery

a) Prepare a roadmap for innovation in the sector for the period 2011-21 b) Map opportunities for innovation in the Petroleum & Natural Gas Sector c) Help create innovation eco-systems d) Encourage young talent and local universities, colleges, industries, R&D institutes e) Identify and reward talent in innovation and disseminate success stories f) Organise seminars, lectures, workshops on innovation g) Provide support to promote innovation in Petroleum & Natural Gas Sector h) Encourage innovation in public service delivery.

It is evident from the above that Petrotech Society has been pursuing many of these terms of reference since its inception and has been doing an exceedingly good job. I would like to wish them to further strengthen their resolve to keep up the pursuit for excellence while concentrating the focus on ‘Innovation’.

I would like to sincerely thank the authors who by sharing their expertise and experience have enriched this issue of the journal. Your continued patronage through sharing your research, technology advancements and experiential learning in adapting new technology etc. would further enrich the readers of PETROTECH Journal and serve the purpose of the innovation council in a very meaningful way.

Happy reading ….

Sudhir Vasudeva Chairman, Petrotech CMD ONGC

JoP, July-September 2011

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Editorial Dear Patrons of Petrotech, I am happy to present to you the Second Issue of the Journal of Petrotech (JoP). You will find from its contents, that this issue covers wide range of topics of interest, ranging from providing a glimpse into the future of hydrocarbon energy and technologies to facts and tips for managing the reliability of valuable assets. We highly appreciate the great efforts put in and research carries out by authors and contributors.

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We are, also very happy to share with you that, "Petrotech-2012", has now been formally declared, to be held on 14-17, October next year. The theme of the conference is "Hydrocarbon and Beyond - Changing Landscape". There could have not been better and contemporary theme of a conference of the stature and grandeur of Petrotech biennial conference & exhibition, which shall be organised under the patronage of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India, with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd - a Fortune 100 company, as the lead organiser of this international conference & exhibition.

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The Nobel Laureate Dr R K Pachauri, DG TERI and Chairman IPCC, delivered "2nd Petrotech Subir Raha Memorial Lecture", on a very contemporary issue of "Transition to Post Hydrocarbon Energy Future", which, is also aligned to the theme of Petrotech-2012. This issue carries the text of this lecture, for the benefit of all those who could not be present to listen to Dr Pachauri.

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In the recent years, and particularly since the beginning this year, the Oil & Gas industry has witnessed fast changes in its landscape. The US Shale Gas, last years' great Mexican oil spill and its after-effects, the Tsunami that hits east coast Japan, the Egyptian and Libyan upheaval, bifurcation of Sudan, and the global economic downturn following the down gradation of US economy by S&P, and economic instability in Europe, caused by the Greek crisis, etc are some of the major contributors for the depressed global economic landscape.

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The depressed global economy also depressed the oil prices, but then so has its demand, the gas prices however did not show the same trend. For India, the weakening of the Rupee has offset reduction in the prices Indian basket of oil. Apart from this, the Indian oil industry has, otherwise, been suffering from the burden of bearing fuel subsidies. One rupee depreciation against dollar hits oil companies by additional about Rs 8000 crores.

The state oil companies are likely to loose over Rs 1,00,000 crores this fiscal, due to the combined effect of higher average crude oil prices and depreciation of rupee. For a highly populous country like ours, the subsidies may be a compulsion for the Governments.

Subsidies, however has its own economic disadvantages. As brought out by the recent IEA report on the ‘Fossil Fuel Subsidies’, it certainly encourages wasteful consumption, which in turn decreases energy intensity, which leads to higher imports, threatening energy security of country like India, which meets its over 80% of oil and gas demands through imports. Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Govt. Of India, while delivering the “Lovraj Kumar Memorial Lecture" addressed this issue in a very practical way We hope, his suggestions would soon be adopted for improving operational efficiency, energy security and health of Indian Oil Companies.

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Under any circumstances, the oil people, however, have to continue to ensure the efficient and reliable operation of our oil assets - the refineries, pipelines and E&P facilities, not only for the cutting edge cost advantage and improving their top and bottom lines, but also for ensuring sustained oil supplies, for the wheels of growth to keep moving forward..

This issue of JoP brings to you three articles addressing Corrosion - one of most important aspects of the asset reliability. In the recent past, we have witnessed disastrous failures of oil pipelines in North America and other places in the world. India, compared to the North America, has smaller

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JoP, July-September 2011

pipeline network, but it is fast expanding and in next few years our country shall have a vast network of Oil and Gas pipelines which shall have to be operated in most reliable and safe way. •

If you recall, in 2009, IndianOil-R&D made us proud at WPC Madrid, by winning the "WPC Excellence Award for Development of Technology" beating other two short-listed great companies - Chevron and Saudi Aramco. This award was given for sustained efforts of IndianOil in successfully developing Hydroprocessing technology.

Continuing with this success story, the first Diesel Hydro-treating (DHDT) unit, of 1.2 mmtpa capacity, designed based on the indigenous technology developed by IndianOil -R&D, in association of EIL, went on stream, at Bongaigaon refinery in August, 2011. This maiden indigenously developed and designed DHDT unit has also used indigenously manufactured equipments. The reactor was fabricated and supplied by L&T, whereas the compressors by the BHEL and BPCL. It is certainly a moment of great pride, for India and all Indian scientists and engineers. We complement IndianOil for having encouraged commercialisation of Indigenous technology. We would also like to compliment IndianOil for their coverage of conviction and passion for adopting indigenous technology investing over Rs 450 Crores.

Way back in 2003, IndianOil had commercially demonstrated its INDMAX RFCC technology at Guwahati Refinery. Based on its success and confidence, IndianOil adopted this technology of its Paradip refinery, scaling it up 41 times of the Guwahati Indmax capacity (0.1 mmtpa). The Paradip Indmax is of 4.1 mmtpa capacity, is scheduled for commissioning next year. This should encourage other Indian oil companies to adopt this novel RFCC technology.

This shall certainly open doors for Indian industry adopt the indigenous technology available from the IndianOil-R&D, IIP, NCL etc. This issue of JoP carries update on some the indigenous technologies, and we plan to bring out the entire basket of indigenous technologies in forthcoming issues of JoP. During this period, many new young leaders joined boards of various oil companies. Petrotech welcomes these new visionary leaders of Indian Oil industry. Petrotech has now the privilege of welcoming its new Chairman Shri Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD ONGC, and wishing him a glorious times ahead of their great success.

Petrotech also welcomes Axens as its latest addition to the list of member organisations.

We look forward to your valuable suggestions for improving upon our initiatives quality of the articles.

Knowledge is the only thing which can be increased by sharing, and I am sure, all of us like our knowledge to increase and expand with greater confidence.

Great Indian festival of lights – the Deepawali is approaching soon. The lamps, we light during this festival, symbolises the knowledge which dispels the darkness of ignorance, and as Buddha once told 'thousands of candles (lamps) can be lit with one single candle (lamp), and yet the life of this solitary candle is not shortened. May Buddha inspire us to share our knowledge, and help dispel darkness of ignorance from the minds of many. Please do share your knowledge with us, which we shall share with thousands of the esteemed readers of JoP. With warm season's greetings from Team Petrotech,

(Anand Kumar)

JoP, July-September 2011

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Message It's a matter of immense pleasure to reach all the patrons of Petrotech Society once again through our own journal.

After the dust settles and the Joint Investigation Team of the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement and the US Coast Guard investigating the April 2010 explosion of the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico recently revealed their reports, and identified a number of causes for the blowout, concluding that a central cause was failure of a cement barrier in the production casing string.

Report quotes that "Loss of life at the Macondo site on Apr. 20, 2010, and the subsequent pollution of the Gulf of Mexico through the summer of 2010 were the result of poor risk management, last-minute changes to plans, failure to observe and respond to critical indicators, inadequate well control response, and insufficient emergency bridge response training by companies and individuals responsible for drilling at the Macondo well and for the operation of the Deepwater Horizon."

Every major disaster that has been subject to investigation has included often blatant, sometimes subtle, management, organizational, technical and systemic issues. And at the bottom of everything comes the human intervention and alertness. Across industries "megacrises" appear to have similar aetiologies. Personal training is of the utmost importance in Offshore Oil and Gas and we should not be complacent and wait for any disaster. India has still to prepare itself to mitigate such disasters and must have a disaster management and oil spill response in place.

A series of supply squeezes have helped keep oil strong this year but some of them have been short-term factors and could give way to longer-term weakness as the outlook for the world economy and global fuel demand dims.

The uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, production problems in the UK and Norwegian North Sea, lower supplies from Russia, central Asia, Nigeria and Angola have all cut supplies, especially of high quality, light, low sulphur crude oil. Brent crude has stayed above $100 a barrel for most of the year and hit $127 in April, its highest since 2008.

But as economic growth slows in the United States and debt crisis deepens in the euro zone oil demand may be slowing. And the economic downturn is coinciding with the removal of some of the supply issues that have been supporting the market as Libyan oil exports restart and North Sea maintenance ends.

The oil prices are caught between bearish macro-economic factors and bullish micro-economic factors in the oil sector itself. Market analysts are having difficult time to decide the medium and long term scenario as there are two schools of thoughts in the market. One who thinks regardless of the current strength of prompt prices, there is room for a downward correction in the coming weeks and the longer-term outlook appears weaker for oil prices amid deepening Euro zone crises and slow US recovery.

Another camp of analyst thinks that oil market fundamentals remain tight, oil prices will not fall substantially, no matter how dire the global economic outlook due to supply side constrains.

The US Energy Information Administration still sees higher global crude oil demand and prices over the long run as national economies recover, but expects markets to grow more volatile in the near- to midterm as demand uncertainties multiply.

Ultimately, prices will reflect the pace of global oil demand growth and most forecasts of global GDP growth next year are between 3.5-4.0 percent, suggesting modest growth in oil consumption.

Next Petrotech conference & exhibition is scheduled in October 2012 under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. The first steering committee meeting held this month shows that Indian Oil have already gird their loins to follow the tradition of making every conference better than the previous one. In such a volatile industry outlook this conference will give a platform for various industry stakeholders to brainstorm and come up with solutions required for sustainable development. Petrotech Series of conference and exhibition have established itself as Asia's most important Oil industry event which is quite evident in the ever growing number of participants. It's a great opportunity for our global industry peers to appear in maximum numbers and be a part of Indian growth story.

With the approach of the Festive Season, it is a great pleasure for me to extend Season's Greetings and wish you a very Joyful and New Year.

Naresh Kumar President, Petrotech & CMD, Deepwater Drilling & Industries Ltd

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JoP, July-September 2011

Message No other substance has changed the world so much and affected so many people in such a short span of time as has oil. Oil has become a vital part of industry, agriculture, and the fabric of society at large. All of us agree that oil is a finite resource but still we continue to use it at the exponential rate not realizing that it is going to perish today or tomorrow. Who can realize better than Saudis about the finiteness of oil. They have a saying "My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son rides in a jet airplane -- his son will ride a camel." A clear indication as to where we will be heading to If we are not serious about the use of oil.

However, a lot of people do not agree to this saying that oil reserves are going to exhaust so soon. According to them, how much quantity of oil still remains is a matter of debate and discussion. If we look back, in 1919 the director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted that within the next two to five years the oil fields of this country will reach their maximum production and from that time onward we will face an increasing decline. The same year, National Geographic magazine predicted that oil shale in Colorado and Utah would be exploited to produce oil, because the demand for oil could not be met by existing production. In 1956, another forecast was made that world oil production would peak sometime between 1993 and 2000. Although the prediction for global oil production was wrong, but it was correctly anticipated that U.S. oil production would peak in the early 1970s.

There is no denial to the fact that world consumption of oil has been steadily on the increase and is likely to reach from 86 million barrels a day in 2007 to around 105 million barrels a day in 2030. At the same time more and more discoveries have been made in different countries to meet this demand. The producing countries and companies have been revising their reserves upward from time to time. This, however, still does not convince the world that oil reserves will not exhaust.

Therefore, the most pressing and urgent question facing the mankind today is to ensure the security for future energy resources. We need to examine whether we are well placed in terms of exploration, research and development as well as the exploitation of oil & gas meaning thereby, we require more and more intensification and extension of exploration and development efforts for new sources of oil and gas. The days of easy barrel are gone.

Two major resources which are being widely talked about are Shale Gas & Natural Gas Hydrate. When water and natural gas combine at low temperature and high pressure, the Gas hydrates are formed. Thus it is essentially the natural gas in a frozen state. Some estimates suggest that the total amount of natural gas bound in hydrate form may exceed all conventional gas resources - coal, oil and natural gas, combined.

India always has a persistent widening gap between demand and supply. Be it oil or gas. Thus gas from gas hydrate may play a major role for mitigating this gap. In spite of the fact that lot of efforts are being made by the national, MNCs and private oil companies still production from the Indian oil and gas fields is playing hide & seek. It is estimated that India holds over a thousand trillion cubic meter of gas hydrate resources and if these estimates are true, this source of energy is infinite and can last several hundred years considering the fact that India consumes around hundred million standard cubic meter of gas per day.

One of the senior friends from hydrocarbon industry has rightly said that challenges for the extraction of gas from gas hydrates lie in locating the hydrate, drilling of the wells and production of the gas from the hydrate wells, each having a set of its own problems - technological challenges and cost factors besides others. In addition, there are economic considerations, potential environmental policy impacts, and unknown effects on communities.

The challenge, however, great, is possible to overcome through continuous innovation, research & development. Globally collaborative efforts are in progress and the success in this direction could be sooner than we think. Ensuring security energy for India has to be our prime goal & the Gas Hydrates may hold the promise.

Ashok Anand Director General, Petrotech

JoP, July-September 2011

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Petrotech Welcomes

New Corporate Leaders of Oil and Gas Industry Sudhir Vasudeva becomes ONGC's CMD

Sudhir Vasudeva has taken charge as CMD ONGC & Chairman, ONGC Group of Companies. One of the finest technical brains in contemporary oil and gas business in India, Shri Vasudeva is an example personified for multi-tasking and multi-prioritising.

He is a gold medalist in Chemical Engineering and joined ONGC as a management graduate in 1976. Shri Vasudeva is amongst the chosen first generation of engineers entrusted with creating infrastructure to produce oil & gas from offshore fields.

With over 35 years experience, on the larger canvas of ONGC, Shri Vasudeva is quite clear on his priority: ensuring energy security by improving production from the aging fields and augmenting production through fast track development of deep water and small & marginal fields.

By facilitating better contract management of offshore infrastructures & facilities, he has ensured substantial cost savings for the company. Under Shri Vasudeva’s leadership, the country and ONGC look forward to much needed energy security of the country.

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JoP, July-September 2011

Mr. Rajkumar Ghosh has taken over as the Director (Refineries) of the only Indian Fortune 'Global 100' Company, IndianOil on 1st September, 2011 He takes over from Mr. B N Bankapur who superannuated on 31st August, 2011. Mr. Ghosh was working as Executive Director (ln-charge) at the Refineries Headquarters at New Delhi.

Prior to his posting in Delhi, he was Executive Director (l/C) at the most modern PSU refinery of the country at Panipat and was responsible for all functions of the Refinery, Naphtha Cracker and other downstream polymer units. Mr. Ghosh led the commissioning of Panipat Refinery Expansion from 12 to 15 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) and India's largest Naphtha Cracker which ushered in a new era of industrial development in Haryana. A graduate in Chemical Engineering from I.I.T. Kharagpur, Mr Ghosh has over three decades of experience to his credit in Hydrocarbon Industry.

He has worked in various positions at Barauni, Mathura, Haldia, Guwahati and Panipat Refineries as well as at Refineries Headquarters in New Delhi. Mr. Ghosh who will be heading the Refineries Division of the largest refinery of the country is known for his technical knowledge, dynamic leadership and clarity of vision.

Mr. D K Sarraf, Director (Finance), ONGC has taken charge as Managing Director, ONGC Videsh Limited on 16th September, 2011

Mr. D K Sarraf holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi.

He is also a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Mr. Sarraf has 28 years of experience in the petroleum and natural gas sector and has served in the Oil Coordination Committee under the MoPNG. Mr. Sarraf joined ONGC in September 1991 and has, since then, handled various assignments in ONGC. He has also served in Oil India Limited and OVL. As Director (Finance) of ONGC, Mr. Sarraf is responsible, inter alia, for formulating strategic financial policies and implementation thereof, appraisal of capital expenditure and investment proposals, development of financial management information and control systems, treasury management and ensuring sound corporate governance practices.

Milestone

K S Jamestin takes charge as Director Human Resource of ONGC

BPCL appoints B K Datta as director of refineries

Mr. K S Jamestin has taken charge as Director Human Resources, ONGC on May 25,2011.

He has over three and a half decades of multifaceted experience in Human resource development, Project management, business development, operation and maintenance of oil field installations, engineering, design and instrumentation.

B K Datta has taken over as director, refineries, of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). Datta, a refiner with a background in chemical engineering, had joined BPCL in August 1979 and has held various key positions in the organisation.

Mr S. Varadarajan takes over as Director (Finance) of BPCL Mr S. Varadarajan has taken over as Director (Finance) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation effective September 1, following the retirement of Mr S. K. Joshi.

Prior to this appointment, Mr Varadarajan was Executive Director (Corporate Treasury) BPCL, and responsible for the overall treasury management, risk management, corporate accounts, taxation and budgeting. In 2009, he led a team of 20 professionals which put in place a value mindset across the organisation and created competitive cost structures. In addition to finance, he has handled marketing, as head of sales for retail business in the southern region.

Prior to this appointment, Datta was heading the supply chain optimisation function. He also headed the Mumbai refinery, taking care of overall refinery operations, technology and projects, which included the commissioning of major refinery modernisation expansion.

Our New Corporate Member – Axens India Pvt Ltd Axens is an international provider of technologies (process licenses), products (catalysts and adsorbents) and services (technical assistance, training, consulting) to the refining, petrochemical, gas and alternative fuels markets, and backed by nearly fifty years of R&D and industrial success.

Axens is a fully-owned subsidiary of IFP Energies nouvelles, a worldclass research and training centre, aimed at developing the technologies and materials of the future in fields of energy, transport and the environment.

JoP, July-September 2011

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Shared vision

Developing & retaining talent Sudhir Bhalla, Director (HR), IndianOil

With an ambitious target for the next 50 years, IndianOil, with business interests straddling the entire hydrocarbon value chain, has a new vision based on core values. Sudhir Bhalla, Director-HR, IndianOil, speaks to People Matters on the company's HR practices that have kept it ahead.

What are the challenges you see while managing the human capital of your organization?

IndianOil, over the years, has evolved from being a primarily downstream company to being an energy company with interests across the full spectrum of the hydrocarbon chain and alternative fuels.

With a metamorphosis in our dreams and ambitions, there has also been an evolution in our need for the kind of talent we want to attract. We need to build a strong and cohesive team with multi-domain expertise and matchless collective talent in line with our corporate values of care, innovation, passion and trust.

Not only attracting talent, but retaining it is a big challenge too. Historically, IndianOil has enjoyed low levels of attrition, the figures never having crossed the 2% mark among executives. Over the last several years, the competition to spot and draw the best talent has intensified in the corporate world. To minimize the impact of attrition, a lot more emphasis is required to be given to succession planning, creating bench-strength and training the workforce to be multiskilled. The exit interviews of the officers are seriously analyzed so that we can take appropriate corrective actions.

IndianOil has a heterogeneous employee composition. How do you ensure effective execution of HR practices across your organization?

As far as catering to a heterogeneous group of employees is concerned, though the basic compensation and structure of HR practices remains the same across the country, demographyspecific practices are accommodated in the wider realm of HR policies to ensure that the local needs are taken

care of. For example, considering the difficult terrain and hardship that employees posted in the northeast face, they are have better incentives and allowances than, say, someone posted in a metropolis. Similarly, local culture is adopted at locations so that local needs can be addressed. In addition, IndianOil lays strong emphasis on training and motivating to keep its workforce constantly engaged. We induct officers at the junior-most level of the management hierarchy. Though we focus on hiring the best for the company, the learning process does not stop there.

IndianOil is an academy company with 21 training centers for mid-career skillsets upgradation. The learning services we offer are on a select basis to managers from the industry on national and international basis. Other than that, we conduct discipline-specific training workshops from time-to-time so that employees can constantly upgrade competencies and strengthen individual capacities for organizational effectiveness.

IndianOil offers unique learning opportunities through a wide range of learning strategies in all major areas.

Job rotation and inter-location transfers throughout the country facilitate planned development of careers and broaden outlook. Career growth opportunities are based on the individual's performance and contribution to the common goal of sustained growth. Most of IndianOil's top executives have grown from within, which testifies the unlimited opportunities for growth available to the meritorious.

IndianOil operates within transparent HR policies and procedures with a well-defined online performance

measurement system in place. Potential decides promotion and it follows a well-defined career path model for all officers, offering exposure to different functional areas through intra-functional & inter-functional job rotation to improve managerial capability.

What are the top 3 reasons for IndianOil to be a great place to work for?

I believe the biggest plus point of working at IndianOil is that it is a very caring organization. The mutual care and respect that colleagues have, transcends the boundaries of office and IndianOil people are always there to help each other. The sense of bonding among our people is tremendous.

The second reason would of course be the attractive salary and perks that IndianOil employees get. We put in a lot of effort to attract the best talent and are aware of their contribution to the company's continued successes. Hence, it is our duty to ensure that the incentives we provide are commensurate with the efforts that our colleagues put in.

The third most important reason why IndianOil is one of the great places to work for is the pan-India exposure that the company provides. Being one of the largest public sector enterprises, we have a presence in almost every nook and corner of this country. The crosscountry locations ensure that IndianOil people are exposed to various parts of the country, its culture and the environment that it offers, and the challenges that are unique to specific geographical locations. Working at IndianOil, I believe, helps develop a holistic approach and outlook of an employee.

What are the key challenges in talent acquisition and retention faced by PSUs?

The image of the public sector has evolved over the years. The challenge to prove yourself in a prescribed environment coupled with the job security that the public sector provides, is attracting young and qualified talent. Privately owned enterprises operate under different conditions. Therefore, a direct comparison on manpower numbers, salaries and perks will neither be conclusive nor fair. However, the compensation in IndianOil at the induction level compares with the best in the industry.

Source: IndianOil Express

ever since then, we have been trying to put in place a transparent non-discriminatory, predictable regulatory framework that would ensure that the large amount of investment required in this sector flows in for the rapid expansion of the infrastructure.

BC Tripathi Chairman, GAIL

Your company is a key infrastructure supplier. You are a vendor, who has operations across the world and therefore, when it comes to Indian regulatory environment, what is your perspective and understanding of this entire matter?

Lalit Mansingh Chairman, PNGRB

CEOs Speak

Oil, Gas & Indian economy, experts say close call Excerpts from a panel discussions conducted by CNBC-TV18’s Siddharth Zarabi, with BC Tripathi, the Chairman and managing director of public sector GAIL, L Mansingh, the Chairperson of Petroleum and Natural Gas Board of India (PNGRB), Dr SC Sharma, the OSD for petroleum at the Planning Commission of India, and Bazmi Hussain, the managing director of ABB in India, covering India’s most crucial sector — Petroleum and Natural Gas. Tripathi says that the Indian economy is largely dependent on import of petroleum products. Therefore, he says, “We need the infrastructure available to receive those products to process them, transport them, and bring it to the consumer level.” Hussain, adds that the efficiency levels of production, transportation and consumption needs to be improved.

You come from a company that is one of the largest stakeholders as far as India is concerned, when it comes to the gas sector. What is your take on this crucial sector?

Tripathi: The way we look at it, if India has to grow at the rate of 7% to 8% for continuously next 10 years as the major policy makers are projecting, the energy needs are also going to grow almost three to four times what it is today, by 2020. Now to have these kinds of energy supplies, you definitely need large amount of infrastructure redevel-

opment activity in our country. At this stage, we are largely dependent on import of petroleum products, at least the crude and natural gas, and to support that, we need the infrastructure available to receive those products to process them, transport them, and bring it to the consumer level.

While we are talking about the infrastructure, we have to see that are we in a position to source these raw materials and these commodities in a price that is affordable by the Indian economy, whether we can set in pace with the growth rate that we are looking at in this country. So, infrastructure development is in one side, the reforms which are required in the energy markets, especially, in the petroleum markets in the electricity regulations and all those things also needs to be discussed to support this kind of growth.

Hussain: It is clear that for India’s growth, we need a lot of energy. Energy needs will continue to grow, especially the petroleum, oil and gas sector, is going to be needed more. We don’t have that many resources or deposits of our own; hence, there will be large amount of imports. So, it is important that the efficiency of the system also has to be looked at. Efficiency from our own production side has to be improved. Efficiency of transportation and consumption has to be improved.

Also, the growing focus of environmental concern means that this has to be done in a sustainable way.

We have a huge market, so that part of project risk is taken care of. In terms of supplies, the picture is a little bit mixed.

Just like in every other sector, we see a deficit in our abilities and capabilities to deliver and ensure timely execution. Is infrastructure the key issue across the country?

What do you have to say about this particular issue at this point of time?

Mansingh: The timeline for execution of these projects is important, because we simply cannot afford a cost or time overrun, since, the consumer is going to pay for it and already there is consumer resistance or political resistance to any increase in the energy prices, we are a poor country.

Petroleum and Natural Gas sector was a last sector to be opened up. We were constituted on 1st October 2007, and

The state governments are keen to have pipeline infrastructure, because suddenly gas has become a political issue in almost every state. As I interact with the state governments at the level of chief minister and the senior officer, I emphasize that if you want gas infrastructure develop in your state, you have to ensure timely execution, for which you have to provide single window clearance, have a senior–officer and have pre-clearance of the projects.

Mansingh: In India, the independent statutory regulatory authorities have come up as part of the reform process, because as sector after sector of the India economy has opened up. There was a need to ensure investors’ confidence that there is a regulator who is not dependent on the government to provide a level paying field.

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There is a bit of Gail in every person’s life, at least in the developed part of this country. Clearly, it must not be easy doing this business. You must be facing a lot of hurdles and bottlenecks when it comes to project delivery. Take us through what are the key difficulties that you face?

Tripathi: Lot of states, industrial sectors and especially the common man is sensitized by the use of gas. It is happening slowly and of course, the recent gas discovery has further strengthened the confidence that the gas will be available.

Will it be available at affordable price?

Tripathi: Gail is executing in almost 16 states and largely, pipeline projects, petrochemical and city gas projects.

The biggest problem that we are facing today is the land acquisition. You know how the major projects have been shifting from one state to other state because of the land. The land acquisition is the major problem that is creating a major hurdle for executing the project in time and in cost.

For a company like yours, you need continuity. It is not just one parcel of land that you need.

Tripathi: Pipeline projects cannot be done in confined location. We are changing the village, it changing the district, we are going to the new people, the stakeholders are changing, so, it is a difficult job for us to take them into confidence and convince them to open the right way to construct the pattern. It is a major challenge for us to execute the project in time and cost.

We have two of the biggest refineries projects have been come up in lowest timeframe in the country. The Reliance has two refineries that have come up in the lowest timeframe at the benchmark efficiencies and at the benchmark cost.

So, certainly, project development is a tough challenge for the people, however, you can go along the clearances, the statutory clearances or other tie-ups that you come across.

So what you are saying Mr. Sharma is that there is some element of get on with it that is involved?

Sharma: Yes, you have to get on with to complete the project. You have to be really convinced that yes, I can do it.

Is there an element that comes in play here and this has to do with moving on with newer management practices — newer technologies and not just being conscious only of ensuring that the project is done at the lowest possible price so to say?

Mansingh: They both are not separate. Our approach as a regulator and that of other stakeholders has been to take a quantum jump in this country.

We are in a unique position that you don’t have to go through the intermediate phases. You go to the best that is go available anywhere in the world and I have been seeing it all around me that companies like GAIL are now innovating. They are adopt the best technology, management practices, material that you can deliver whatever you have to do, at the least cost and in the most efficient manner that is crucial to this country.

How can the issues be solved?.

Sharma: We do have large number of statutory clearances and also the land acquisition problems are there. We developed the LNG project way back in 2000-2004 and then subsequently expanded it. Those days land acquisition and the cost of land was not that big problem. However, there were issues on other clearances and also the tie-up issues existed with a lot of international supplies on the equipment side, on the sanctity of equipment because none of us was experienced in developing LNG terminal in the country. However, since we were dedicated, we could develop this entire project and today it contributes about 22% of the total gas supplies in the country.

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What is your comment Mr. Tripathy on that?

Tripathi: About land and this statutory provisions that cannot happen, you want to go for the radical development of the infrastructure in the country and you say you just, get along, which may not be a right approach today. Look at the national highway, metro projects, major airports and how these issues effect. These are important aspects. As regard to technology, there is a limitation in the role it plays. You have the best of the technology available, best of the environmental discharge system, the environmental protection system available. However, technology cannot come in the land acquisition.

Does India need to continue to pursue a benign policy of price regulation with part deregulation? Or is it time that we listen to all the expert committee reports that have come in the past and free it up completely and let the market and the consumer achieve equilibrium?

Sharma: It’s certainly well understood that the prices have been agreed, in principle to be deregulated. LPG and kerosene are the two products which are being used by masses and there is a phase deregulation which has been considered for these two products.

As a producer, what do you think of the administered price mechanism, in whatever forms and shapes, it prevails at this point of time?

Tripathi: The bitter reality is considering the socioeconomic condition of our country you cannot say that the state will not play a role in this and it will be left to the market. That will be unfair on our part as a citizen of the country. We are those fortunate people in that 5% to 10% racket we don’t feel a pinch of it.

However, in a country like ours where 40% of people are living below poverty line and we have been talking about all this in various conferences, how can we ignore this aspect from the government perspective and from a larger social perspective?

From the industry point of view, it needs to strike a fine balance between both the requirements – the requirement for the industry to prosper and deliver and at the same time to meet the requirements of those people.

Therefore, my personal view is that the government will have to play a role in this to protect those people who are not having access to this form of energy.

What your comments Mr. Hussain about the overall pricing economics of this sector?

Hussain: If you go back about 15 years, in 1996-1997 when APM for refineries was being taken down, we saw an interesting shift in the investment pattern. In India, most of the new investment used to go into capacity increases because that’s how refineries could make more money because it was based on capacity. After it was announced, there was a clear shift of putting investment in productivity enhancement in our projects, terminal

network because to optimize the infrastructure, which is a basic requirement in a poor country like ours, sales tax swapping of gas from different sources is not possible. So, you have to bring it under GST there is no other alternative.

automation system, advanced process control systems, the investment in that dramatically increased.

In fact, prior to that India was one country which was quite different from any other part of the world, where all new investment was capacity. After that a significant amount of investment started moving towards productivity improvement. So, the right balance has to be brought, subsidies cannot be completely taken away but they need to go to the people that need it.

Tell us your thoughts on this subject. Is this something that any government can ever fix in this country, if at all it needs to be fixed?

Mansingh: Can the government continue the way it is going on because this issue is directly linked whether we like it or not to the energy security of the nation? You mentioned the expert committee all the expert committees without exception opened up the sector give gist of price control and allow an independent regulator to regulate — that’s how Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) was constituted under the act of the parliament.

Now not very surprisingly, the act does not give any part either to the regulator or to the government to regulate the price of the end product.

What the government is doing is sincerely administered price which incidentally Dr. Sharma didn’t mention it was formally abandoned in April 2002.

There is a normal notification of the government saying that dismantling it.

The government is making a back door entry of that same thing which we have formally abandoned. It is a subjudice issue, so I don’t want to go into the details. Under the act, we have an omnibus mandate the regulators shall ensure fair trade and competition amongst the entities for the protection of the consumer interest. It means subsidy essentially is in the political domain. No regulator should enter into that domain but it should be done in a manner which does not distort the market fortune.

In terms of the long term evolution, what sort of steps would you want to see decisions being taken to bring in this fair equilibrium that all of you have pointed out is very necessary? No one in this panel has disagreed with that the fair equilibrium is a need.

Mansingh: Start with simple things.

There can be no second opinion to gas, that it is the cleanest most efficient fuel.

Your commitment to environment protection can only come about gas being distributed to the common man through the city gas distribution network.

Yet process has been raised in the last one year?

Mansingh: There is a state and central tax angle – why should gas attract 20% sales tax in Uttar Pradesh and 12% or 14% in some other states. Why can’t you reduce it to the lowest level of VAT, which is first thing?

Even in the proposed GST it has been kept out of the unified framework?

Mansingh: We are facing problems in ensuring the spread out of the All India

For example, wherever pipe gas has been introduced it is cheaper than the subsidized LPG. There is no reason why urban middle class has to be subsidized, it is not even necessary. The bill will hardly come to Rs 200 to Rs 300 per month on a maximum. You roll back the subsidize LPG – give it through direct gas transferr, which is being attempted in this budget, to the people who require that subsidy. I would expect planning committee to take the lead in that regard.

Your comment on this Mr. Tripathi?

Tripathi: I agree with Mansingh that this stage for this country is to absorb more and more gas. In domestic market, whatever gas is there is being full absorbed but from where we can bring in gas we have two options — either we bring in crude, process it and burn in the form of diesel LPG and all those and give subsidy or bring the gas in the form of LNG. In spite of our best effort or everybody’s effort, there are so many other players in there. We are not able to buy LNG at the prevailing price, the reason being that the domestic market does not support it – if you talk to the all power producers the electricity is available at Rs 2, Rs 3 with these LNG price, no power plant will be able to sustain because production is Rs 5.

When it goes into the peak summer they have deficit, it becomes Rs 10 to Rs 11, so problem is that at the policy level, a lot of fiscal regime the way we have to create it has to enable an environment for us to import LNG. Cooling of price is another issue which planning commissioner is discussing, though Mansingh may not agree with this. It is one of the steps which this people are taking in this direction. Whether it is right or wrong, we must provide a sort of an environment where we are able to import more and more LNG at this stage.

Source: Moneycontrol.com JoP, July-September 2011

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Milestone: Cover page story

First Indigenous Diesel Hydrotreating Technology Commercialised The First unit Based on this Novel Technology Goes on stream at Bongaigaon Refinery

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t is a matter of great pride, for the Indian Research Scientists, that a grass-root 1.2 MMTPA DHDT (Diesel Hydrotreating) unit based on the indigenous capabilities of IndianOil-R&D and EIL was successfully demonstrated and commercialised with smoothly commissionning of the FIRST unit based on this totally indegenous technology, on 10.8.2011 at Bongaigaon Refinery (BGR).

high end catalyst from M/s Criterion.

The product diesel sulfur is consistently less than 10 ppm from feed sulfur of 1300- 1500 ppm and product cetane number is in the range of 50 – 51 from feed cetane number of 44 - 45 under less severe operating conditions than design.

The performance comparison of BGR DHDT with other DHDT units of IOCL N.E. refineries is as shown in the table.

This maiden commercial unit was constructed and commissioned at an estimated cost of around Rs 410 crore, for producing Bharat Stage-IV (EURO IV) Diesel.

Commercialization of DHDT unit based on indigenous technology and process engineering know-how is corner stone in the history of IndianOil-R&D, and Indian Oil industry.

While the technology was developed and provided by IndianOil-R&D, the Basic Design & Engineering Package (BDEP) and design details of the liquid distributor and was prepared by EIL. Majority of equipments were sources ingeniously.

IndianOil-R&D has already developed and commercialised DHDT catalyst at CPCL. This has now, paved the way for IOCL/EIL consortium to establish themselves as DHDT process licensors. IOCL/EIL can, now, along with the highly competent and competitive equipments manufacturers, offer the complete technology to prospective clients, in India and abroad.

Whereas, the main reactors were sourced from L&T, the compressors were sourced from BHEL and BPCL. The unit has unique distinction of having been designed for processing diesel and kerosene/ ATF in blocked mode for production of BS-IV diesel as well as for improving smoke point and aromatic content of Kerosene/ ATF. The catalyst system employed in the unit is one of

Unit-1

Unit-2

BGR

Design

Operating

Design

Operating

Design

Operating

WABT (°C)

363

316

385 (Rin) / 408 (R-out)

322

360

296

Pressure (kg/cm2g)

84.5

89

103.4

102

106

104

LHSV (h-1)

0.93

0.98

0.85

0.93

0.6

0.33

Feed Sulfur, wt%

0.24

0.2

0.21

0.155

0.17

0.15

42

45

43

< 10

52

51

Feed Cetane index

39.5

Cetane No

43

Product Sulfur, ppm

500

48

41.7 42

29

500

Product Cetane index Ceatne No.

43 48.7

46 48.5

Subir Raha Memorial Lecture

Transition to a Post Hydrocarbon Energy Future 2nd Subir Raha Memorial Lecture

Dr. R.K. Pachauri Director-General, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI)

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ubir Raha was a visionary and industry leader of rare distinction. He was a top level executive who combined outstanding technical skills with high class managerial acumen. One of his greatest gifts was an ever present sense of humor. I recall when he was being considered for the position of Chairman of ONGC, he mentioned to me that some people had sent anonymous letters to the Prime Minister advising him against the appointment. One of the letters supposedly mentioned that Mr. Raha smokes all through the day and drinks all through the night. Subir Raha laughed about it and said that at least he was not doing these two things in reverse. One rarely meets a leader of a business enterprise with the level of cerebral and physical energy that Subir Raha possessed.

What always struck me was the fact that such an intelligent person was completely oblivious to maintaining his own health. On many occasions, I pleaded with him to give up smoking and begin a proper exercise routine, but he would always laugh away such advice, and crack a joke and change the topic. We miss him today, not only for the wonderful human being that he was, but for the enormous potential he represented which was never realized fully because of his untimely death.

Subir Raha believed in what essentially is the theme of my lecture today. It was his vision that established the ONGC Trust, the main purpose of which was to develop technologies which would bring about a transition to alternative forms of energy production and consumption. I would hope that those responsible for the affairs of ONGC will make sure that the vision behind this Trust does not get diluted or thwarted in any way. The entire world and certainly a large country like India, which is registering a healthy rate of growth, must focus on an energy future distinctly different from what we have seen in the past.

There are a number of reasons why this is an imperative that India cannot ignore without jeopardizing the welfare of its large population. Most important of the reasons why

we must bring about change is the challenge of lack of energy access in the country. There are, even today, 400 million people who have no access to electricity and over twice this number dependent on the traditional use of biomass, largely for cooking. Not only does the collection and use of biomass impose a major hardship on those who are dependent on it, particularly women and children, but the health effects of cooking with the use of inferior quality biomass in primitively designed cook stoves are extremely harmful. We have failed on account of organizational, economic and social reasons in providing such a large part of our population with forms of energy supply that all of us in the middle and upper classes living in urban areas take totally for granted. The only hope for this large section of society lies in devising technologies and forms of energy supply which go beyond the use of fossil fuels. Access to modern energy services is fundamental to the fulfillment of basic social needs and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Another important reason why secure and stable supply of energy on a sustainable basis is important is simply because poverty cannot be eradicated in the absence of appropriate and adequate access to energy. Policymakers have generally neglected the importance of this major challenge, and it is only through innovation and forward looking strategies that we will be able to solve the problems associated with lack of energy access.

A healthy rate of growth of GDP in India of around 8 to 9 percent over the next decade at least will lead to a major increase in the demand for energy. It is projected that by the year 2031, demand for energy could increase 5 to 7 times over the 2001 levels under a business as usual or reference energy scenario. The Integrated Energy Policy Report of the Planning Commission estimated Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements in 2031 to range between 1,536 to 1,807 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MToE) across different scenarios. TERIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis based on extensive modeling exercises indicates a level of around 2150 MTOE in the reference case scenario.

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Such an increase would pose huge challenges in respect of energy security which would be dictated by growing dependence on imports of fossil fuels. Equally important would be the environmental implications and the demand for new infrastructure that would be created by such a huge increase in supply of energy to meet these rapidly increasing levels of demand. Indeed India has to improve the efficiency of energy use substantially, but it will also have to bring about a major transformation towards newer and decentralized energy systems.

Another important consideration which requires a revision of current energy trends and policies is the serious challenge of climate change which justifies coordinated global responses. While the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) emphasizes the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, India as a large country and with a growing economy has to be part of global efforts, consistent with the principles underlining the UNFCCC and the fact that India’s per capita emissions are still one of the lowest in the world, and the imperatives of development would require increase in energy consumption. The big question, of course, is what kind of mix of energy supplies should India move towards? The answer clearly suggests that more of the same will certainly not work. The Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is an ambitious plan which balances the need for India’s development with principles of sustainability that must be at the core of enhancing welfare of the current generation as well as generations yet to come. Under the National Action Plan, there are 8 missions that have been formulated, and the very first of these is the Solar Energy Mission, which would create the foundation for an expanded renewable energy future for the country.

The country has to pursue major programs for diversifying energy supply towards greater independence using indigenous sources of energy while at the same time improving the efficiency of energy use. The Energy Conservation Act 2001 provides a basis for governments at various levels as well as other stakeholders to move towards benchmarking energy efficiency standards for a range of consuming activities and devices. One important area where India can take the lead is in respect of construction of buildings such that these are built to the highest standards of energy efficiency, all of which are economically viable. TERI as an institution has taken the lead in providing technological solutions for buildings, which incorporate a combination of traditional knowledge as well as the latest in scientific developments.

As part of this effort, TERI has devised a system called The Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), which has been adopted by the Government of India as the national green building rating system.

The renewable purchase obligation (RPO) is being implemented throughout the country for compulsory use of a minimum quantity of renewable energy in the power supply system. Under the Electricity Act 2003, the National Electricity Policy 2005, and the Tariff Policy 2006 it is obligatory for the state electricity regulatory commissions to purchase a certain percentage of power from

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Report on 2nd Petrotech Subir Raha Memorial Lecture

2nd September 2011 at NDMC Convention Centre

Late Subir Raha was one of the founder members of Petorteh and has immensely contributed to Indian Hydrocarbon Industry. The Governing Council members of Petrotech were of the unanimous opinion to organize a lecture under the banner “Petrotech Subir Raha Memorial Lecture” every year in his memory.

1st Petrotech Subir Raha Memorial Lecture was organized on 27th August 2010 on “Energy Security at SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi Mr B K Chaturvedi, Member Planning Commission, Govt of India had addressed the august gathering on “Energy Security”. Senior Executives from major oil & gas industry & MBA students from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies were benefited from the lecture.

Mr R S Sharma, the then CMD ONGC & Chairman Petrotech, Mr Naresh Kumar, Chairman Deepwater Drilling & Industries and President, Petrotech, Mr J L Raina, then Secretary General Petrotech, Governing Council Members of Petrotech, Director from Major Oil & Gas Companies were also present on the occasion Dr R K Pachauri, Director General The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) & Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) & Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI) addressed the august gathering on the topic “Transition to a Post Hydrocarbon Energy Future”. A short film was also screened on Late Subir Raha during the event.

Mr A K Hazarika CMD ONGC & Chairman Petrotech, Mr Ashok Anand, Director General Petrotech, Mr Anand Kumar, Director, Petrotech, Governing Council Members of Petrotech, Director from Major Oil & Gas Companies, Senior Executives from oil & gas industry and faculty /students from Delhi University (Petrotech Chapter) and Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management-Research were also present on the occasion.

renewable energy sources in the area of any distribution license. Regulators in several states have issued orders for RPO varying from 1 percent to 10 percent. The Rural Electrification Policy 2006 promotes renewable energy technologies where grid connectivity is not possible or cost effective.

There are significant short term gains associated with increasing energy efficiency along the entire value chain.

Such an opportunity if harnessed would be in the interest of the country irrespective of whether we consider it from the viewpoint of enhancing energy security by minimizing dependence on oil imports, reducing the demand for additional energy infrastructure, or the global and local implications of energy production and use on the environment. All this means that there is a large role for rationalizing energy pricing and enhancing competition. Hence what is urgently needed is the design of rational and transparent subsidies delivered to the specific targets for which these are intended. This would ensure appropriate energy access for all while reducing the financial burden of providing it.

One major issue that needs to be considered while planning for a post fossil fuel future for India is the need for an appropriate road map not only at the level of the country as a whole, but also down to the level of states and towns and cities. The exploitation of renewable energy resources would depend directly on local resource endowment. Given the size and spread of India, local conditions would vary substantially from one location to the other. Another important imperative is the need for focused and goal-oriented research and development. Even though the Government has been formally involved in promoting renewable energy technologies for almost 30 years now, there have been hardly any important developments in reducing costs or ensuring higher efficiency of renewable energy technologies and devices. There is clearly a flaw in the way we have implemented R and D programs. Essentially, not only do we have to target specific gains and improvements within specified time frames, but we also need a set of incentives and disincentives by which research organizations find it beneficial to join hands with industry. Equally important is the need for industry to get involved in this area of technology development, which would provide it with an advantage in exploiting markets that are expected to emerge in the future. It is for this reason that a clear road map should be drawn up at the policy level, because that would provide industry a clear perception of opportunities that lie ahead.

It would be appropriate to discuss opportunities in this whole area for the hydrocarbons industry in India. I gave the example of the ONGC Trust which was formed some years ago through the vision of Subir Raha. However given the long term interests of the hydrocarbons industry, it is important that all segments of this sector start moving into the development of alternative energy technologies including for instance, fuel cell technology, which initially would use natural gas as a fuel, but may later make a transition to renewable sources of energy. I would hope that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas would bless such an

initiative on the part of all the companies that are involved in the hydrocarbons industry.

A few months ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) brought out a Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN). The contents of this Report have extremely useful information and some far reaching implications on how India can move to a post fossil fuel future dependent largely on renewable sources of energy. One major finding of this Report was the fact that while RE accounted for 12.9% of primary energy supply in 2008, its growth in recent years has been quite impressive. In the same year, RE contributed approximately 19% of global electricity supply, and biofuels contributed 2% of global road transport fuel supply. Significantly, of the approximate 300 GW of new electricity generation capacity added globally over the 2 year period covering 2008 and 2009, 140 GW came from RE additions. Collectively, developing countries host 53% of global RE electricity generation capacity. At the end of 2009, the use of RE in hot water/heating markets included modern biomass (270 GW), solar (180 GW), and geothermal (60 GW). The use of decentralized RE, excluding traditional biomass, in meeting rural energy needs at the household or village level has also increased, including hydropower stations, various modern biomass options, PV, wind or hybrid systems that combine multiple technologies.

Figure 1 below shows the historical development of global primary energy supply from renewable energy from 1971

to 2008 Source: IPCC SRREN SPM It would be observed from this figure that over this period, a significant increase has taken place in overall RE supply, but what is most impressive is the growth of solar PV energy in recent years.

What is particularly significant is the fact that a global JoP, July-September 2011

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technical potential of RE sources will not limit continued growth in the use of RE. Studies have consistently found that the global technical potential for RE as a whole is substantially higher than global energy demand. The technical potential for solar energy is the highest among the RE sources, but substantial technical potential exists for all the major RE sources, of which IPCC has identified six different forms. Even in regions with relatively low levels of technical potential for any individual RE source, there are typically significant opportunities for increased deployment compared to current levels.

Figure 2 shows the global technical potential of different sources of energy. In the case of India, the largest potential lies in possibilities for harnessing direct solar energy, biomass, ocean energy, and wind energy. There is also substantial potential for exploiting hydropower, but there may

Figure 3 shows some of the ranges of costs of RE for specific applications in relation to the costs of conventional forms of energy. This clearly brings out the importance of research and development, and large scale deployment preferably through initial subsidies and fiscal measures which would act as incentives for cost reduction and the establishment of institutional mechanisms by which RE applications can be multiplied. Source: IPCC SRREN SPM Cost reductions which have already taken place are shown in Figure 4. While the potential for cost reductions remains generally untapped and highly promising, recent achievements have been impressive. However efforts have to be intensified for further cost reductions in a short period of

be environmental and other constraints which could limit its exploitation. Source: IPCC SRREN SPM It is also important to bear in mind the fact that some forms of RE are already close to economic viability for certain applications.

time. Source: IPCC SRREN SPM Perhaps the biggest challenge in bringing about a transition to an RE future lies in integrating RE technologies with existing systems. This is a special challenge in the case of India where different Ministries are involved in decisions which have major implications for energy consumption and supply. Essentially, some of the actions that would be required include the following: 1. RE can be integrated into all types of electricity systems from large interconnected continental scale grids to small stand alone systems and individual buildings. As penetration of variable RE sources increases, maintaining system reliability may become more challenging and costly.

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Having a portfolio of complementary RE technologies is one way to reduce the risks and costs of RE integration.

2. District heating systems can use low temperature thermal RE inputs such as solar and geothermal heat, or biomass, including sources with few competing uses such as refuses derived fuels. District cooling can make use of cold natural waterways. Thermal storage capability and flexible coal generation can overcome supply and demand variability challenges as well as provide demand response for electricity systems.

3. In gas distribution grids, including biomethane or, in the future, RE-derived hydrogen and synthetic natural gas can be achieved for a range of applications, but successful integration requires that appropriate gas quality standards are met and pipelines upgraded where necessary.

4. Liquid fuel systems can integrate biofuels for transport applications or for cooking and heating applications.

Pure biofuels or more usually those blended with petroleum based fuels usually need to meet technical standards consistent with vehicle engine fuel specifications.

There are multiple pathways for increasing the shares of RE across all end-use sectors. The ease of integration varies depending on region, characteristics specific to the sector, and the technology. For instance in the transport sector, liquid and gaseous biofuels are already and are expected to continue to be integrated into the fuel supply systems of a number of countries. Integrated options may include decentralized on-site or centralized production of RE hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles and RE electricity for rail and electric vehicles. In the building sector, RE technologies can be integrated into both new and existing structures to produce electricity, heating, and cooling. In developing countries, including India, the integration of RE supply systems is feasible for even modest dwellings. Finally, in the case of agriculture as well as food and fiber process industries, biomass can be used to meet direct heat and power demands on site.

For accommodating higher levels of RE shares, energy systems will need to evolve and be adapted.

My purpose in highlighting the challenge of integration is to emphasize the need for a very detailed road map which not only specifies options on the supply side but also the manner in which RE can be incorporated within demand side infrastructure and processes. Unfortunately, such an exercise has not been undertaken in our country, possibly because energy sector decision making is fragmented and divided between different ministries and departments. My own submission would be that such an exercise can be carried out jointly with support from the hydrocarbons industry. Since we have leaders of this sector present on this occasion, I would urge that such an exercise be taken in hand with a sense of urgency, not only for the benefit of the country but also to articulate and make use of opportunities that are bound to arise with the depletion of fossil fuels in this country and worldwide. The vision and exercise that I refer to is important for the long term sustainability and survival of the hydrocarbons industry itself.

In conclusion, may I say that the biggest tribute that this country could pay to the leadership and enormous initiative of Subir Raha is to give shape proactively to clearly articulated plans and efforts for moving to a post hydrocarbons future. It would not be an exaggeration to state that business as usual would not be in the interest of Indian society or for that matter global society. If we were to exercise vision such as that displayed by Subir Raha then perhaps generations to come would salute our efforts and provide them with opportunities that otherwise may become constrained as the scarcity of hydrocarbons becomes a serious issue and opportunities for sustainable development dwindle rapidly. I hope the thoughts that I put forward today will stir the leaders of organizations dealing with petroleum and natural gas to take in hand a program of work that makes such a vision a complete reality.

JoP, July-September 2011

19

Future of oil

Have a Pick Will oil peak or not?

Dr DM Kale Director General-ONGC Energy Centre

P

eak oil is a theory which says that global oil production will attend the maximum production rate and after that it will keep falling off. The earth is finite and so will have this many sedimentary basins and this many oil fields in them only. Once all of them are discovered and developed then the production will have only one way to go - downward with depleting fields. This is fine but are we anywhere close to it?

Dr. King Hubbert, a geophysicist working for Shell, first Fig 1: Logistic curve and its derivative:

studied this and proposed the theory in the fifties. He proposed that the cumulative production of any natural resource like oil should follow logistic S shaped curve (figure 1), in the absence of any external constraints. Initially the production will grow exponentially and once the half way point is passed, the production rate will decrease exponentially. The derivative of the logistic curve gives the corresponding production curve of the resource. Thus, from the initial history and the estimate of total resource, the prediction is a simple curve fitting exercise. Dr. Hubert analyzed the US data then Fig 2: US production (Crude oil + condensate)

Fig 3: Some fields with production peaks

Fig 4: Daily production, Cantarrel Oilfield

Fig 5: Similarities in Texas and North Sea

available and predicted that oil production of lower 48 states of US will peak in 1970. Further, on the basis of very scanty data available of the world, Dr. Hubbert had also predicted World Peak Oil. Post war, US was a major oil producer and the oil industry was booming.

World oil production was doubling every decade and huge discoveries were being made in Middle East. So, every one ridiculed Dr. Hubbert’s theory.

Peaking is a rear-view mirror event.

Only after passing the point, can we identify the peak with certainty. And well, as Dr.Hubbert had predicted, the oil production of lower 48 states of US did start falling post 1970 (figure 2)!

Initial reaction was to interpret it as a glitch after which the increasing trend shall again pick up. But that never happened!

Another way to look at it is that oil production from any field initially builds up as the field development takes place and new wells are drilled and connected. Then it achieves a production plateau. Finally the depletion sets in and the production keeps falling. The same thing happens to a production basin as more and more fields are developed and then the basin matures. This logic holds true also for a region or a country. Extending the same reasoning, it follows for the world as well.

Figure 3 shows some interesting examples. First, we have some of the fields with production peaks. Next, we have the example of the latest major field to peak - Cantarrel, the world’s largest offshore field. The production has fallen dramatically from about 2.2 million BOPD in 2004 to just 0.6 million BOPD in 2009.

Then, we see the combined plot to stress similarity of peak production in Texas and North Sea. Another argument for peak oil is that the rate of new discoveries peaked in 1960’s. It is therefore logical to expect that with the time lag for field development of, say, about 40 years, the production would also peak. Further, from 1982 onwards, every year we have produced more oil than the new reserves discovered in the same year. Thus, we are drawing on the balance of historic discoveries, and that is finite and limited. So, sooner or later we must face the decline in production too.

Here is what Hubbert predicted for the world:

Oil is a most compact, high energy density, versatile fuel. The infrastructure for transporting it from any corner of the world to any other point already exists, making it the universal fuel running the global economy. There may never be a replacement of oil which is as effective.

The GDP growth in the world has been possible because of the underlying oil production growth. Peaking of oil does not mean we will run out of oil, but certainly, rather than growth, its available volumes will contract.

So far we have considered the version mainly supported by geoscientists like Collin Campbell and Jean Laherrere.

Many others, mainly Economists, have a very different take on the issue. According to them, oil is a commodity in the market like any other commodity. It will therefore follow the market rules.

And what are those? Simple demand supply logic! If there are multiple suppliers and consumers in the market for particular commodity and if the supply is more than the demand; then the prices will be soft and suppliers with higher costs will be driven out of the market.

This situation will encourage more consumption. It may displace other equivalent products. Also the particular commodity may find new uses. All this will lead to further increase in demand.

On the contrary, when the demand surJoP, July-September 2011

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passes supply, the prices will go up.

The lower end buyers will be driven out of the market or will at least cut back on consumption. The hard prices will attract new players to cash in on the opportunity. Previously unattractive, uneconomic supply may come on the stream. With higher profits, the existing players may undertake expansion projects to build in new capacity. Thus new capacity build up will be there. There might be some lags and leads leading to some turbulence and spikes in the market but that is not the End of the World, as feared by the Chicken Little!

We have seen this happening in the oil industry. The Industry has progressively moved from backyards to difficult areas and terrains, as well as offshore, deep offshore and now even Arctic. From just about a million barrel per day in the beginning of 20th century, by the beginning of 21st century, oil production was more than eighty million barrels a day.

In other words, eighty-fold increase!

Today, a thousand barrels are produced, processed, distributed and consumed every second, round the clock, in the world!

Fig 7: Production cost curve (not including carbon pricing)

Oil is not just about reserves. It is about limitless human ingenuity and innovation! It is the march of technological advancements which has allowed the industry to expand and bring the whole globe under the scanner for oil exploration and exploitation. From the known oil reservoirs, there is scope to continue producing more through enhanced oil recovery techniques. Miscible flood with CO2 is expected to do miracles in pushing up the recovery factors.

Further, there are new resources, which are huge in comparison to even conventional oil, like extra heavy oil, oil sands and oil shale. Already we have oil production being augmented by the unconventional technology of coal to liquid conversion.

Then we also have renewable bio diesel and bio ethanol chipping in.

As the demand pressure mounts, pushing up the prices, the necessary conditions for developing new resources are created. What we have so far produced and consumed is a small fraction of total fossil fuel resources available. There is unlimited scope for innovation, investment and development.

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Fig 8: Egypt, a case of double exponential trap?

Fig 9: Actual oil production

Fig 10: Shrinking oil supply

Fig 10: World oil production by type in the New Policies Scenario 100

Unconventional oil Natural gas liquids

80

Crude oil fields yet to be found

60 40

Crude oil fields yet to be developed

20

Crude oil currently producing fields

0 1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2025

2030

2035

Figure 7 is a graph depicting the new resources which will be available in the different price bands and potential liquid fuel volumes that would be available. The cumulative potential volumes are about ten times of what we have already consumed.

tation of Peak Oil production in Egypt, aided by its exploding population and rising oil demand, as depicted in figure 8. Exportable surplus vanished, and as a result the food and fuel subsidies also vanished with that- just the perfect situation for a revolution to happen!

Time and again, there were fears expressed about peak oil. First time it was in 1880, then after both the world wars, and then in 1970’s during oil crisis. It is just like the boy crying “Wolf”, according to the Peak oil critics.

The Oil production has been steadily growing since 1990’s and so was the world GDP. However as shown in figure 9, from 2005, the oil production has flattened, leading to economic problems.

Daniel Yergin represents the typical Peak Oil critic. It is thought that much before the Peak Oil scenario develops, Humanity would have moved to cleaner and more efficient and abundant renewable energy source. As the former Saudi Oil Minister Sheikh Yamani famously said in 1973: "The stone age didn't end because we ran out of stones." In the same way, we will come out of oil age because of much superior energy source rather than having run out of oil!

The explanation by “Peak Oilers” is that growth in general will stop and econo-

Well, peak oil is, more than a theory, a mind set. It is so central to the world energy and economic scene, that the events around are interpreted accordingly. For example, the “Orange Revolution” is considered a simple manifes-

my would shrink with post-peak slide in oil production. Economic growth requires increasing energy consumption for any economic activity, including global trade which depends crucially on cheap transport fuel for moving raw materials, finished products and people, from place to place. Stationary or falling oil production would translate into contraction of the economy. Growth in China and India is a case of feeding Paul by starving Peter, as the change in oil consumption in China, India, Middle East and OECD countries over last three years show (figure 10). Obviously this cannot continue for too long!

The development of oil fields in case of unconventional oil as well as oil in frontier, difficult areas require long lead period. According to IEA’s 2010 energy scenario, field production from currently producing fields would decline to about just 25% of current rate by 2035 (figure 10). Production from “Yet to Find” reservoirs is in fact a short hand for shortfall. Thus, it is admission of shortfall by IEA, according to “Peak Oilers”. BY 2035, the world will be well on the post peak oil steep slope, and this is after taking into account all possible growth in unconventional sources.

Finally, the carbon price of unconventional sources like oil sands, oil shale, CTL, GTL is very, very high. So, controlling GHG emission and production of unconventional oil are not at all compatible. But then you have to pick whether Global warming is a fact, and if so, is it anthropogenic (result of activities of mortals like you and me) Or Not ?

DM Kale

Dr. D.M.Kale, Director General – ONGC Energy Centre, holds a Doctorate Degree in Astrophysics from prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He has more than 30 years of experience in Reservoir Management of Oil & Gas fields. He began his career in ONGC in developing Numerical Reservoir Simulators. As a talented Scientist he has conceptualized several schemes for enhanced oil recovery besides carrying out responsibilities such as heading Exploration Business Group of Eastern Region and Mumbai Region of ONGC. As Head of COIN, Dr. Kale coordinated all the R&D works in Institutes of ONGC. With his initiative and leadership, the UCG activity has begun again since 2005.

From 1st August 2008 he has taken over as Director General of ONGC Energy Centre at Delhi. He has taken initiative in setting up “ONGC Energy Centre” for Research, Development & Demonstration of all Alternate forms of energy. He is recipient of the medal of “Peter the Great” by Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

JoP, July-September 2011

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Asset reliability

Protecting underground pipelines from corrosion

A Review of Existing and Emerging Technologies for Detecting External and Internal Corrosion Dr. Pavan K. Shukla and Dr. Lietai Yangâ&#x20AC; Southwest Research InstituteÂŽ, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, Texas-78238, USA pshukla@swri.org

Most buried pipeline infrastructures that transmit petroleum products in developed and developing countries were installed more than 10 years ago. As the infrastructure ages, internal and external corrosion sites could develop and compromise the integrity of buried pipelines. This article describes the existing method used to detect external and internal corrosion sites, and also discusses the efficacy of existing technologies. The article also highlights on technical challenges that remain unresolved, and provides details of emerging technologies for detecting internal and external corrosion sites.

Introduction Buried steel pipelines are used to transmit petroleum products in oil and gas transmission industries and other fluids in nuclear and chemical industries. Corrosion of buried pipeline is mitigated by applying cathodic protection (CP), and organic coating on the exterior surface of the pipeline. However, coating defects could develop during pipeline installation and operations. These coating defect areas on external surfaces of the pipeline, where the pipeline surface is directly exposed to the soil, are known as holidays. Coating can also degrade and exfoliate with age and can result in disbonded areas where the coating material is present but does not provide any protection against corrosion. A survey of major pipeline companies indicated that about 30% of the primary loss of pipeline protection from corrosion was due to coating deterioration (Koch, et al., 2001). Regular inspection of pipelines from above ground is conducted using various survey techniques to locate and size the coating defect locations.

Corrosion on the internal wall of a natural gas pipeline was also reported to be one of the leading causes of pipeline failures (Yang, 2008; Sridhar, et al., 2001; Cribb, 2003). Under Current affiliation: Corr Instruments, LLC. 7112 Oaklawn Drive, San Antonio,TX-78229, USA

â&#x20AC;

normal operating conditions, pipelines transmitting natural gas are not expected to corrode internally because upstream gas dehydration treatment facilities remove water necessary for corrosion. The resulting transmitting fluid is expected to be under-saturated with water throughout the entire pipeline route. Therefore, if no water and other potentially corrosive fluids are being carried through a gas transmission pipeline, internal corrosion is not expected. Internal corrosion in gas transmission pipeline systems could occur when the upstream gas processing facility delivers product that does not meet quality specifications; only then it is possible for liquid water (and/or other possibly corrosive liquids) to enter the downstream transmission pipeline. Moreover, the internal corrosion rate may be enhanced if contaminants such as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, or chlorine are also present in the gas. In addition, the activity of microorganisms living on the pipe wall may also facilitate internal corrosion.

Identifying the location and severity of external and internal corrosion on buried pipeline remains a challenge for the pipeline industry. Because oil and natural gas are considered hazardous substances to transport in the United States, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is required to compile data on pipeline failure and regulate oil and gas transmission industries, including the pipeline industry. Pipeline fail-

ure data for the last 5 years is listed in Table 1. Pipeline failures have resulted in 69 fatalities, 254 reported injuries, and $2.4 billion in property damage from 2005 through 2009. DOT (2010) reports corrosion-induced failures have occurred in 6 percent of the total incidents.

The compiled data highlights the loss of human life, injuries, and economic losses due to pipeline failures. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) examines every pipeline failure incident in the U.S. to identify the root cause. Two incidents are noted. In the first incident, a pipeline failure occurred that caused a fire near Carlsbad, New Mexico, in August 19, 2000, and resulted in 12 fatalities (NTSB, 2003).

The force of the pipeline rupture and violent ignition of the escaping gas created a 16 m wide crater about 34.5 m along the pipe. A 15 m section of the pipe was ejected from the crater in three pieces (Figures 1a and 1b). Postaccident inspections revealed that all three ejected pieces showed evidence of internal corrosion damage. Interconnected pits were visible inside the pipe in the ruptured area (Figures 1c and 1d).

In the second incident, explosion of a 54-year-old gas transmission pipeline occurred on September 9, 2010, near San Francisco, California. The incident resulted in at least 4 fatalities, 50 injuries, and the destruction of more than 30 homes. The severity of the explosion can be envisioned from the fact that the explosion created a 51 m long and 8 m wide crater at the site. The NTSB is investigating this incident. Furthermore, pipeline failures not only cause loss of human lives, injuries, and ensuing economic losses that involve repair or replacement costs and disruption of services, but they also damage the environment, and cause loss of public trust toward regulatory agencies and commercial pipeline operators.

External corrosion is controlled by protective coatings and cathodic protection. Several methods are available to identify holidays. The roles of efficacy of the external corrosion detection methods are discussed. Internal corrosion is mainly mitigated by controlling the composition of a gas being transmitted. Therefore, effective composition control requires effective monitor-

ing of chemical species present in the gas and monitoring moisture of the gas.

The sensors used to monitor internal corrosion processes and methods used to control internal corrosion are discussed. This article also elaborates on the technical challenges that remain unresolved, and discusses the applicability of emerging technologies for detecting internal and external corrosion sites

External Corrosion Detection Methods Most external corrosion detection methods are based upon current and potential distributions in soil surrounding a pipeline under CP. When a pipeline is subjected to CP, a current potential distribution develops in the soil near the pipeline. The pipeline is considered protected when pipe-to-soil potential measured by placing a Cu/CuSO4 reference electrode at the ground surface directly above the pipe is slightly less

than or equal to â&#x2C6;&#x2019;850 mV. Another protection criterion includes polarization of pipeline 100 mV below its free-standing potential, i.e., corrosion potential.

The current and potential distributions result from charge flow from the CP system anode to the pipeline and within coated and exposed parts of the pipeline. The magnitude and distribution of the charge flow is considerably different at a holiday and cathodic disbondment sites compared with the coated section of the pipe (Reimer, 2000; Reimer and Orazem, 2000; Song, et al., 2002, 2003). A schematic view of a buried pipeline under CP is presented in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 1, a damaged coating area on a pipeline will generate characteristic current and potential distribution in the neighboring soil. The potential distribution generated due to the coating defect is depicted by the isopotential curves in Figure 2. The characteristic potential distribution su-

Table 1. Incidents of External Corrosion Failure During 2005â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2009* in the United States Year Number of Incidents Fatalities Injuries Property Damage 2009 47 14 63 $152,088,687 2008 39 8 60 $507,003,320 2007 45 15 50 $143,227,032 2006 32 19 34 $147,050,436 2005 39 13 47 $1,398,235,747 Total 202 69 254 $2,347,605,223 *DOT website: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/reports/safety/CPI.html?nocache=6665

Figure 1. Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Fire Near Carlsbad, New Mexico, 2000.

(a) PostRupture Fire

(b) Crater Created by the Rupture

(c) Pitting Corrosion on Inside of Pipe Near Rupture Site

(d) Microscopic View of Corrosion Pits

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Figure 2. Schematic view of a buried pipeline in CP

A Damaged Coating Area on the Pipeline Generates Characteristic Potential Distribution, Which Is Represented by Isopotential Curves.

perposes with the potential distribution generated by the CP system of a fully coated pipeline. This affects current and potential distribution near a holiday and disbondment sites in the soil. This phenomenon is the basis for identification of holidays or suspected external corrosion sites using the available survey methods.

Several methods that are based on the aforementioned phenomena and rely upon aboveground surveys to identify holidays, disbonded coating sites, and holiday sizes on buried pipelines (McKinney, 2006; McKinney, et al., 2006; Moghissi, et al., 2009) are used in the pipeline industry. The methods include direct current voltage gradient (DCVG), alternating current voltage gradient (ACVG), and pipeline current mapper (PCM). These methods are valuable tools for external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) of pipelines. Ruschau and Kowalski (2006) documented field survey results, which demonstrated that DCVG and ACVG provided comparable information and were able to locate individual defects, while PCM was able to locate large areas of disbondment but could not accurately size and orient the defect.

The ECDA objective is to examine buried pipelines for external corro-

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sion and to ensure pipeline integrity (Klechka, 2002; Kroon, 2003). ECDA improve safety by identifying the locations and external corrosion sites and then repairing them (McQueen, et al., 2003). ECDA is a continuous process for maintaining the integrity of buried pipelines (Klechka, 2002; Kroon, 2003); each time the ECDA process is completed for a given pipeline, it must be scheduled to be completed again.

This ensures that the pipeline will always be monitored and maintained.

ECDA uses traditional methods, including the aforementioned methods, to evaluate the level of external corrosion, the condition of the coating, and the CP level (Kroon, 2003). ECDA does not introduce any new techniques, but it does allow for new techniques that can be included into its application. ECDA aims to determine the integrity of a given pipeline using four steps: preassessment, indirect inspection, direct examination, and postassessment.

Preassessment is the first step of ECDA, studying the background of the pipeline and its surrounding environment. This preassessment includes information such as pipeline structure, soil condition, operating history, and previous survey results. Preassessment also includes determining whether ECDA can be used properly. For example, some-

times pipelines are buried underneath rivers, lakes, roads, rocky terrain, or commercial and residential areas. This causes many difficulties for using indirect inspection techniques. Landowners or managers must approve access if the pipeline exists in commercial or residential areas. For issues of water, roads, or rocky terrain, a measurement technique called guided wave ultrasonics has been used in the past. This technique gauges metal loss without making electrical contact with the land.

The selection of which aboveground techniques are to be used is decided in the preassessment step (Medina, et al., 2004; Ersoy and Leewis, 2004).

The second step of ECDA, indirect inspection, involves using aboveground measurement techniques. The indirect inspections are aimed at locating coating holidays and defect sites, as well as areas that either lack the proper amount of CP or have accelerated corrosion.

At least two measurement techniques must be used to follow direct assessment protocols (Kroon, 2003). They are both to be performed over the same sections of pipeline that are determined from preassessment, and they should be performed consecutively without delay. Most indirect inspections only include Close Internal Survey (CIS) and DCVG as the two techniques needed for assessment because ECDA requires both. However, PCM and ACVG are both considered advantageous for indirect inspection. Some sources recommend that at least three techniques be used (NACE International, 2002). One advantage of using three techniques is that DCVG is considered to be a slow survey. Therefore, if PCM and CIS were first completed, then the length of time needed for a DCVG survey based on the results already found would be minimized.

The third step of ECDA, direct examination, involves pipeline excavations to enable first-hand inspection (NACE International, 2002). Before excavations begin, measurements from the indirect inspections are first evaluated. Based on the data collected, excavation areas are evaluated first. The excavations are performed where the data from aboveground measurements suggest that corrosion is worst. These excavations are called bell-hole excavations

(McQueen, et al., 2003; Francis, et al., 2001a). They allow for repairs to be made and give the opportunity to determine whether indirect indications were accurate. To completely test whether indications are valid, random excavations are performed at areas where there is no indication of defect. Further testing during excavations involves determining the soil resistivity, metal loss, and corrosion rates.

When repairs are made and excavations are completed, the last step of ECDA, postassessment begins. It is primarily used to evaluate the effectiveness of ECDA’s first three steps and to determine when ECDA will be completed again for the same pipeline (Klechka, 2002; NACE, 2002). This is called a reassessment interval, which is calculated to ensure that ECDA will be completed again before corrosion reaches advanced levels that would be detrimental to the future of the pipeline’s operation and to the health of the environment.

Another aspect that can be included in ECDA is Structure Reliability Analysis (SRA). While SRA is not always used, it can be beneficial for determining the probability of finding defects based on ECDA as well as the probability that the pipeline will fail. SRA is considered a probabilistic technique that can be used in combination with ECDA (McQueen, et al., 2003).

Using the survey methods for the ECDA of buried pipelines provides valuable information regarding the areas of concern along the pipelines. As part of the ECDA process, a pipeline operating company is required to validate the survey method results through a series of direct examinations or digs, which can be very expensive. Analyzing the indirect examination data properly in an iterative learning process, therefore, enables the pipeline company to minimize the number of digs required to validate the ECDA results and satisfy regulatory requirements.

The survey method results, however, do not always accurately locate and size the external corrosion sites on the buried pipelines (Ruschau and Kowalski, 2006).

This can lead to false positives identification of external corrosion sites or underassessment of risk (i.e., no identification of an active external corrosion site) at suspected sites.

A brief description of the different survey techniques that are used to determine pipeline integrity through indirect inspections follows. These techniques are termed as indirect because they do not involve physically inspecting the pipeline first hand; instead, these techniques rely on voltage and potential distributions that arise in the soil due to the application of the CP system that is in place to protect the pipeline. A brief description of available methods to measure corrosion rates of external corrosion sites is also provided.

Close Interval Survey (CIS)

The CIS technique has historically been used to characterize how well the CP system is working (McQueen, et al., 2003; Medina, et al., 2004; NACE International, 1996). It gives both on-potential and off-potential profiles along the length of the pipeline at the ground surface. The on-potentials are measured with the following method. When the CP current is turned on, the on-potential reading is measured. When it is interrupted or disconnected, the off-potential reading is found. These potentials are measured at the soil surface with respect to the pipeline. Test stations are usually placed at intervals of 1 to 2 km along the pipeline. Each test station allows for a direct connection to be made to the pipeline. Between test stations, surveyors use a trailing wire to remain connected to the previous test station.

The measurements are made at the ground surface using a walking stick probe with a copper/copper sulfate (Cu/ CuSO4) reference electrode placed at the bottom so it touches the ground. The reference electrode measures the potential at the soil surface directly above the pipeline with respect to the pipeline. A pipeline locator is used to ensure the proper location of measurements at the ground surface. Measurements are taken every 1–3 m along the pipeline.

Acceptable potentials are expected to be in the range of −850 to −1,200 mV with respect to the Cu/CuSO4 reference electrode (Francis, et al., 2001b).

CIS potential data is often analyzed by placing results in three different categories (Ersoy and Leewis, 2004; Francis, et al., 2001a, b; Pikas and Leewis, 2002).

The first category is labeled as a Type I indication of suspected corrosion site.

This level of indication is characterized as minor because both the on- and off-potential values for the peaks of the dips remain more negative than −850 mV. In Figure 3, a representation of a Type I indication is shown, along with Type II and Type III indications. Type II is considered a moderate indication.

It has an on potential dip in which the peak value remains more negative than −850 mV, while the off potential’s dip does not. The Type II indication is considered properly protected by the CP system. Type III indications are termed severe. These types of dips have peak values for on and off-potentials that extend into the range more positive than −850 mV. The presence of a defect is considered likely under this indication, and the ability of the CP system to protect it is considered to be unlikely.

CIS has limitations. Measurements are expected to only indicate whether corrosion is taking place at the time of the measurement. A CIS survey is not expected to indicate areas where corrosion may have occurred previously (Francis, et al., 2001a; Pikas and Leewis, 2002).

While CIS is able to detect the possibility of holidays, the potential measurements can be affected by variation in soil conductivity and stray currents. The primary function of CIS is to determine how well the CP system is working for a given pipeline. As mentioned previously, this can be performed by finding dips in the on- and off-potential profiles and determining whether the CP system is properly protecting these locations.

One issue with CIS is distance between the two measurements. In field, the CIS potential measurements are usually conducted at the intervals of approximately 1, 1.5, or 3 m (Holtsbaum, 2009). These may not always be optimal measurement distances for detecting small-sized holidays. Additional research is being conducted on how to adjust the measurement distance while a field survey is being conducted.

Another issue with CIS measurements is the presence of stochastic and systematic errors in collected pipe-to-soil potential data due to variation in soil resistivity and stray currents. Using the Pipeline Research Council International funds, Chenchen and Orazem (2004) developed an inverse CP model to anaJoP, July-September 2011

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Figure 3. A Representative of On- and Off-Potential Profile Along the Pipeline

The Measurement Data is Divided Into Three Categories

lyze the aboveground potential data for assessment of pipeline coating conditions. They concluded that the presence of random noise confounds the interpretation of CIS data. As a result, only serious anomalies can be identified through such models; thus, small- and medium-sized defects cannot be detected. This result is consistent with the observation that small- and medium-sized defects have minimal effect on aboveground potential; therefore, small- and medium-sized defects may not be identified using CIS. Direct Current Voltage Gradient (DCVG)

The DCVG is usually conducted after evaluating CIS potential data. The DCVG survey is used to locate a holiday and to size and categorize its relative severity when it is found. This is done by using two different calculations. The first of these two calculations is in units of mV and is used to determine the holiday location as measurements are made along the length of the pipeline. The second calculation is a percent-IR (I denotes current and R denotes resistance) calculation and involves measurements moving away from the pipeline. The measurements of DCVG in mV are completed by detecting a voltage gradient at the ground above the pipeline.

This voltage gradient is detected using two Cu/CuSO4 electrodes. One electrode is placed at the ground surface directly above the pipeline and the other

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Â

is placed 1.5 m laterally away from the first electrode also along the pipeline.

The two electrodes are not connected to the pipeline, instead, the electrodes are electrically connected to a voltmeter, which displays the voltage gradient detected in mV. Measurements along the pipeline are typically made at 1.5-m intervals. The field engineer nulls the voltmeter so that the first value or reading is at zero when the survey begins. This means that as the CP current is interrupted, the voltmeter remains at zero even when the CP current is switched back and forth between on and off. As a surveyor moves along the pipeline and as a coating flaw is approached, the voltmeter will begin swinging in either the positive or negative direction from zero, depending on the direction of current detected in the soil. The magnitude of this value increases as the coating flaw approaches.

The magnitude of the voltage reading will reach its maximum when the surveyorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s measurement is made directly above the flaw. This is evidenced by the voltmeterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sudden swing from positive to negative or vice versa when the flaw is passed. Thus, a coating defect is located.

The size and severity of a coating defect are also determined using DCVG. This is accomplished by calculating percentIR. Two steps are followed to determine the percent-IR value for a given coat-

ing flaw. First, lateral voltage gradients are obtained, moving away from the location of interest at the pipeline. Successive lateral measurements are made in the direction from the pipeline until the voltage gradient reaches a value of less than or equal to 1 mV. The location where the lateral voltage gradients are not greater than 1 mV is termed either as remote earth or IR infinity. Again, these voltage gradients are measured by placing Cu/CuSO4 reference electrodes at the spacing of 1.5-m. The measured voltage gradients are added and divided

by IR drop at the ground directly above the coating flaw. IR drop value must be interpolated by using the known values of potentials at the risers directly connected to the pipeline. The risers closest to the location of interest are used.

At the location of the riser, the IR drop can be measured by interrupting the CP system. The IR drop value at the location of interest is linearly interpolated.

The calculated percent IR drop values are categorized in four values. If the percent-IR value is less than 15 percent, the defect is considered safe and not severe. When percent-IR value is between 15 and 35 percent, the coating defect location is considered minimally severe. For such locations, a repeat survey must be conducted to further evaluate the location. A sufficient amount of coating damage is expected to be present for a percent-IR value in the range of 35 to 70 percent. Immediate excavation at such sites may not be necessary and excavation may be delayed until the next survey. In the fourth category, when percent-IR value is above 70 percent, immediate action is necessary.

Digging at the site of the coating flaw is needed so the pipeline can be physically repaired. After completion of the percent-IR calculation and assessment of suspected locations, the DCVG survey is considered to be completed.

Alternating Current Voltage Gradient (ACVG)

In this method, an AC signal is initiated from a frequency transmitter, and is applied to the pipeline. The corresponding AC current emanates from coating defect locations. This signal is detected by the voltage gradient measured between two electrodes at the ground surface.

The field measurements are conducted similar to DCVG. The value of the volt-

age gradient becomes highest near the coating defect location. Thus, the coating defect is located.

Attenuation of the AC signal along the pipeline may pose difficulty in using this method. Therefore, a test should be conducted close to the site of interest on the buried pipeline.

Current Attenuation

This technique determines the overall coating condition of the pipeline. It relates current change along the length of the pipeline to the area of the exposed metal known as the coating flaw. This method is also referred to as the PCM technique in the pipeline industry. In this technique, a transmitter is used to simulate the low frequency DC signal similar to that of the CP system in the frequency range of 4 to 1,000 Hz. A receiver is used to make all necessary measurements and calculations. The receiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary output is the current versus distance along the pipeline. The portable receiver generates a current plot as it is moved along the pipeline.

The magnitude of current monotonically decreases as distance from the transmitter increases. However, there is a sharp drop in the magnitude of current when a holiday is present. The magnitude of current drops because the current shunts to the soil at the holiday location.

Corrosion Rate Measurements Methods

The risk of pipeline damage can be assessed if the following two types of data are available: (i) the locations and sizes of the coating defects and (ii) the corrosion rate of the pipe wall material at the defect locations. The coating defect locations and sizes can be estimated using the ECDA process even though uncertainty remains in identifying and sizing all external corrosion sites. Accurate corrosion growth predictions are important to determine pipeline integrity-verification reassessment intervals and justify maximum allowable time intervals for conducting reassessments of a suspected external corrosion site.

Two methods are currently available to indirectly measure corrosion rates of a suspected corrosion site: (i) analogue coupon and (ii) linear polarization resistance (LPR).

In the first method, a coupon is a small piece of metal that is electrically connected to the structure at a test station. It is widely accepted that the potential of a coupon will closely approximate the potential of any holiday located in the vicinity of the coupon. Thus, the corrosion rate of the coupon is assumed to be equal to that of a holiday located in the vicinity. The corrosion rate of a holiday near the coupon is determined by the couponâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s change in mass (Ansuini and Dimond, 2005).

In the LPR method, a bare coupon or insitu pipeline (Yunovich, et al., 2006) is used to estimate corrosion rates. A bare steel coupon is inserted in the ground where the corrosion rate needs to be measured. The coupon is linearly polarized above and below around a mean value of the potential, and the corrosion rate is obtained by estimating the polarization resistance from measured current versus potential data. When the LPR method is applied to an in situ pipeline, the area around the pipeline is dug first. Then a specially designed electrochemical cell is placed around the pipe surface where the corrosion rate needs to be determined. The polarization resistance of the pipeline area is computed from the measured current versus potential curve, and the corrosion rate is estimated from the slope of this curve.

Both corrosion rate measurement methods have limitations. In the first method where coupons are electrically connected to the pipeline, a test station must be available to electrically connect the pipeline to the coupon. Further, Riemer and Orazem (2000) reported that most conservative estimates of the corrosion rate were obtained when the area of the coupon was larger than the area of the largest expected holiday. In addition, the performance of the coupon as a corrosion rate monitor was reported to be strongly influenced by the availability of oxygen in the soil and other soil conditions. Thus, coupon configuration, location, and size also can influence coupon readings. In the second method, when a coupon is used to determine the corrosion rate, the coupon surface condition does not represent the actual condition of the pipeline surface. The pipeline holiday surfaces may be covered with scale and/or biofilm that may

decrease the rate of corrosion compared to bare steel. Conversely, local environments created by metabolic products of bacteria may result in a higher corrosion rates than on the bare coupon surface. In the second method, when in-situ measurements are conducted using a specially designed electrochemical cell, the pipeline area must be dug to expose a holiday on the pipeline. Therefore, a more robust in-situ corrosion rate method needs to be developed to accurately determine the corrosion rate of holidays and disbondment sites on the pipeline without digging.

Internal Corrosion Detection Methods Locating internally corroded pipe is difficult because the inside of the pipe is not easily accessible. Most existing detection methods require access to the inside of the pipe for either visual examination or in-line inspection (ILI) tools, and a large portion of existing pipeline does not allow ILI because of mechanical constraints. Most ILI tools are mechanical robots, also known as pigs, which are inserted into a pipeline.

The pigs sweep through a pipeline and collect information such as pipeline wall thickness as a function of length.

Other inspection techniques such as radiography and ultrasonic transmission can measure wall thickness from the outside of the pipe, but excavation (and sometimes cleaning) of a buried pipe is required. Even then, only a small area of pipe can be inspected at a time. Southwest Research institute has developed smart pigs that can expand and shrink based upon internal dimensions of a pipeline. These pigs can be used to inspect certain pipelines where a smaller diameter pipeline braches off a bigger diameter pipeline.

Internal corrosion in gas pipelines occurs only where water or another corrosive electrolyte accumulates. This is the principle used in the Dry Gas-Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment (DGICDA) Guideline (NACE, 2006). The DG-ICDA focuses on nominally dry gas with episodes of water upset. The basis of DG-ICDA is that internal corrosion is most likely where water (electrolyte) first accumulates, and detailed examination of these locations provides information regarding the remaining JoP, July-September 2011

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length of the line. If the locations most likely to have accumulated electrolyte are free from internal corrosion, then other locations less likely to accumulate electrolyte are unlikely to have suffered corrosion. DG-ICDA is most useful for pipelines that are currently not piggable (i.e., the mechanical robot cannot be swept through the pipeline).

DG-ICDA, when performed on long lines with limited liquid inputs, may allow the internal corrosion integrity to be ensured for a number of miles with a small number of digs. However, for shorter lines with multiple liquid inputs, a large number of examinations may be required to ensure pipeline integrity, making implementation costly.

Well-accepted criteria for dry gas (e.g., water less than 7 lb/MMCF1 or 112 mg/m3) may be insignificant in the presence of biofilms and hygroscopic solids, such as iron corrosion products and other salts (Yang, et al., 2003). The dew point associated with various water contents in a gas mixture is also affected by the composition of the gas mixture (Sridhar, et al., 2004, 2005). The formation of condensed water is determined by the ratio of the water partial pressure to the water vapor pressure (saturation pressure). Because water partial pressure increases with the total pressure at given water content in the transported gas (lb/MMCF), condensed water may be formed at a high total pressure even though it is dry at a lower pressure. On the other hand, the saturation vapor pressure of water decreases with temperature; water condensation may be formed at a low temperature even though no condensation may form at a high temperature. Efforts are underway to develop sensors to determine locations where moisture of water has accumulated in an in-service pipeline.

A wide variety of ILI tools also are available to pipeline operators to identify internal corrosion. The current technologies for metal loss inspections are magnetic-flux leakage (MFL) and ultrasonic wall thickness measurement.

MFL technology can be applied axially or circumferentially. ILI provides information regarding the location and depth of corrosion defects. Digs are typically performed to verify the accuracy of ILI results. Repeated inspections on the

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same line segment using ILI tools may be performed to help determine whether active corrosion is occurring and potentially estimate a corrosion growth rate, based on the change in indication depth with time. ILI is likely the preferred method for operators whose lines are piggable. However, some pipeline designs may prohibit the use of ILI tools. In such cases, line modification to allow ILI may be impractical, if not impossible.

Additional methods are also available for assessing internal corrosion of pipelines.

The corrosion test coupon method is a simple and long-established method for evaluating or monitoring corrosion. The general corrosion rate usually is obtained from the measured weight loss or weight gain after a known period of exposure to the environment of interest (ASTM International, 2010). The coupon method is also widely used to evaluate localized corrosion, such as pitting corrosion (ASTM International, 2005). Implemented properly, test coupon methods are the most reliable method for corrosion assessment. However, this method is slow for corrosion rate measurements; it requires a 3-month to 1-year exposure time for applications in industrial process streams, and a much longer time for applications in concrete structures.

Standard Practices for Wet Gas Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment (WGICDA) and Liquid Petroleum Internal Corrosion Direct Assessment (LP-ICDA) are currently under development at NACE. WG-ICDA is intended for natural gas pipelines that contain less than 10 percent liquid. WG-ICDA considers the factors that influence the corrosion severity for each flow regime (i.e., stratified flow, slug flow, annular flow, mist flow) experienced by the pipeline segment and the presence of corrosive compounds such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. LP-ICDA is intended for pipelines transmitting hydrocarbon product that has less than 5 percent of basic sediments and water. Similar to DG-ICDA, LP-ICDA is concerned with identifying locations where water (electrolyte) accumulation may occur.

The coupled multielectrode array sensor (CMAS) method is a recently developed technology for monitoring corrosion (Yang, 2008; Sridhar, at al.,

2006), especially localized corrosion.

The CMAS method was initially introduced by Fei, et al. (1996) for studying the spatial and temporal electrochemical behavior of iron metal in solution. The CMAS method has also has been used to estimate the general corrosion rate (Yang, 2008). In this method, a probe is inserted inside a pipeline through a port.

The sensor is able to measure general and localized corrosion rates. The measured corrosion rates can be relayed to remote location through wireless and internet technologies. The sensor can be deployed at different locations on an in service pipeline. The sensor has been used to monitor internal corrosion of a 2.4-km-long and 1.0-m-internal-diameter crude oil dock line (Pickthall, et al., 2007).

Challenges and Emerging Technologies Detection of cathodic-disbondment external corrosion sites is still a challenge.

To the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best knowledge, no proven methods exist to detect small- to medium-sized cathodic-disbondment sites using indirect methods. Pipeline Research Council International, Inc., the leading research consortium dedicated to research issues related to transmission pipelines, has funded research in United States to analyze field data for detecting cathodic disbondment sites using an aboveground survey method.

The results of this study are still pending.

Baker Hughes, Shell Oil Company, and DOT (Whitworth, 2009) have jointly developed an ILI tool to measure CP current flowing through a pipeline by recording the potential drop across a 2to 3-m section of a pipeline. The inspection tool looks and operates just like a pig and measures current density along the length of the pipe. This tool can be helpful in locating coating-defect and cathodic-disbondment locations along the length of a pipeline. However, a pipeline needs to shut down while the tool is being used.

Detecting the location of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of a buried pipeline still remains a challenge.

SCC occurs due to synergistic interactions of mechanical stress, susceptible material, and a corrosive envi-

ronment. With respect to corrosive environment, buried pipelines are susceptible to SCC under two broad conditions: alkaline pH (pH in the range of 8–10) and near-neutral pH (pH in the range of 5–7.5). Examination of field data shows that SCC has occurred under disbonded coatings on the external pipe surface. CP systems used to protect the pipeline steel surface from corrosion can promote high-pH SCC, the absence of it under disbonded coatings is believed to be a cause for near-neutral pH SCC. Because SCC-induced cracks are typically narrow (measured in micrometers) and relatively deep (measured in millimeters), SCC is difficult to detect and predict in the field. SCC can occur in pipelines that do not suffer from significant metal loss (wall thinning) and result in sudden-burst failures. Hydrostatic testing or ILI tools, such as pigs, can be used to detect SCC locations; however, these tools cannot locate cracks that have small sizes, due to resolution limits of the tools. If a pipeline is not piggable and ILI tools cannot be used, verification of the absence of SCC must be justified by regular digging.

Measurement of pH of local soil may also provide an indication of susceptibility of pipeline material to SCC.

Summary Several methods exist to detect external corrosion sites and to assess susceptibility of internal corrosion of buried pipelines. Holidays and large cathodic-disbondment sites on external surfaces of buried pipelines under cathodic protection can be located and sized using CIS, DVCG, ACVG, and PCM methods. Although no method exists to measure in-situ corrosion rates at a location on a pipeline, corrosion rates can be estimated using the analogue coupons and LPR methods.

Pipeline Research Council International has sponsored research to determine whether small and mediumsized cathodic disbondment sites can be detected using the above-ground survey methods. Results of this study are being awaited. The ILI tool, jointly developed by Baker Hughes, Shell Oil Company, and DOT (Whitworth,

2009), can be used to map the CP current flowing through a pipeline, and thus identify external corrosion sites on a buried pipeline under cathodic protection.

Pipeline transmitting natural gas are susceptible to internal corrosion when water accumulates in a section of the pipeline. ILI tools, which are designed to measure wall thickness, can be used determine locations of pipeline undergoing internal corrosion. The CMAS method can also be utilized to determine susceptibility of pipeline material to internal corrosion. The same methods can be used for pipelines transmitting liquid petroleum products.

Detection of SCC induced cracks on a buried pipeline still remains a challenge. Hydrostatic testing or ILI tools can be used to detect SCC locations; however, these tools cannot locate cracks that have small sizes, due to resolution limits of the tools. If a pipeline is not piggable and ILI tools cannot be used, verification of the absence of SCC must be validated by regular digging. Measurement of pH of local soil may also provide an indication of susceptibility of pipeline material to SCC. Pipeline failures involving corrosion continue to occur worldwide.

The accidents result not only in the loss of human lives, injuries, and economic losses, but also the loss of public trust. Scientists, engineers, and operators working for pipeline companies, research organizations, and regulatory agencies have the responsibility to effectively implement existing detection methods and find applicability of emerging technologies for detection.

Acknowledgement The authors acknowledge the financial support of Southwest Research Institute in preparation of the manuscript.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the reviews of Drs. X. He and S. Mohanty, the editorial review of S. Harley, and the assistance of L. Naukam in the preparation of this manuscript.

MMCF stands for 1 million cubic feet at standard temperature and pressure (15oC and 1 atm).

1

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Cribb, R. “Danger Below: When Pipelines Go Bad.” Toronto Star. <http://www.corrosion-club. com/pipelines.htm> 2003.

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“A Quantitative Probabilistic Approach to External Corrosion Direct Assessment Using Structural Reliability Analysis.” Proceedings of the CORROSION 2003 Conference. Paper No. 04387.

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McKinney, J.P. “Evaluation of Above-Ground Potential Measurements for Assessing Pipeline Integrity.” M.S. Thesis. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida. 2006.

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Moghissi, O., J.P. McKinney, M. Orazem, and D. D’Zurcho. “Predicting Coating Holiday Size using ECDA Survey Data.” Proceedings of the CORROSION 2009 Conference. Paper No. 09146.

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1,015-1,024. 2002.

Song, F.M., D.W. Kirk, J.W. Graydon, and D.E. Cormack. “Steel Corrosion Under a Disbonded Coating with a Holiday. Part 2 : Corrosion Behaviour.” Corrosion. Vol. 59, No. 1. pp. 42–49.

2003.

Sridhar, N., D.S. Dunn, A.M. Anderko, and H.U. Schutt. “Effect of Water and Gas Compositions on

the Internal Corrosion of Gas Pipelines–Modeling and Experimental Studies.” Corrosion. Vol. 57, No. 3. pp. 221–235. 2001.

Sridhar, N., F. Song, and M. Nored. “Guidelines/ Quality Standards for Transportation of Gas Containing Mixed Corrosive Constituents.” Final Report of PRCI Project 15-015-03131. Pipeline Research Council International. L52227. May 2004.

Sridhar, N., L. Yang, N. Sridhar, and F. Song. “Effects of Solids and Biofilms on Dew Point and Corrosion in Pipelines.” Final Report of PRCI Project GRI–04/8767. January 2005.

Sridhar, N., L. Yang, and F. Song. “Application of Multielectrode Array To Study Dewpoint Corrosion in High Pressure Natural Gas Pipeline Environments.” Proceedings of the CORROSION 2006 Conference. Paper No. 06673. Houston, Texas: NACE International. 2006.

Whitworth, J. “New Technology: Cathodic Protection and Current Mapping In-line Inspection Tool.” Crystal City, Virginia: Shell Oil Products US. <http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/ rd/ mtg_062409.htm> 2009.

Yang, L. “Multielectrode Systems.” Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring.” Chapter 8. L. Yang, ed. pp. 187–243. Cambridge, England: Woodhead Publishing. 2008.

Yang, L., R.T. Pabalan, L. Browning, and D.S. Dunn. “Corrosion Behavior of Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel Materials Under Salt Deposits in Simulated Dry Repository Environments.” Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXVI. R.J. Finch and D.B. Bullen, eds. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings. Vol. 757. pp. 791–797. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: Materials Research Society. 2003.

Yunovich, M., B.M. Tossey, and C. Mendez. “Measuring Corrosion Growth Rates for Determining Integrity Verification Reassessment Intervals by In-Situ LPR Technique.” Proceedings of the CORROSION 2006 Conference. Paper No. 06311.

Houston, Texas: NACE International. 2006.

Lietai Yang Pavan K Shukla

Dr. Pavan K. Shukla is a chemical engineer with expertise in corrosion processes, and modeling chemical process and electrochemical systems.

He also specializes in evaluating performance of organic coatings using various ASTM standard methods, and is expert in the cathodic protection technology. Dr. Shukla has developed special test procedures for evaluating elevated-temperature performance of organic coatings. Dr. Shukla has coauthored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal and conference proceeding publications, and two book chapters. Dr. Shukla is listed as co-inventor on two patent applications that were recently filed at United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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Dr. Lietai Yang has broad experience in corrosion and is an expert in corrosion monitoring. His specializes in developing sensors for real-time applications in industrial environments.

Dr. Yang was a co-developer of the multielectrode array sensor that enabled the quantitative and reliable real-time monitoring of localized corrosion in process streams and industrial fields. Dr. Yang has coauthored more than 100 technical papers on corrosion, solution chemistry and sensors, and multiple chapters in technical books. He is the editor of a recently published reference book “Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring”. Dr. Yang is listed as co-inventor on seven issued patents.

Asset reliability

Fitness of Purpose Assessment of Austenitic Stainless Steel Heater Tubes in a Refinery Hydrocracker unit

Abstract

Introduction

The Reactor Feed Furnace of a Hydrocracker unit was operated at 600ยบC due to some operational requirement against the design metal wall temperature of 530ยบC for 5 years. The periodic in-situ metallography of the tube surfaces revealed sensitization of the tube material in spite of being an austenitic stabilized grade of SS347. Therefore health assessment study of the furnace tubes was carried out to assure reliability for further service operation.

The heater tubes (SS 347) of Reactor Feed Furnace of Hydrocracker unit of a petroleum refinery were in service since 17years after commissioning. The tubes were installed horizontally with return bends within the firebox. The fuel used for furnace firing was fuel gas. After initial 5 years of operation, the skin temperatures were kept above 600 deg C against design limit of 529 deg C for process requirements and continued for 5 years. Sensitization was observed at the tube external surface during inspection shutdowns. However, the microstructure was free from micro-cracks and creep voids.

No thickness loss was recorded over the period of service life and hence no replacement of any tube carried out since commissioning. The heater tube specification was as per ASTM A 271 TP 347 having tube dimension 193.04 mm OD x 17.78 mm thickness. To ascertain the reliability and safe operation of the heater tubes for further operation, heath assessment study was undertaken. One critical tube segment from the radiation zone of the furnace was removed for fitness for purpose studies. This kind of fitness for purpose study is seldom done due to lack of expertise. IOC R&D has developed the methodology indigenously and successfully implemented for all type of heaters. This fitness for purpose services rendered to refineries as per requirements. Based on the finding of the study and suggested recommendations, the refinery has been utilizing the maximum life of the tubes. Fitness for purpose study for Stainless steel grade (SS 347) heater tubes has been done for the first time.

The laboratory examination of the tube sections revealed high degree of sensitization at the external surface. Mechanical properties evaluation found in conformance to the minimum property requirements of API 530. High temperature mechanical strength and rupture life estimation using API 530 revealed good amount of remnant life of the tube. In order to study the acceptability of the degree of sensitization noticed in the tube with respect to potential stress corrosion cracking (SCC) during idle time due to polythionic acid, a special test as per ASTM A262 practice E was carried out.

The external surfaces failed with an initiation of multiple sharp stress corrosion cracks indicating the susceptibility of the tubes to idle time SCC, where as internal surface revealed free from such observations. Hence the tube assembly was recommended for further operation. In order to avoid intergranular cracking (polythionic attacks) during shutdowns, passivation of the tube external surfaces and random monitoring of the tube surfaces with in situ metallography were suggested. This kind of fitness for purpose study is seldom done because of lack of expertise. However IOC R&D centre has developed the expertise over the period and rendering the services for fitness for purpose to its refineries.

Laboratory Investigations The tube samples removed from the heater are shown in Fig 1

& Fig 2 indicating no appreciable scaling on external and internal surfaces.

No abnormalities in terms of deposits or pitting were seen on the internal surface of the tube. No diametrical changes as well as thickness loss recorded on tube sample. Chemical composition analyzed using spark emission spectrometer at both inner and outer surfaces confirmed the specified metallurgy SS 347.

limit of the properties of SS-347 as per the code1.

Metallographic study

Impact toughness property evaluation

The ring section cut from the tube sample was studied for cross sectional macro & microstructure study at ID, mid-wall and OD. The microstructure at Mid and ID were almost similar having grain boundary carbide precipitation leading to sensitization, no twin bands, no creep voids or micro-cracks were seen in the microstructure. The microstructure at the OD of tube was having higher extent of sensitization however no creep voids, micro-cracks or inter-granular attack are seen (Fig 3).

The metallographic observations had been carried out at various magnifications (200X, X 400 and X 900) under the optical microscope.

Scanning Electron Microscopy and EDAX analysis

The sensitized cross-sectional area near the OD of the sample was examined under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for its microstructural characterization. The microstructural observations revealed the discrete carbide precipitates along the grain boundaries showing sensitization at X 1500 & X200 however no inter-granular attack / cracking, no creep voids was seen in the microstructure (Fig 4). The EDAX analysis under SEM at the grain boundary carbide precipitates confirmed to sensitization chemical composition wise.

Mechanical property evaluation

Tensile testing using Servo Hydraulic Universal Tensile Testing machine (UTM) tests was carried out at room temperature and at 450 C, 5000 C, 5500 C, 6000 C & 650C on the tube samples to assess the deterioration in the mechanical properties over the period of service life. From the test results, it is inferred that UTS, YS in the service-exposed material conducted at room temperature and at all elevated temperature are more than the minimum specified

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JoP, July-September 2011

Figure 1 - As received feed furnace tube indicating clean external surface of the tube

Hardness Testing

Bulk hardness measurement was carried out using Instron Make Rockwell hardness tester at the cross-section of the metallography samples and recorded lower (155-165 BHN) against 202 BHN as per ASTM A 271 for TP347.

To assess the current impact toughness of the material, charpy Impact tests were carried out at room temperature, 280C, 00C, -200C, -400C and the Ductile Brittle transition temperature (DBTT) was evaluated. The DBTT has been found to be below 00C. These findings indicate that the material persist good impact toughness (Chart-1).

Fig.2 Photograph of the same sample (Fig 1) showing clean internal (ID) of the tube

Inter-granular attack test

The laboratory metallography carried out at the cross-section of the tube sample indicated sensitization in the material. In view of these, to assess the susceptibility of the existing sensitization level towards inter-granular attack2, ASTM recommended A 262 practice E test was carried out. ASTM A 262 practice is a boiling test of full thickness (1inch x 3inch) specimen immersed in 16% H2SO4 & 6% CuSO4 for continuous 48hours. As per the test practice, after boiling in the solution, the specimens are bent to 1800 and observed for cracking at the bent surface at 10X. In this case 5 nos. of test specimens were exposed to the boiling solution. Out of these, three specimens were bent keeping the OD surface (higher sensitization side) of the tube upper side and bent to 180 degree and found cracked at the OD surface completely (Fig 6). Balance two samples were bent keeping the ID surface (less sensitization side) at the upper side and the specimens did not crack (Fig 7).

Analysis for Life Estimation Remaining life of the Heater tubes was estimated based on the most predominant damage mechanism. In general, the damages in Fired heaters are seen to occur due to degradation in high temperature rupture properties & impact properties by virtue of exposure to elevated service temperature during operation.

Figure 3 - Microstructure under optical microscope revealed carbide

Figure 4-Photomicrograph under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showing sensitization

The room or high temperature tensile / yield strength or carburization was noticed well within allowable limit and charpy impact property was also found very well. Hence the minimum allowable rupture strength vs Larsen Miller Parameter (LMP) curves as given in the code was considered for calculations1 , instead of actual stress rupture test (ASRT) or accelerated creep test. The life fraction estimation has been carried out as per the equation given below:

LMP = (T + 273)(15 + Log t)/1000.......1 Where ‘T’ is temperature in deg. C and‘t’ is estimated time for rupture as per design.

Utilizing the above equation for the period of five years, when tube skin temperature was reached to 610 deg C (beyond the design metal wall temperature of 5300C), the Life fraction consumed was calculated to be 0.65. Life fraction consumed while operation at temperature 5300C was calculated to be 0.05.

Hence the total consumed life fraction is 0.70 means 70% of the tube life has already been consumed. The remaining life fraction 0.30 or 30% is available for further service. The total tube life has been estimated for various tube metal wall temperatures and tabulated below, which shows the impact of higher metal wall temperature on the tube remaining life.

Results and Discussion • No OD growth, loss in thickness and no micro/macro-cracks at any crosssection of the tube sample indicated that the tubes had not under gone to creep damage even under operation beyond the design temperature for 5 years.

• The compositional analysis carried out at ID and OD confirmed the SS 347 metallurgy of the tube and ruled out damage due to carburization at the tube ID in spite of exposure to beyond design temperature in the carburization temperature regime.

• The microstructure of the virgin

annealed stainless steel consists of sharp edged austenitic grains with the presence of annealing twin bands within the austenitic matrix.

Exposure to temperature range of 425-8150C, leads to Chromium carbide precipitation along the grain boundaries due to higher affinity of the Cr towards carbon than Fe3.

The precipitation of chromium carbides along the grain boundaries is commonly known as sensitization of stainless steel. Sensitization in Stainless steel is detrimental w.r.t inter-granular corrosion attack (IGA) which causes (1) grain removal, micro and then macro cracking of the component (2) Makes stainless steel prone to cracking in hostile environment such as polyphonic acid or chloride. The polythionic acid stress corrosion cracking (PASCC) can occur and propagate very fast within hours or days4. Microstructure analysis at ID, mid-section and OD the tube samples had revealed presence of grain boundary carbide precipitation indicating severe sensitization in the material, the extent of sensitization was more severe at the OD of the tubes relatively.

• The samples failed in inter granular attack (IGA) test at OD surface indicating the increased possibility for occurrence of inter-granular cracking (micro cracking and grains removal) due to PASCC during the shutdown/idle periods. During these periods, there is high probability of formation/condensation of polythionic acid on the tube surface. The PASCC inter-granular cracking can

be avoided or restricted by adoption of the passivation5 of tubes by caustics during the shutdowns/idle periods in the sensitized condition of tubes.

• Laboratory room temperature and high temperature tensile tests (45006500C) revealed good existing mechanical properties in the tube sample and the same were found well above the code required minimum values (API 530) even after service life of 17 years. The charpy impact toughness testing carried out at room & subzero temperatures (DBTT) in-

Chart 1-Graph showing comparison Ductile Brittle Transaction Temperature(DBTT) of the tube sample with literature reported DBTT for SS347 material

Figure- 6 Intergrannular attack susceptibility test

Figure-7 Intergrannular attack susceptibility test

Table-1: High temperature mechanical properties Temperatures

UTS (Mpa)

YS (Mpa)

% Elongation

UTS - 640 YS - 250 Elongation %- 45

627.7 613.8

291.7 285.8

65.20 66.82

At 4500 C

UTS - 360 YS - 140

431.1 416.2

186.3 148.5

42.59 47.24

At 5000 C

UTS - 355 YS - 140

469.9 470.7

204.4 201.2

43.11 43.98

Sl No.

At 5500 C

UTS - 350 YS - 140

470 478.1

206 212.0

34.89 38.14

1

575

33.42

At 6000 C

UTS - 350 YS - 140

439 430.4

168.1 163.7

43.74 48.29

2

580

21.4

3

585

12.4

At 650° C

UTS - 315 YS - 130

426.0 423.4

143.9 144.7

41.95 43.84

4

590

5.6

5

595

0.5

At Room temperature

A 271 TP 347 (MPa)

UTS: Ultimate Tensile Strength, YS: Yield Strength

Table 2- Impact of metal wall temperature on the tube’s remaining life Tube metal temperature in deg.C

Remaining life (Years)

JoP, July-September 2011

35

dicated no significant deterioration/ degradation in the ductility of the material.

• 65% of the tube life was exhausted during the 5 years operation when the tubes were exposed to increased temperature to 6100C beyond the design metal temperature and 0.05% of the tube life was exhausted during the other 12 years of operation when the tubes were exposed to normal operating temperature. The remaining 30% tube life is available for further services w.r.t temperatures and service life as per the table-2.

The remnants left over service life of the tubes are sufficient enough, provided the tubes are operated under normal recommended operational conditions with proper passivation as per recommendations.

Conclusions • The findings ruled out the most probabilistic “Creep” damage in the tube sample due to operation beyond the design temperature for about 5 years of service life. Further the mechanical tests revealed that the tubes

possess good health and remaining life.

• The severe sensitization and susceptibility towards inter-granular attack at the external surface of the tube were established, which will be the critical controlling parameter for further serviceability of the tubes.

Hence to avoid / restrict the intergranular attack and cracking (PASCC), proper passivation5 should be adopted & assured during the idle/ shutdowns periods.

• If the tube assembly is passivated properly as per the recommended practice5 during the shutdowns/idle times, the heater tubes assessed are fit for service of 5 years under the normal operational conditions. After 5 years similar study should be carried to assess the further serviceability of the tubes.

References • Calculation of Heater Tube Thickness in Petroleum Refineries, API Standard 530, fifth edition, January 2003, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, USA

• Standard Practices for Detecting Susceptibility to Inter-granular Attack in Austenitic Stainless Steels, ASTM A 262-98, American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428, USA • D.V. Beggs, and R.W. Howe, “Effects of Welding and Thermal Stabilization on the Sensitization and Polythionic Acid Stress Corrosion Cracking of Heat and Corrosion-Resistant Alloys,” CORROSION/93, Paper 541, NACE International, Houston, TX, 1993.

• Damage Mechanisms Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry, downstream segment, American Petroleum Institute (API), Recommended Practice 571, first edition, December 2003, Washington, USA, PP 5-31.

• Standard Recommended Practice, Protection of Austenitic Stainless Steels and Other Austenitic Alloys from Polythionic Acid Stress Corrosion Cracking During Shutdown of Refinery Equipment, NACE Standard RP0170-2004, NACE International Houston, Texas.

QM Amir

S Rajagopal

Sh. S. Rajagopal is a Post Graduate in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Chennai and has more than 30 years of experience in Petroleum Refining. He joined IOCL in 1980 and since then held various positions in Gujarat, Mathura & Barauni Refineries and in Technical & Project Department in Refineries Head Quarters at New Delhi. Currently, he is In-charge of Refining Technology Group in R&D Centre of IOCL. He has a rich experience of process engineering and has contributed to capacity enhancement, yield & energy improvement, value addition, safety and environment in IOC Refineries.

Shri Q. M. Amir is a Bachelor in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT, Roorkee and Master of Technology from IIT Kanpur. He has also completed a PGDBM from MDI Gurgaon. He joined IOCL-R&D Centre in 1992 and has over 20 years of experience in Corrosion engineering, Plant integrity & Reliability assessment, Material failure analysis, Fitness for Purpose studies and Remaining Life Assessment of aged process equipments. He has 30 technical papers in his name in National & International conferences of repute and has compiled over 100 technical reports and case studies pertaining to analysis & filed implementable solutions to refineries in the above areas. He is a member of various societies like NACE, ISNT, FMA and SAE India.

Keshav Kishore

Sh. Keshav Kishore is a Post Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from IISc Bangalore and has more than 30 years of experience in monitoring and health assessments of operating Refinery and Petrochemical plants, forecast troubles and provide necessary effective remedial measures of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. He has expertise in corrosion management of refinery / petrochemical plants, selection of paints and electrodes, base data generation of new equipment for future health assessment and inspection documentation system. He is a strong inspection planner and shutdown management having more than 70 M&I shutdowns experience in India and abroad. He has varied experience working with several licensors like UOP, EIL, Haldor Topsoe, Dupont, Neste, IPC etc. He is the author of ASTM manual on Refinery equipments Inspection and Maintenance and also achiever of NACE award of excellence in Corrosion 2009. Presently he is in-charge of Advanced Materials and Metallurgy group in R&D Centre of IOCL and associated with development of various novel projects on corrosion science, NDT methodology, Remaining Life assessment of equipments etc.

36

JoP, July-September 2011

Asset reliability

Duplex Stainless Innovative applications Yatinder Pal Singh Suri, Country Head Outokumpu India Private Limited

The word Duplex is based on the concept of austenite and ferrite formulated in the same material. Duplex stainless steels, combine many of the beneficial properties of ferritic and austenitic steels. Due to their high content of chromium and nitrogen, and often also molybdenum, these steels offer good resistance to local and uniform corrosion. The duplex microstructure contributes to their high strength and high resistance to stress corrosion cracking. Duplex steels also have good weldability.

Duplex grades have proven superior to austenitic grades in many applications. Owing to their low nickel content, these grades afford better price stability than austenitic grades.

The strength of Duplex grades – close to 90 percent higher than that of austenitic grades – allows for the use of considerably thinner materials, resulting in major weight and cost savings ( Refer design case given in the table below )

Characteristic properties • High strength • Good to very good resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion • High resistance to stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue

• • • • • •

Good to very good resistance to uniform corrosion Good erosion resistance Good fatigue resistance High energy absorption Low thermal expansion Good weldability

Stainless manufacturers produce a whole range of duplex grades from the lean alloyed LDX 2101 up to the super duplex grades SAF 2507 and 1.4501.

These duplex grades have been used in a wide range of applications mentioned below.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Heat exchangers Water heaters Pressure vessels Large storage tanks Rotors, impellers and shafts Components for structural design Firewalls and blast walls on offshore platforms Digesters and other equipment in the pulp and paper industry Cargo tanks and pipe systems in chemical tankers Desalination plants Flue-gas cleaning Seawater systems

Illustrated below are some fine examples where Duplex Stainless Steel has achieved recognition and created a revolution in Duplex applications.

Edible Oils

Loders Croklaan use LDX 2101® duplex stainless steel, from their palm Oil tanks. The material choice gave the tank owner the guarantee of the high corrosion resistance of all duplex stainless steel grades. This helps to safeguard the tank content by reducing the risk of cross-contamination. Moreover, as LDX 2101® has 90 percent higher strength than standard austenitic stainless steels, the material enabled Siemerink to achieve a 30 percent weight saving compared to a conventional stainless steel tank.

Another benefit to Loders Croklaan came from extra-wide material: Outokumpu provides duplex stainless steel in 2-meter-wide coils and tailor-made plates up to 3.2 meters wide. The large widths translate into cost savings due to fewer rings and less welding. LDX 2101®, a low-alloyed duplex grade, is ideal for moderate corrosion conditions such as storing palm oil and other edible oils. Thanks to its low nickel content, LDX 2101® can well compete in price with carbon steel tanks when the life cycle cost is taken into account. What palm oil is said to be to the world, LDX 2101® is to storing it.

Pressure Vessels Duplex stainless steel grade LDX 2101® revolutionizes the pulp industry with a breakthrough for pulp bleaching: the new hydrogen peroxide reactor at Smurfit Kappa Kraftliner Piteå in Sweden is the world’s

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JoP, July-September 2011

first industrial-scale pressure vessel built entirely out of LDX 2101® plate.

The reactor’s pressure vessel is the first in the world built out of proprietary duplex stainless steel grade LDX 2101® (EN 1.4162). LDX 2101® replaces traditional hydrogen peroxide reactor materials – the high-performance, highalloyed austenitic stainless steel grade 904L (EN 1.4539) or the more commonly used Duplex 2205 (EN 1.4462). LDX 2101®, which has a very low nickel content, is well adequate to handle the hydrogen peroxide reactor process, an environment with a low corrosion rate under alkaline conditions but high pressures up to 10 bars and temperatures around 110 degrees Celsius.

The main reason for the selection of LDX 2101® for the new reactor was its high strength, which allowed the designers to use thinner gauges compared to traditional grades. That and the low nickel content of LDX 2101® brought considerable cost savings. Additional benefits to the tank fabricators came from the good machinability of LDX 2101®. The contractor at the site expressed surprise at the easiness of the fabrication process.

Biofuel

Tank fabricator Oostwouder Tank- & Silobouw BV of the Netherlands chooses Duplex LDX 2101® for the company’s largest tank project to date: a farm of 66 tanks to be built for Noba Vetveredeling BV in a large-scale biofuel project in the Port of Amsterdam.

Already experienced in the use of lownickel Duplex grade LDX 2101®, Oostwouder chose that grade for the main part of the tanks, a total of approximately 1,500 tons of the material. The decision in favor of LDX 2101® was

both for the high mechanical strength of the Duplex grade – close to twice that of the alternative austenitic grade EN 1.4301 (ASTM 304) – and for the low nickel content of LDX 2101®. Because of recent surges in the price of nickel, LDX 2101® has emerged as the more economical choice compared to highernickel grades.

In addition to the price advantage, Oostwouder achieved a 25% material weight saving by using LDX 2101® compared to austenitic grades. Oostwouder’s Managing Director Jan Piet Oostwouder explains that tank engineering requires a certain minimum material thickness.

This does not allow fabricators to take full advantage of the strength of Duplex grades, as compared to some other applications where the weight saving can be even greater. For the bottom part of the tanks, where a higher level of corrosion resistance is needed, Oostwouder uses Duplex 2304.

Waste Water Treatment Stainless steel is still a relatively new material in wastewater treatment, but it is fast becoming the standard in plant hardware owing to needs to fight corrosion and abrasion while lowering maintenance needs and life cycle costs.

Planning for a minimum plant life of 25 years, Confederación Hidrográfica del Norte specified the austenitic grade EN 1.4404 (ASTM 316L) for gates, suction precipitator bridges, sand removers and lamellas. Between the time of initial planning and when Cadagua took over the project engineering in 2006, the price of 1.4404 had skyrocketed due to high nickel prices Based on corrosion tests, E.D.A.R de Bens, Cadagua and the project contractor were convinced that the right grade was Duplex 2304 (EN 1.4362).

Duplex 2304 offers the water utility company multiple benefits in addition to vast savings in the initial price

compared to 1.4404. Thanks to its high surface hardness, 2304 will withstand better the abrasion caused by solid suspended particles. The thinner material gauges and consequently lighter structures allowed by the grade translate into less edge preparation, less need for welding consumables, fewer welding hours, lower-capacity cranes, and overall easier handling of structures. It promises even longer usable lives and lower life cycle costs.

Storage Tanks

Booming Indian Auto Industry PRODUCTION(2010-11) • • • • •

2.99 million passenger vehicles, 13.4 million two wheelers, more than 750,000 commercial vehicles and almost 800,000 three wheelers.

Overall Production growth rate of of 27.45 percent.

DOMESTIC SALES(2010-11)

Spain-based storage-tank fabricator Emypro SA has built the entire Relisa SA farm of Spain, consisting of 22 units, using exclusively duplex LDX 2101® plate. The tanks store liquid foods and chemicals. When engineering the first phase of the farm in 2005 with 13 tanks, Emypro foresaw the advantages of the duplex grade and partnered with Outokumpu to convince Relisa about it with the help of technical and commercial studies. When Emypro was only putting finishing touches to the tanks, Relisa ordered 9 more using the same grade. The second phase of the project was completed in December 2007. Like all duplex stainless steels, the grade features close to twice the strength of austenitic grades.

This has allowed Emypro to achieve major materials reduction compared to the conventional austenitic alternative using 1.4301/1.4307. The total weight saving compared to the conventional solution is more than 20%. In some sections of tanks, LDX 2101® enables up to 50% weight savings. Emypro’s pioneering development continues a history of milestones achieved including the world’s largest duplex storage tank (22m in diameter and 25m in height) fabricated using duplex grade 2304 as a replacement for 1.4401/1.4404 (316/316L).

• Domestic sales growth rate is 26.12% (amounting to 15,513,156 vehicles) • Passenger Cars grew by 29.73 percent • Utility Vehicles grew by 18.87 • Multi-Purpose Vehicles grew by 42.10percent • Commercial Vehicles segment registered growth of 26.97 • Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) registered growth of 31.78 percent • Light Commercial Vehicles grew at 22.88 percent • There Wheelers domestic sales recorded a growth rate of 19.44 percent • Goods Carriers registered growth of 9.45percent • Two Wheelers registered a growth of 25.82percent • Passenger Carriers grew by 22.03 percent • Mopeds, Motorcycles and Scooters grew by 23.53percent, 22.86percent and 41.79percent respectively

EXPORTS (2010-11): • • • •

Passenger Cars: 450,000 (1.64 % growth) 2-Wheelers: 1.5 M Overall export growth rate of 29.64percent Commercial Vehicles, Three Wheelers and Two Wheeler segments recorded growth of 69.51percent, 55.86percent and 35.04percent respectively

Future Trajectory : The vehicle market is expected to reach a volume of 44.5 million vehicles by 2019-2020 with approximately 8.46 million passenger vehicles, 2.6 million commercial vehicles, nearly a million three wheelers and 32.3 million two wheelers. A mix of enabling policy environment along with innovations by OEMs and other stakeholders would help the Indian vehicle industry to reach these targets.

(Source: 51st Annual SIAM Convention, Automobile Industry overview)

www.outokumpu.com JoP, July-September 2011

39

Alternative energy

India’s energy security Natural gas self sufficiency, and Shale Gas Resources of Indian Sedimentary Basins P. K. Bhowmick and R. K. Mishra KDMIPE, ONGC

Introduction

Energy scenario – a brief

Natural gas, a clean energy source is preferred to other fuels for economic and environmental reasons. Being cleaner fuel, there is a complementary environmental premium endowed to natural gas (Sanière, 2005). Natural gas can make substantial contribution to meet the challenge of providing adequate energy and it is the only hydrocarbon source of energy that could lead to further de-carbonization of the world (IGU, 2000). India is the world’s sixth largest energy consumer, and the third largest oil and gas consumer in Asia, after China and Japan (Stein, 2006). The natural gas demand in India is met by domestic production and import is supplementing the demand-supply gap. IEA projects a demand of natural gas at the level of 400 million standard cubic meters a day in 2020. The share of natural gas in India’s energy mix is expected to increase sharply, and grow to 20% by 2025.

India is likely to import 30-40% of the gas. There is a need to explore the possibility of augmenting the natural gas supply from domestic resources by exploring unconventional reservoirs – Shale gas, Tight Gas, Coal Bed Methane, and Gas Hydrates etc. Globally unconventional natural gas sources are being explored and commercially exploited and geological analogs suggest that India to be endowed with huge unconventional natural gas sources and there is a requirement to explore and exploit such sources for energy security.

Global energy trend is characterized by changing pattern of energy mix, dominance of oil and gas, and increasing share of natural gas. Natural gas is likely to play a dominant role within the mix of energy sources. It will overtake coal as the world’s second largest primary energy source before 2015 (Birol, 2006) and in the next twenty-five years the world will consume more gas than oil (Oil Field Review, 2003). India, an emerging economy is the world’s fifth-largest energy consumer and a net oil-gas importer.

Coal and oil constitute India’s primary energy sources.

Natural gas could become a potential energy resource in the future. The domestic production-consumption pattern suggests widening demand-supply gap leading to increased dependence on gas imports. Moreover, the encouragement for greater use of natural gas in India as a clean fuel will lead to an increase in demand leading to additional import of natural gas. Indian sedimentary basins are likely to hold enormous volume of natural gas. India should resort to intensive exploration and exploitation of its domestic basins for natural gas -both conventional and unconventional.

Unconventional Natural Gas Sources According to USGS and SPE, uunconventional gas re-

Figure 1. Figure depicting Continuous accumulation

sources occur in continuous type accumulation. USGS defines continuous accumulations as those that have large spatial dimensions and lack well-defined down-dip oil-water or gas-water contacts, are not localized by the buoyancy of oil or gas in water (Figure 1). SPE defines continuoustype deposit as that which are pervasive throughout a large area and which is not significantly affected by hydrodynamic influences. Combination of one or more of the following characteristics makes a hydrocarbon accumulation unconventional 1. Distinctive reservoir framework (e.g. low matrix permeability and/ or presence of natural fractures), 2. Distinctive reservoir charge (e.g. adsorbed gas in self-sourced reservoirs) 3. Fluid characteristics, and 4. Technology and economics (Resources are economically exploitable only by applying advanced technologies, massive stimulation treatments and/or special recovery processes).

Thus, Unconventional gas resources include natural gas from coal (also known as coal bed methane), tight (low permeability) sands, shale gas and gas hydrate. Unconventional gas is the same substance as "conventional" natural gas and it is the peculiar characteristics of the reservoir rock that contain unconventional gas that lead to the unconventional designation. Methane is the main component of unconventional natural gas. The common characteristic of the different types of unconventional gas resources is that they contain large quantities of natural gas, but it is usually more difficult to produce as compared to conventional. However, technological innovations have led to stimulate these rocks to produce the gas. The unconventional gas resources have become a mainstay of the U.S. natural gas industry, (Table -1). The growth in unconventional gas has been driven by more intense development of emerging gas plays as well as the discovery of several new plays. The unconventional gas resources worldwide indicate that potential for unconventional gas is seven times higher in North America

Schematic geology of natural gas resources Table 1. Unconventional Gas Resources and Status Resource in USA (Tcf)

Status in USA

Resources in Canada (Tcf)

Status in Canada

Shallow Biogenic gas

20

On-going Production

40

Production since 1905

Tight Gas

>700

Opportunity

600

?

Deep Basin/ BCG

Growth Opportunity

Production since 1976

Coalbed Methane

749

Production since 1970’s

400-700

Production since 2002

Shale gas

600

Production since 1827

100-900

Experimental activity

Gas Hydrate

1000

Experimental Research

5000

Experimental Research

Table 2. Resource Potential in 1000 bcm (tcm) Coal Bed Methane

Shale Gas

Tight Gas

Unconventional

Conventional

Australia & Asia 49

165

36

250

38

North America

85

109

39

233

43

Former Soviet Union

112

18

26

156

177

Africa & Middle East

0

80

46

126

132

Latin America

1

60

37

98

18

Europe

8

16

12

36

14

World

255

448

196

899

422

(Source Rogner, 1997)

than in Europe (Table -2) Tight gas occurs in formations with ultra-low permeability. According to International Gas Union natural gas can be trapped in low-permeability (“tight”) reservoirs with in-situ permeability of less than 0.1 milli darcy,

regardless of the type of the reservoir rock (Law and Spencer, 1993). Coal bed methane (CBM) is formed during transformation of plant material into coal. Gas hydrate is a methane-bearing, ice-like material that occurs in marine sediments. Shale gas is natural gas contained within shale sequences.

JoP, July-September 2011

41

Shale Gas Shale gas is natural gas produced from reservoirs predominantly composed of shale with lesser amounts of other fine grained rocks. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock and is rich in organic carbon. Natural gas formation takes place in shale source rocks.

Typically, the methane in organic shale was created in the rock itself over millions of years. These gas forms when organic matter in the rock breaks down under rising temperature (Figure 2).

Depending on the type of kerogen increase in temperature and pressure lead to generation of crude oil, wet gas or dry gas (Figure 3). The generated gas is then adsorbed on organic material, expelled through fractures in the shale (free gas), or captured within pores of the shale (free gas). Continued pressure due to burial forces most of the gas to migrate from shale into more porous and permeable rock. Natural gas remaining in shale source rock is termed shale gas (Figure 4). Whether shales are capable of generating shale gas, depends on amount and type of organic material it contains, degree of maturation it has been subjected. Shale is both the source and reservoir and the gas is stored in three ways: adsorbed on the kerogen; trapped in the pore spaces, and held in fractures. Gas production from shale takes place in three waysdesorption from surface, flow through matrix and flow from natural fractures (Figure 5).

Shale gas accumulations are pervasive over large geographic areas and are considered as continuous accumulations. As per U.S. Department of Energy the â&#x20AC;&#x153;continuous accumulations differ from conventional hydrocarbon accumulations in two important ways.

First, they do not occur above a base of water, and second, they commonly are not density-stratified within the reservoir.â&#x20AC;? The characteristic feature of shale gas play are low production rates (20,000 to 500 mcf per day), very large areal extent, long production lives (up to 30 years), low decline rate (less than 5% per year), and having large reserves. The areal extent and the long production life compensate for low flow rates. Globally, shale gas play is gaining importance because it generally out perform conventional in terms

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JoP, July-September 2011

Figure 2: Thermal Maturity of shale

Figure 3 Continued burial and hydrocarbon generation

Figure 3a Occurrence of Gas in Shale

Figure 4. Natural Gas Production from Shale

of length of production and gas prices and technologies are turning it into a possible venture.

Shale gas exploration and exploitation is similar to conventional gas play with primary targets being shale formations having interbedded porous and permeable fine-grained sediments and natural fracture systems. Due to lack of permability gas shale always require horizontal drilling and multistage fracture stimulation and higher well density.

Fracture stimulation and horizontal drilling is required to achieve economic gas recovery (Figure 5).

Fracture stimulations require substantial amounts of water and sand. Multistage fracture stimulations separates the horizontal leg into stages by placing plugs or packers. After fracturing each unit separately the plugs or packers are removed, and the gas from the entire horizontal section flow to surface (Figure 5a).

Figure 5. Horizontal vs. Vertical well intersecting gas reservoir

(Source: Canadian Society of Unconventional Gas)

Figure 5a. Segmentation of the horizontal section into stages secting gas reservoir Figure 6. Map of 48 Shale Gas Basins in 32 countries

(Source: Canadian Society of Unconventional Gas)

Global Shale Gas Scenario Several Sedimentary basins around the world have witnessed shale gas exploration (Figure 6). Shale gas is one of the most active exploration plays in USA and is being produced commercially. Outside North America, shale gas has not yet been produced commercially. However, exploration is reported from Austria, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

In Europe, significant gas shale resources have been identified in Poland, Sweden, and Austria. A number of gas shale basins have also been identified in Australia, China, India, and Southern African nations. There are three European basins of particular impor-

Map Source: EIA, April 2011 (Resource data is from Haliburton website)

tance – the Alum Shale in Sweden, the Silurian Shales in Poland and Austria”s Mikulov Shale. In 2009, the International Energy Agency estimated that global recoverable resources of shale gas exceed 6,350 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).

US Shale Gas Plays The USA has become the leader in producing Shale gas resource. According

to the U.S. Energy Information Administration by 2030, half of the natural gas produced in the U.S. will be from unconventional sources. There are five major basins in the United States from which shale gas is produced (Figure 7 and Table 3). The first commercial shale gas well was drilled in the USA in 1821 (nearly 40 years before Colonel Drake drilled his famous oil well in Pennsylvania) by William Hart, who is considered the “father” of natural gas.

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Figure 7 Shale Gas Plays of USA

The first shale gas production in the United States came from the Appalachian Basin (AAPG Explorer, 2001).

The majority of U.S. gas shale production came from four basins: San Juan Basin, New Mexico/Colorado (Lewis Shale) - 55 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d); Michigan Basin (Antrim Shale) - 384 mmcf/d, Appalachian Basin (Ohio shales) – 438 mmcf/d, Fort Worth Basin (Barnett Shale) - 1,233 mmcf/d. Barnett Shale contributes half of the shale gas production in the USA. The Resource endowment, Produced/ Proved Reserves, and Undeveloped recoverable resource of US shale gas plays are as follows (Table 3).

The production of Shale gas in USA has gown by ten-fold (Figure 8) and the trend is likely to continue (Figure 9).

Description of US Shale Gas Plays There are several producing shale gas play in USA (Table 4). Discovered in 1980’s, Barnet Shale gas play is the most prolific and oldest shale gas plays having aerial extent of approximately 5,000 square miles and produces from depth of 6,500-9,500 ft. The shale is organic-rich, siliceous with variable amounts of limestone, minor dolomite, and has low porosity (average 5%), and nano darcy permeability. Organic content is highest (3%-10%, by weight) in the most silica-rich intervals. Technological advances – water fracs and horizontal drilling made Barnet the play successful. Production results in the play have shown that horizontal wells are superior to vertical wells.

Some new shale plays have emerged to be successful in recent years. These are Haynesville, Marcellus, Fayetteville, and Woodford. Haynesville is a Jurassic shale gas play. It is deep play (10,500’ to 13,500’), and has thickness of 200’-270’ . The TOC of Haynesville Shale 0.5 to 4%, Vro 2.2 to 3%, Kerogen Type III 5.2% by volume. The wells have shown initial production rates of 2.5-20+ MMscfd, with estimates of 100-330 std. cu ft/ton of shale.

The depth of Marcellus shale varies between 2,000-8,000 ft and thickness varies between 300-1,000 ft thick. Initial production rates have been reported in the 0.5-4 MMscfd range with esti-

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(Source: Canadian Society of Unconventional Gas) Table 3 Shale Gas play of USA (* as of end of 2008) Shale Play

Resource Endowment (Tcf)

Produced/ Proved Reserves (Tcf) *

Undeveloped Recoverable Resource (Tcf)*

Barnett

250

19

40

Fayetteville

320

3

50

Woodford

300

2

30

Haynesville

790

1

130

Marcellus

1,760

-

220

Total

3,420

25

470

Figure 8. Shale Gas Production of USA for different shale plays

Figure 9. Trend of Unconventional Gas Production of USA

(Source: Advanced Resources International, Model of Uncoventional Gas, 2009)

mates of 60-100 std. cu ft/ton of shale.

The shale has natural fractures and the silica content ranges from 40% to 60%.

The Fayetteville Shale is a Mississippian Play. The shale ranges in thickness from 50-550 ft at a depth of 1,500-6,500 ft and is estimated to hold between 60-220scf/ton. The estimated gas in place is 55-65 Bcf/section and EUR is 6 Tcf. Reported initial production rates are 0.2-0.6 MMscfd for vertical wells and 1.0-3.5 MMscfd for horizontal wells. Woodford Shale is a Mississippian and Devonian Play having Type II (Oil Generated) Kerogen with the main shale gas play having <1.1% Ro. The depth of occurrence of shale play is 6000-11000 feet and thickness is 120-260 feet. The gas content is 60-115 scf/t and Gas in Place 40120 Bcf/s. The mean daily production is 2.3 Bcf/d. The depth of drilling of US shale gas play has been increasing as more and more players are exploring at greater depths (Figure 10).

Essentials of Successful Shale Gas Play Success of shale gas exploration is a function of Organic richness, Thermal maturity, Gas Dryness, Kerogen type, organic matter transformation ratio, gas content, fractures and mineralogical composition of shale, Rock eval parameters, and product composition at given maturity levels, petrophysical, petrographic and geomechanical characteristics. The ranges of parameters for a viable shale gas play are TOC: 2-3 %, VRo: 1-1.2%, TR: 80-85 %, Gas Dryness: 80-85%., permeability more than 100 nanodarcy, porosity more than 4%. Marc Bustin (2011) has suggested various attributes, their perceived requirements and data source to characterize shale gas play (Table 5).

Table 4 Shale Gas characteristics of US shale gas play Basin

Port Worth

Appalachian

Michigan

Illionois

San Juan

Area (Sq. Miles)

4200

160000

122000

53

1100

Shale Formation

Barnett

Ohio

Antrim

New Albany

Lewis

Depth (meter)

1980-2590

610-1524

182-670

152-610

915-1828

Gross Thickness (m)

60-92

92-305

48

55

152-580

Net Thickness, meter

15-30

9.1- 30

21-36.5

15-30

60-91

Bottom hole Temp 0C

93.33

37.78

23.9

26.7-40.6

54.5-76.7

Reservoir pressure, Kg/cm2

210-280

35-140

28

21-42

70-105

Pressure gradient, kg/cm2/ meter

41-42

14.4-38.4

33.6

41

19-24

Total Porosity, %

4.0-5.0

4.7

9

10.0-14.0

3.0-5.5

Kh md-ft

0.01-2

0.15-50

1.0-5000

na

6.0-400

TOC %

4.5

0.0-4.7

1.0-20

1.0-25

0.45-2.5

% R0

1.0-1.3

0.4-1.3

0.4-0.6

0.4-1.0

1.60-1.88

Reseves, MMcf

500-1000

150-600

200-1200

150-600

600-2000

Gas content,cc/gm

11.8413.82

2.37-3.95

1.58-3.95

1.58-3.16

059-1.78

Adsorbed gas %

20

50

70

40-60

60-85

Well Spacing, Sq. Km.

0.32-0.65

0.16-0.65

0.16-0.65

0.32

0.32-0.13

(Source: Advanced Resources International, Model of Uncoventional Gas, 2009)

Figure 10 Increasing Depth of drilling of US shale gas play over the years

JoP, July-September 2011

45

Shale Gas producing layer from US shale suggests that shale gas producing layer is distinguished by very high Gamma Ray values of up to 300 API units, (thought to be a function of kerogen in shale), high resistivity (1001,000 ohm-meters) (may be high due to high gas saturation, Neutron porosity slightly to much higher than Density porosity (Figure 11).

Shale Gas Perspective of Indian sedimentary basins India holds significant potential of shale gas resources. As per recent EIA estimates (April, 2011) India has Risked gas in place of 290 Tcf and Technically Recoverable resource of 63 TCF (Table 6).

Cambay Basin Cambay Shale is the main source sequence having a maximum thickness of 1565 m . TOC values of Cambay Shale formation falls in the range of 2-3 % and have fair to good generative potential (Figure 12). VRo of select shale section falls in this range of 1 – 1.2 %. HI values indicate kerogen to be gas prone type III (Figure 13A) and the modified Van Krevelen Plot suggest kerogen to be type II/III. The well log depict high gamma and high resistivity values (Figure 13B). The geochemical and petrophysical parameters fall well within the threshold values for a potential shale gas play

Krishna – Godavari Basin Krishna-Godavari basin is a proven petroliferous basin having source rock at different stratigraphic levels. Kommugudem Formation (Upper Early Permian) is a coal-shale source rock unit having more than 900 m thickness.

It has TOC ranging between 2 to 16% and vitrinite reflectance in the deeper part of the basin is in the range of 1.0 to 1.3. Raghavapuram Shale (Lower Cretaceous) is good source rock for both offshore and onland. The organic matter is dominantly of Type III. TOC is recorded up to 5-9%. Palakollu Shale (Paleocene) has fair to good source rock potential. TOC ranges between 0.6 to >5%. Vadaparru Shale has TOC of about 4%. Organic matter is of Type III and has potential to generate both

46

JoP, July-September 2011

Table 5. Shale Gas Reservoir Parameters Attributes

Perceived Requirements

Data Source

Lithology

Fine grained, organic

Core, Cuttings, Logs

Thickness

>25m

Logs, Core

Current TOC

> 1.5 %

Delta LogR, Core, Cuttings

Sorbed gas

> 10 scf/ton

Capacity – Isotherm, Desorption

Total Porosity

> 2%

Core, SWC, Cuttings, Logs

Sw

<0.7%

Core, SWC

Producible Gas

> 2 m3/ ton

Production isotherm

Thermal Maturation

Thermal gas play Ro > 1.5%

Core, Cuttings, Vitrinite Reflectance, Rock Eval

Young’s Modlulus

> 4 mmpsi

Core

Poisson’s Ratio

< 0.25

Core

Mineralogy & Clay content

Less clay the better

Core, Cuttings, XRD, Thin section

Fractures

Natural and / or induced

FMI, Core

Pressure Gradient

>0.45 psi/ft

DST, Logs

Content-

(Source: Marc Bustin, 2011) Figure 11. Electrolog section of Haynesville Shale gas play

Table 6. Key parameters and Resource Estimate of Indian Sedimentary Basin

(Source EIA, April, 2011)

Figure 12. A Depth vs. TOC plot of Cambay Shale and B. Generation potential

Figure 13.A Variance of HI with depth, and Figure 13B. Cambay Shale well log section

oil and gas. High gamma – High resistivity layers have been observed in Raghavpuram shale formation. Organic richness of the Raghavpuram Shale formations suggest fair to very good TOC, type II/III kerogen, favorable maturity.

Cauvery Basin Sattapadi shale is the main source rock., It has fair to very good TOC (2-2.5%), HI ranges between 200-250 units, type II/III kerogen, Vro ranges between 1 to 1.2. Shale sections exhibit high gamma and high resistivity values. The geochemical and petrophysical parameters fall well within the threshold values for a potential shale gas play.

Assam & Assam- Arakan Basin In Assam & Assam- Arakan Basin the important source rock sequences are Kopili Formation and in the CoalShale Unit of the Barail Group. The average TOC ranges of Barail and Kopili shale are 2.5-4.5% and 1-3% respectively. In both Kopilis and Barails, the organic matter is terrestrial type-III/

II. In the Naga fold belt, in addition to above, Disang shales also possess excellent source rock characteristics with TOC around 4% and VRo varying from 0.69% to 1.94%. Barail and Kopili Formation shales are main source facies in the Upper Assam Shelf. Barail sediments are found to be highly organic rich among all the sequences but immature, as indicated by VRo and Tmax, biomarker ratios and production index (PI) values in shelf area.

Damodar Basin Damodar Basin is one of the major Gondwana basins. Barren Measure Formation is considered to be the target for Shale Gas exploration. The thickness of Barren Measure section range between 300-625 m. Barren Measure shale has average TOC of 1-6 %, Tmax 429-441, and Vro of 0.66 - 0.75%.

Challenges to Shale gas E&P program in world Shale Reservoirs have ultra low perm (nanodarcies), wide range of mineralogy and require stimulation. The criti-

cal parameters for shale gas play to be commercial are - gas-in-place, gas content, thermal maturity, permeability, porosity, TOC, water saturation, thickness of shale section, clay content, frac barriers, and brittleness of shale (fracability) indicated by low Poisson’s & high Young’s modulus. Fracability- the ability of shale formation to be fractured by stimulation, and sustained producibility- ability of shale to provide sustained commercial production taking in to cognizance the environmental factors are key concerns. One of the major challenges is about the expected shale gas resource in a play because many shale are not well understood in terms of geology. Optimized production may be achieved with thorough screening of shale formation and fluid and fracture treatment selection process. Thorough understanding of the reservoir, geology, geomechanics, etc. is essential so that the well may be placed to take advantage of the most productive reservoir characteristics and the stimulation technique needs to be adapted to the individual shale formation. Issues pertaining to mineral rights and fiscal regime are also important. Environmental aspects related to requirement of water and radioactive waste disposal are also important.

Large amount of water is needed for fracturing and recycling or disposal of produced fluids needs attention.

Conclusions Shale gas is playing an increasing role in worldwide hydrocarbon production. Many basins around the world have shale with the potential to produce gas. But, so far large-scale developments have only happened in the United States. Petroleum industry has learnt enough about shale gas exploration from US experiences. Taking lead from success of USA in shale gas exploration and exploitation, ONGC has ushered into R&D initiative for shale gas. Several shale sections from Indian sedimentary basins may be potential candidate for shale gas exploration.

The demanding domestic market, limited alternate energy, burgeoning fuel import bill, and environmental concern calls for astute action and shale gas may be plausible solution. Strategies for the turnaround in natural gas business in India are desired. India needs to JoP, July-September 2011

47

exploit non-conventional natural gas.

The venture aligns with the core competency of upstream companies, will lead to more internal capacity utilization and success will leverage their financial position to new heights. By implementing strategic diversifications in unconventional gas business, the players can have a strong portfolio of profitable businesses. It will lead towards novel efforts in the Indian energy scenario with thrust on environment protection, import minimization. Shale gas will emerge as new venture for Indian E&P sector and prudence, persistence and perseverance in R&D will lead to success. Strategic intent can make serious and desired impact.

Bibliography A Dynamic Global Gas Market, Oil Field review, Autumn 2003.

Fatih Birol (2006). IEA, World energy prospects and challenges; in Australian Economic review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and Blackwell Publishing. DOE/EIA , 2006; Report #:DOE/EIA0484(2006).

oped and emerging economies;; Renewable & sustainable energy reviews, Elsevier

Gas Symposium, November 8th 2005

Pachauri, R.K., Fostering international trade in natural gas: the geopolitical challenge of regional complexities, Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2006; T E R I, New Delhi

http:// www.spe.org – Petroleum reserves definition http:// www.spe.org – Petroleum resources classification system and definition http://www.centreforenergy.com/generator2. asp?xml=/silos/ong/UNGOverview01XML. asp&Template=1,2,1 Gupta, Rajat et al 2005; Mcinsey Quarterly; 2005 Special Edition, p 90-101.

Gas Technology Institute (GTI), 2005

A.F. Zobaa, 2005, Energy Security in AsiaPacific Region, Senior Member IEEE; IEEE 2005.

IEA, March 2000; India – a growing international oil and gas player

Basim Faraj, et al; GasTIPS (Winter 2004); GTI E&P Services Canada.

International Gas Union, October, 2000, Kyoto, Japan

Dagmar Graczyk (2006) Gas to Power – India, International Gas Union / Energy Delta Institute, Groningen, The Netherlands International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris, France; April 2006

Integrated Energy Policy; Report of the expert committee, Planning Commission, Government of India, August 2006.

Dave Russum. Status of Unconventional Gas in North America, 7th Annual Unconventional.

Ligia Noronha, Energy Security Insights; Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2006; T E R I, New Delhi M. Asif, T. Munir, Dec. 2005; Energy supply, its demand, and security issues for devel-

Pragya Jaswal and Eshita Gupta; Natural gas markets: a global perspective; Energy Security Insights; Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2006; T E R I, New Delhi

Robert Bacon, March 2005; The Impact of Higher Oil Prices on Low Income Countries and on the Poor, ESMAP Report No 299.

Shale gas: A supplement to Oil & Gas Investor, Jan 2006 Stein Tonnesson and Asild Kolas, April 2006; Energy Security in Asia: China, India, Oil and Peace; International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, April 2006.

Stein Tønnesson and Åshild Kolås; Energy Security in Asia: China, India, Oil and Peace International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO); 2006 Tenth five year plan (2005-07) document, Government of India Scott R. Reeves: shale gas exploration at the Red Dog mine, Alaska - Opportunities in Alaskan coalbed Methane, Advanced Resources International, March, 2000 Vello A. Kuuskraa, A Decade of Progress in Unconventional Gas, OGJ Unconventional Gas Article #1, FINAL, July 6, 2007 Mr Ravi Misra

Mr P K Bhowmick

Mr. Bhowmick holds a first class Master’s degree in Applied Geology from University of Delhi and joined ONGC in 1976. Earlier he had a brief spell as a lecturer in Delhi College of Engineering and with Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals near Udaipur. Presently he is Executive Director Heading KDMIPEONGC, Dehradun. He has 35 years in the upstream sector and has worked in various basins such as Cambay, Assam and Assam Arakan, Krishna-Godavari and Mumbai Offshore in addition to a few overseas basins. He has been instrumental in the ONGC’s discoveries and field extensions in various basins. Computer savvy, he has designed new reporting system on oil and gas reserves and interpreting seismic data. He is an active member of AAPG, SPG and APG and has numerous papers to his credit.

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JoP, July-September 2011

Mr Ravi Misra, MBA (HR), DPA, is a professional geologist with international accreditation in Project Management, currently pursuing his PhD. With over 26 years of experience in petroleum E&P covering wellsite, geological, drilling operations, development of wells, integrated interpretation of data of Indian and foreign basins he is the lead Geoscientist in unconventional gas research and project coordinator of ONGC’s Shale Gas Project. He has played a prominent role in the Shale Gas project and discoveries in India, besides bringing areas of tight gas to the forefront. He has presented papers at various national and international seminars and has chaired a session in an international conference on ‘tight gas’ at Jakarta. He has over 35 technical papers published in national and international journals and is a member of professional bodies like AAPG USA, APG India, SPG India etc.

Petrotech excellence award / Innovation

Super Sour Process

A novel process approach for enhanced recovery of H2S from Sour Gas Mukesh Kumar Sharma and Ashis Nag Indian Oil Corporation Limited, New Delhi-110003, India

S

tringent environmental regulations emphasize controlling the amount of H2S/SO2 emission, in turn necessitates higher recovery of H2S from sour water in sour water stripper (SWS) unit designs. Usually some amount of H2S is lost along with vent gases of feed stabilization tank of SWS unit. This paper describes a unique process design of SWS to arrest the loss of H2S and recover the same through simple and safe design.

Typically the feed stabilization tanks are designed according to API-650/620 to operate at a low pressure of 150-200 mmwc (g). At this pressure considerable amount of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gets released from the tank due to its high vapor pressure. Traditionally, these vent gases from the tank are routed to the incinerator or stack of sulphur recovery units and are lost. The quantity of the un-recovered acid gas from the feed tank is around 10 % of the sour water feed H2S (depending on operating conditions). Some of the licensors utilize steam jet ejectors on the feed stabilization tank to suck these gases from the tank and recover H2S after employing a small amine scrubber downstream of the ejector with precise tankpressure control system. In such designs, steam is required as a continuous utility for the operation of ejectors and will need a delicate pressure control of the tank, operating at very low pressure.

Recently, Process Design Engineering Group of Indian Oil Corporation Limited has developed a new and safe design process called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Super Sourâ&#x20AC;? for one of its refinery installing a new sour water stripper plant, that ensures minimum H2S loss from the unit and meets the environmental regulations.

This process employs installation of an additional hot feed flash drum upstream of cold feed surge drum. The H2S rich vapors from hot flash drum is routed to a small amine scrubber to absorb the liberated H2S. The H2S lean gas containing primarily hydrocarbons is then routed to incinerator of the

sulphur recovery unit. The absorbed H2S in rich amine is recovered in the amine regenerator and is fed to the sulphur unit for converting it to sulphur. Liquid hydrocarbon will continue to be separated in cold feed surge drum located downstream to the hot flash drum.

The purpose of the hot flash drum is to liberate enough H2S from the feed sour water so that when the same is cooled and routed to feed stabilization tank operating at almost atmospheric pressure, no H2S is lost from the tank.

This process does not involve any additional continuous utility consumption (i.e. ejector steam) and precise suction pressure control scheme for the tank-ejector system. This will offer an intrinsically safe, simple and efficient solution to arrest the loss of H2S and recover the same from feed stabilization tank.

Background Refineries that process crudes containing sulfur will liberate the sulfur in various unit operations as hydrogen sulfide. Gas that contains hydrogen sulfide is called sour gas, and water that contains dissolved hydrogen sulfide is called sour water.

Additionally sour water may contain other impurities, such as ammonia, phenol, Carbon dioxide and cyanides. Sour water is produced from most of the refinery process units such as atmospheric & vacuum distillation units, hydrotreating units, hydrocrackers, steam crackers, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units. Concentrations of both hydrogen sulfide and ammonia contaminants are highest in sour water generated from hydrotreating, hydrocracking and FCC units.

Reuse or disposal of such sour water containing hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, phenol & cyanides requires removal of these contaminants from the water by the stripping process. The

Figure 1.0 (Conventional Sour Water Stripping Unit ) SOUR GAS TO SRU FLASHED GAS

SOUR WATER

TANK VENT GASES

FLASH DRUM STRIPPER FEED TANK

HYDROCARBONS

PUMP AROUND COOLER

REBOILER

STRIPPED WATER FOR REUTILIZATION

HEAT EXCHANGER

Table 1.0. Operating condition of feed to Sour Water Stripper Unit S.N

Parameters

Unit

1 2 3 4

Temperature 0C Pressure Kg/cm2g Vapor Fraction

Mol Wt

Value 55.0 5.0 0.0 18.35

Table 2.0. Feed Composition of Sour Water Stripper S.N Components Mass Flow Rate Kg/hr 1 2 3

NH3 H2S Water Total

Wt%

1058.10 2348.60 53995.30 57402.00

1.84 4.09 94.07 100.00

Figure 2.0 (Conventional Sour Water Stripping Unit at Gujarat Refinery) T P

550C

WATER COOLER

5.0Kg/cm2g

SOUR GAS TO SRU

SOUR WATER 1 FEED

FLASHED GAS TO STRIPPER OVHD

900C

T

1.1 Kg/cm2(g)

P

5 VENT GASES TO SRU INCINERATOR STACK

3 T P

40 C 0

4

1.1 Kg/cm2g

T

STRIPPER FEED TANK

HYDROCARBONS

T P

STRIPPED WATER FOR REUTILIZATION

400C

T

8.0 Kg/cm2(g)

P

T P

JoP, July-September 2011

PUMP AROUND COOLER

REBOILER

750C 15 Kg/cm2(g)

6 WATER COOLER

50

400C

P 150 mmH20(g)

FLASH DRUM (COLD)

HEAT EXCHANGER

1260C 1.4 Kg/cm2(g)

typical stripping process (Figure 1.0) uses steam at the bottom of the stripper through a reboiler to force both the dissolved hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) out of the water into the gas phase for recovery of H2S in a sulfur recovery unit (SRU).

The stripped water is usually reused as process water in other parts of the refinery units or otherwise sent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant for further treatment before reutilization.

The Conventional Process Of Stripping A typical conventional SWS design is illustrated in Figure 1.0. Prior to the stripper tower, sour water feed is first pumped into the flash drum, which has two purposes: (1) to remove hydrocarbon vapors and (2) to remove hydrocarbon liquids. The flash drum is typically operates at low pressure (~0.7-1.0 kg/ cm2g) to flash off the lighter hydrocarbons. The flashed vapors are routed to a low-pressure system such as stripper column overhead, incinerator stack of a sulfur recovery unit after burning or acid flare. The liquid hydrocarbons are separated in the flash drum by gravity separation into the drum's hydrocarbon collection compartment.

Sour water is then pumped to feed stabilization tank that is used to provide adequate residence time for additional hydrocarbon removal and for minimizing feed composition fluctuations as sour water is produced from different sources in a refinery. Significant composition fluctuations cause poor stripping operation in the tower, resulting in either not consistently meeting product specification or wasting steam by over stripping. The constant feed composition & flow rate from the feed stabilization tank enables better control of the stripper tower and consistent stripped sour water quality.

Sour water from the stabilization tank is heated in a feed/bottom heat exchanger by hotstripped water from the stripper bottoms and fed to the tower as feed. As the sour water flows down the tower, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia are stripped off by steam or reboiled vapor from the bottom of the tower. If live steam is used as stripping agent, this will add more

Table 3.0 Stream summary of Conventional Sour Water Stripper Unit (Simulated Results) Stream No 1

Feed

Temperature (oC) Pressure (Kg/cm2g)

3 Flashed Gas from Cold Flash drum

4 Vent Gas from Tank

5 Sour Gas from Stripper to SRU

40.0 1.1

40.0 0.015

90.0 1.1

40.0 8.0

55.0 5.0

6 Stripped Water from Sour water

The Problem Envisaged In Adoption Of Conventional Design

Component Flow Rate (Kg/hr ) NH3 H2S H2O

1058.10 2348.60 53995.3

0.122 45.0 0.854

0.19 178.20 6.80

1056.79 2124.4 1300

<50 ppmw <50ppmw 52687.65

Total

57402.0

45.976

185.19

4481.19

52689.65

Figure 3.0 (Super Sour Unit Configuration) TO SRU INCINERATOR T P

SOUR WATER FEED

550C

LEAN AMINE SLIP STREAM

5.0Kg/cm2g

1 FEED HEATER

Amine Scrubber 600C

T

2

2 P 1.1 Kg/cm g

RICH AMINE TO REGENERATOR

SOUR GAS TO SRU

HOT FLASH DRUM

5 900C

T

WATER COOLER T

VENT GASES TO SRU INCINERATOR STACK

3

2 P 1.1 Kg/cm (g)

N2

N2

400C 2

P 0.9 Kg/cm g

T

4

COLD FLASH DRUM

P

400C 150 mmH20(g)

STRIPPER FEED TANK

PUMP AROUND COOLER

HYDROCARBONS

T

T

400C

P 8.0 Kg/cm2(g)

P

750C

REBOILER

15 Kg/cm2(g) T

STRIPPED WATER FOR 6 REUTILIZATION

P

HOT STRIPPED WATER WATER COOLER

water to the tower. Normally low-pressure steam is used in the bottom reboiler to generate the vapors in the tower operating in the range of 0.7 – 1.2 kg/cm2g top pressure. Hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and steam rise to the tower cooling section, which is controlled at 90oC by pumped around cooler at the top of the tower. Low overhead temperatures below 800C can cause problems due to formation of ammonium salts that may plug process lines.

Sour gases containing hydrogen sulfide and ammonia from the top of the stripping tower are routed to the Sulphur Recovery Unit.

The Problem Definition Gujarat Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation limited was installing a new sour water stripper unit as a part of Residue Up Gradation Project in the state of

Figure 2.0 describes the schematic flow diagram of initial design configuration of sour water stripper unit for Gujarat Refinery (as per traditional configuration).

1260C 1.4 Kg/cm2(g)

HEAT EXCHANGER

Gujarat, India. Currently the refinery is operating its four old sour waterstriping units based on the convectional striping process designs.

The process objective of new sour water stripper unit coming under residue up-gradation project was to treat the sour water generated from the Diesel Hydrodesulphurization unit (DHDT), VGO HDT and ISOM unit for removal of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) & ammonia (NH3) to meet stripped water specification below 50 ppmw H2S and NH3. The new unit was to be designed to handle total sour water feed rate of 57402 kg/hr with composition as summarized in Tables 1.0 and 2.0.

As the Gujarat Refinery is already operating with four conventional units of sour water striping process, the same was considered for the initial design of the new stripper.

In this design, the sour water feed to unit is received in the flash drum after cooling from 550C to 400C. The feed is cooled to reduce the vapor pressure of sour water to minimize H2S loss from storage tank. The flash drum is floated with stripper column overhead, which is operating at pressure of 1.1 kg/cm2g.

After flashing off hydrocarbon vapors in the flash drum, feed enters to feed stabilization tank operating at almost atmospheric pressure condition (i.e. at 150 mmwc (g) pressure). The tank is designed according to API-650. At this low pressure, considerable amount of H2S gets released from the storage tank due to its high vapor pressure. The vent gases from the tank are routed to incinerator of Sulfur Recovery Unit and are lost. The loss is around 7.5% of the feed H2S as shown in Table no 3.0. Environmental regulations do not allow the emission of these vent gases containing hydrogen sulfide to incinerator stack or atmosphere as the same leads to higher emission of H2S /SO2.

A New Design Configuration Of Sour Water Stripper To Arrest The H2S Loss From Feed Tank Process Design Engineering Group of Indian Oil Corporation Limited has developed a new process design configuration called “Super Sour” for sour water stripping. This process ensures minimum or no H2S loss from the unit resulting in enhanced recovery of H2S compared to the traditional designs.

This process (as shown in Figure 3.0) employs installation of an additional small diameter hot feed flash drum (essentially, a typical vapor-liquid separator) upstream of cold feed surge drum.

The purpose of the hot flash drum is to liberate enough H2S from the feed sour water, so that, when the same is cooled and routed to feed stabilization tank (operating at almost atmospheric pressure) will not bleed any H2S from the tank and resulting in no loss of H2S from the tank.

JoP, July-September 2011

51

Table4.0 Stream Summary of “Super Sour Stripper Unit” (Simulated Results) Stream No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

55.0 5.0

59.1 1.1

40.0 1.1

40.0 0.015

90.0 1.1

40.0 8.0

NH3 H2S H2O

1058.10 2348.60 53995.3

0.380 228.0 12.0

0 0 0

0 0 0

1056.72 2119.6 1300

<50 ppmw <50ppmw 52683.3

Total

57402.0

240.38

0

0

4476.32

52685.3

Temperature (oC) Pressure (Kg/cm2g) Component Flow rate (Kg/hr)

In this design, the hot flash drum is kept at around 60oC by heating the sour water feed with hot-stripped water coming from outlet of feed/bottom exchanger. This requires no additional hot utility. The H2S rich vapors from hot flash drum is routed to a small amine scrubber to absorb the liberated H2S. The lean gas from absorber containing primarily hydrocarbons is then routed to incinerator of the Sulphur Recovery unit. The absorbed H2S in rich amine is recovered in the amine regenerator and is fed to the sulphur unit for converting it to sulphur.

Figure 4.0 Chart Showing Partial Pressure of Ammonia over Aqueous Solution

Flashed feed from hot drum is cooled to 40oC before being routed to the cold feed surge drum for effective separation of hydrocarbon oil from water.

This also reduces the vapor pressure of sour water. After separation of liquid hydrocarbon in cold feed surge drum, sour water is routed to the stripper tower through feed stabilization tank.

Cold surge drum & feed tank pressure is maintained by the nitrogen make-up.

The above design configuration results in no loss of H2S from feed stabilization tank, as it is evident from the stream summary given in Table no. 4.0. The results shown in the Table 4.0 are simulated numbers. The electrolyte package of Chemstations, USA (Chemcad ver 6.1) was used to model and simulate the sour water stripper unit.

Figure 5.0 (Alternate Super Sour Unit Configuration) T P

SOUR WATER FEED

550C 5.0Kg/cm2g

1 FEED HEATER

600C

T

2

2 P 1.1 Kg/cm g

HOT FLASH DRUM

5

52

JoP, July-September 2011

900C

T

WATER COOLER T

VENT GASES TO SRU INCINERATOR STACK

3

T

4

COLD FLASH DRUM

2 P 1.1 Kg/cm (g)

N2

N2

400C

P 0.9 Kg/cm2g

At the elevated temperature of around 60oC of hot flash drum, the ammonia (NH3) going to the gas phase from the hot drum will be very marginal (shown in the Stream no 2 of Table 4.0) due to its high solubility in water as compared to the H2S. Thus the NH3 build up in the amine regenerator due to this approach will be insignificant. However, a NH3 purge stream from the Amine

SOUR GAS TO SRU

FLASHED GAS TO STRIPPER OVHD

P

400C 150 mmH20(g)

STRIPPER FEED TANK

PUMP AROUND COOLER

HYDROCARBONS

T

400C

T

P 8.0 Kg/cm2(g)

P

750C

REBOILER

15 Kg/cm2(g) T

STRIPPED WATER FOR REUTILIZATION 6

P

HOT STRIPPED WATER WATER COOLER

HEAT EXCHANGER

1260C 1.4 Kg/cm2(g)

Figure 6.0 (Other Available Design of Sour Water Stripping Design Unit) TO SRU INCINERATOR 550C

T P

SOUR WATER FEED

5.0Kg/cm2g

STEAM EJECTOR

900C

T

LP STEAM

P

1.1 Kg/cm2(g)

VENT GASES TO SRU INCINERATOR STACK

T

1.1 Kg/cm2g P

T

COLD FLASH DRUM

PC

400C

P 0.14 kg/cm2(g)

STRIPPER FEED TANK

HYDROCARBONS

T

SOUR GAS TO SRU

RICH AMINE

WATER COOLER 400C

LEAN AMINE AMINE SCRUBBER

PUMP AROUND COOLER

Conclusion REBOILER

400C T

P 8.0 Kg/cm2(g)

STRIPPED WATER FOR REUTILIZATION

ejectors on the feed stabilization tank to suck these gases from the tank and recover H2S after employing a small amine scrubber downstream of the ejector with precise tank pressure control system as shown in Figure 6.0. In such designs, steam is required as a continuous utility for the operation of ejectors and will need a delicate pressure control of the tank operating at very low pressure. Such tanks are designed in accordance with API-620.

P

WATER COOLER

overhead accumulator back to the cold surge drum of Sour water stripper is already considered in the process design to knock off NH3 build up, if any.

Figure 4.0 may be referred for partial pressure of ammonia over aqueous solution.

In another alternate configuration developed, vapors from the hot flash drum containing primarily H2S may be directly routed to the stripper overhead line for recovery of sulphur along with the stripper overhead vapors. This configuration does not require installation of small amine scrubber column for absorbing the H2S from Hot flash drum vapors. Figure 5.0 shows the schematic flow diagram of this configuration.

1260C 1.4 Kg/cm2(g)

HEAT EXCHANGER

This configuration can be adopted where the likelihood of lighter hydrocarbon coming along with sour water is minimum or nil. Otherwise these hydrocarbons may find its way to sulphur recovery unit, which will be detrimental for the operation of sulphur recovery unit.

The above “Super Sour” design configuration is implemented at Gujarat Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation limited in year 2010.

Other Available Designs Of Sour Water Stripper To Arrest The H2S Loss From Feed Tank

The process “Super Sour” developed

by Process Design Engineering Group of Indian Oil Corporation Limited is an intrinsically safe & simple solution to arrest the loss of H2S from feed stabilization tank and thus result in enhanced recovery of H2S (7-10 wt% of H2S in feed) from Sour Water Strippers. This design is more applicable for treating sour water from the refinery hydrotreaters and in other processes having high concentration of H2S in water.

References 1. Robert A. Meyers, “Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes”, 2nd edition 2. Sour Water Design by Charts (Part1, Part-2 & Part 3), Hydrocarbon processing, September 1991, October 1991 & November 1991.

Some of the licensors utilize steam jet Ashis Nag

Mukesh Kumar Sharma

Mukesh Kumar Sharma is working as Process Manager in the process designengineering group of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, New Delhi. He has 12 years of experience in process engineering, process simulations & design, troubleshooting and optimization of various Refinery processes in Petroleum Refineries. Prior to this, he was a senior process engineer at IOC's Panipat Refinery. Apart from the Gas-Liquid treating processes, he had also worked as a process engineer for Naphtha Splitting and Hydro-treating units of the refinery. He obtained his B.Tech degree with honors in chemical engineering from Institute of Technology (I.T.BHU), Varanasi (India).

Mr Ashish Nag obtained his Bachelors’ Degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in 1976. He has experience of 30 years in various aspects of refining technology and has served in various capacities at almost all refineries of Indian Oil. He has carried out assignments of plant operation, plant commissioning, process monitoring and revamp design of crude and vacuum distillation units. Presently he is working as Executive Director, process, design and engineering cell of IOCL. He has authored various articles/algorithms in Hydrocarbon Processing, Catalytic Reforming Units and Hydrocracking. He has also delivered talks/chaired sessions on various refining topics pertaining to refining technology.

JoP, July-September 2011

53

Petrotech Citation for Innovation Individual Category of special technical award for year 2010 Mr. Ashis Nag, Executive Director and Mr. Mukesh Kumar Sharma, Dy. Manager of the Process Design Engineering Group of Refinery Division, Indian Oil Corporation Limited

Economic & Social Impact of the innovative design of “Super Sour process”

(IOC), have jointly development an intrinsi-

Cost benefit of the process design

cally safe and novel eco-friendly technological solution, named “Super Sour”, to arrest the loss of H2S from feed stabilization tank, resulting in enhanced recovery of H2S from sour water strippers of oil refinery.

The first grass root unit of this “Super Sour” novel configuration has been successfully put into the operation in year 2010, at Gujarat Refinery of Indian Oil. This design will help in meeting stringent environmental regulation of SO2 emission, through recovery of additional H2S which is otherwise released to the atmosphere in the form of SO2 after incineration. The design will help to reduce 2680 tons of SO2 emission per annum. With this innovation, any existing conventional sour water stripper units can easily, economically, be retrofitted with “Super Sour Configuration”.

The Petrotech society is delighted to express its sincere appreciation, jointly to Mr. Ashis Nag, General Manager, and Mukesh Kumar Sharma, Dy. Manager , Refineries Division, Indian Oil Corporation Limited. for their innovation on “Novel approach for enhance H2S recovery from Sour water stripper” and is pleased to confer on them in the special technical Awards category the “Petrotech Innovation Award -2010”

Sour water stripping unit capacity : H2S in Feed :

57402.0 kg / hr 2348.0 kg/hr

H2S recovery by conventional SWS unit : H2S recovery by Super Sour Design :

2169 kg /hr 2347 kg /hr

Thus additional H2S recovery

by Super Sour design :

178 kg/hr (7.5wt% on feed)

Additional sulphur production from SRU : 167.5 Kg/hr (Considering 99.9 % sulphur recovery in SRU) Additional annual sulphur production : 167.5 x 8000/1000 (Considering 8000 hrs of operation per year) : 1340 tons/anum Current market price of Suphur :

Rs 4000/ton

Net annual savings due to additional recovery : Rs 4000 x 1340

Rs 53.6 lacs/annum Social & Environmental benefit of the innovative design a. This design helps in meeting Stringent Environmental Regulation of SO2 emission & reduces acid rain. b. Recovers additional H2S which is otherwise burnt in incineration and released to the atmosphere in the form of SO2. c. Every ton sulphur recovered will eliminate 2 tons of SO2 going to atmosphere. Thus this design reduces around 2680 tons of SO2 emission per annum.

Acceptability of the design a. The super sour design was selected in "Laurence Reid Gas Conditioning Conference" as a novel design in year 2009. The paper was published & presented in "Laurence Reid Gas Conditioning Conference" held in Oklahoma, USA. b. The same design was also published in Oil & Gas Journal (May 09 issue). Oil & Gas Journal is a part of PenWell Petroleum Group, Houston USA since 1902. c. Any existing conventional SWS Unit can easily be retrofitted to "Super Sour design" Configuration. d. The first grass root unit of Super Sour unit configuration has been put into operation in year 2010 at Gujarat refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Petrotech Sponsored Research

Lignocellulosics for 2nd generation Bioethanol Production

Collaborative Research work between IIT Kharagpur and IndianOil-R&D, Faridabad, sponsored by Petrotech Prof Rintu Banerjee, IIT Kharagpur and Dr D K Tuli, IOCL-R&D, Mr Mainak Mukhopadhyay and Mr Arindam Kulia

P

etrotech approved the above collaborative research project on 29th April 2008. This project was being guided by Prof Rintu Banerjee of IIT Kharagpur and Dr D K Tuli of IOCL-R&D Faridabad. Mr. Mainak Mukhopadhyay and Mr. Arindam Kuila worked as research scholars on this research project, which has since make a lot of progress in the last 3 years. Outcome of the research has also been published in some of the prestigious international journals.

Based on the work the two Research Fellows are expected to be awarded PhD by IIT Kharagpur during this year.

This research project since has been in progress and have lot of progress with following specific objectives:• Selection and biochemical analysis of different lignocellulosic agroresidues • Design and fabrication of a suitable bioreactor for improved yield of hydrolytic enzymes • Pilot plant studies on production of these hydrolytic enzymes • Optimization of lignin depolymerization by laccase • Standardization of the enzymatic saccharification in batch/fed batch/continuous processes and studies on in-

hibition kinetics • Studies on the enzyme kinetics and their biochemical characterization • Standardization of ethanol production

Introduction The constantly depleting resources of conventional energy and the steeply escalating price of fossil fuels have led to the need of alternate energy sources. Second generation bioethanol production is gaining increasing impetus due to abundant availability, high cellulose and hemicellulose content of lignocellulosic materials (Uil et al., 2003). The biotechnological route for bioethanol production utilizing lignocellulosics involves delignification, saccharification and fermentation. Among several methods biological process offers major advantages (Lee et al., 2008).

For bioethanol production from saccharified lignocellulosics, various process configurations are possible. The most common method combines hydrolysis of cellulose and fermentation of reducing sugars in the same reactor (Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, SSF) (Lo, 2009). Thus, in this study as per the assigned objectives a systematic studies have been carried out to achieve the goal of selection of suitable substrate, potent hyperactive microorganisms for efficient enzyme pro-

duction, kinetic studies of these enzyme on delignification and saccharification processes, production of cost-effective enzymes and efficient conversion of reducing sugar to ethanol. While working with different lignocellulosics, Ricinus communis, Lantana camara, Bambusa bambos and Rice straw were selected as the raw material for bioethanol production. A concise report of studies on the different lignocellulosics to bioethanol has been gisted below:

Ricinus communis The biochemical evaluation of Ricinus communis, resulted in cellulose (42.48%), hemicellulose (22.48%) and lignin (19.8%). Maximum enzymatic delignification (about 85.69%) was achieved within 4 h of incubation at 40 oC (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2011). After saccharification of pretreated Ricinus communis, yielded maximum reducing sugar (775.17 mg/g dry substrate) after 8 h of incubation at 50 oC. Using conventional yeast strain, three different process configurations (separate hydrolysis and fermentation, presaccharification and fermentation, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) were compared for bioethanol production.

After simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of enzyme pretreated Ricinus communis, maximum bioethanol (85.69 g/L) was achieved after 96 h of incubation at 37oC.

Lantana camara The biochemical evaluation of Lantana camara, resulted in cellulose (47.25%), hemicellulose (18.23%) and lignin (19.8%). Lantana camara resulted a maximum delignification (88.79%) after 8 h of incubation at 37 oC (Kuila et al., 2011). Enzyme pretreated Lantana camara yielded maximum reducing sugar (713.33 mg/g dry substrate) after 9 h of incubation at 50 oC. Using conventional yeast strain, three different process configurations (separate hydrolysis and fermentation, presaccharification and fermentation, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) were compared for bioethanol production.

After simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of enzyme pretreated Lantana camara, maximum bioethanol (75.43 g/L) was achieved after 96 h of incubation at 37oC.

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JoP, July-September 2011

Bambusa bambos The biochemical evaluation of Bambusa bambos, resulted in cellulose (47.49%), hemicellulose (17.49%) and lignin (23.56%). Bambusa bambos resulted the maximum delignification (84%) after 8 h of incubation at 35 oC (Kuila, 2011). Enzyme pretreated Bambusa bambos yielded maximum reducing sugar (818.01 mg/g dry substrate) after 8 h of incubation at 50 oC. Using conventional yeast strain, three different process configurations (separate hydrolysis and fermentation, presaccharification and fermentation, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) were compared for bioethanol production.

After simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of enzyme pretreated Bambusa bambos, maximum bioethanol (72 g/L) was achieved after 96 h of incubation at 37oC.

Rice straw The biochemical evaluation of Rice straw, resulted in cellulose (29.01%), hemicellulose (29.01%) and lignin (23.27%). Rice straw yielded a maximum delignification of 86% after 8h of incubation at 35oC. Enzyme pretreated Rice straw yielded maximum reducing sugar (788 mg/g dry substrate) after 8h of incubation at 50oC. Using conventional yeast strain, 3 different process configurations (separate hydrolysis and fermentation, presaccharification and fermentation, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) were compared for bioethanol production. After simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of enzyme pretreated Rice straw, maximum

bioethanol (111.41g/L) was achieved after 96h of incubation at 37oC. The outcome of this research is published in the international journals.

Published Papers Mukhopadhyaya M, Kuila A, Banerjee R (2011) Enzymatic depolymerization of a potential lignocellulosic for improved saccharification. Biomass Bioenerg 35:3584-3591.

Kuila A, Mukhopadhyaya M, Tuli DK, Banerjee R (2011) Production of ethanol from lignocellulosics: An enzymatic venture. EXCLI J 10:85-96.

Kuila A, Mukhopadhyaya M, Tuli DK, Banerjee R (2011) Accessibility of enzymatically delignified Bambusa bambos for efficient hydrolysis at minimum cellulase loading: An optimization study. Enz Res J 2011, doi:10.4061/2011/805795.

References Lee JW, Kim HY, Koo BW, Choi DH, Kwon M & Choi IG, 2008, Enzymatic saccharification of biologically pretreated Pinus densiflora using enzymes from brown rot fungi, J Biosci Bioeng 106 (2), 162-167.

LO, 2009, Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation and partial saccharification and co-fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production, Mehods Mol Biol 581, 263-280.

Uil HD, Reith JH, Zessen EV, Weismann M, Bakker RR & Elbersen HW, 2003, Lignocellulosic ethanol, A second opinion, Report 2 GAVE.

Technology update

INDALIN: A versatile indigenous process technology Adding value to upstream and downstream oil industry Debasis Bhattacharyya, Brijesh Kumar and S. Rajagopal Indian Oil Corporation Limited, R&D Centre, Sector-13, Faridabad, India

R&D Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has developed a novel process called INDALIN for selective conversion of undesirable light distillate streams to high yields of light olefins such as ethylene, propylene etc. along with gasoline enriched in BTX. INDALIN process can integrate a refinery with petrochemicals complex and thereby, offers tremendous opportunity for value addition through up-gradation of low value streams to petrochemicals feedstock. It can, also, add tremendous value to the condensates from the oil fields, by directly converting it, either to LPG or high value olefin.

Introduction

INDALIN Process

Upgradation of bottom of the barrel has become mandatory owing to declining demand as well as price of furnace oil. This has resulted in large number of grass root coker units worldwide enhancing the refinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capability to process incremental percentage of low cost heavier crude.

The addition of coker units in turn leads to production of coker naphtha, which is likely to be a burden to the refiners as it is not suitable for gasoline blending due to its higher olefin, di-olefin and sulfur contents. The problem of disposal of such streams is expected to aggravate in the future.

INDALIN is a catalytic cracking process for upgradation of low value naphtha to very high yield of LPG, containing higher quantity of light olefins such as propylene, ethylene, butylene, etc. and gasoline containing higher concentration of BTX. Surplus kerosene and gas oil range fractions can also be processed along with naphtha. The process employs the hardware of circulating fluidized bed reactor- regenerator system similar to conventional Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process.

On the other hand, demand for light olefins such as ethylene and propylene as building blocks for the production of petrochemicals like polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. will continue to grow. Demand for propylene, driven primarily by the high growth rate of polypropylene, is expected to grow even faster than that of ethylene. The growth in Steam cracker capacity is primarily driven by the demand growth of ethylene and there is a shortfall in propylene supply due to lower propylene to ethylene ratio from this process. Furthermore, much of the new Steam cracking capacity is based on ethane feed, which produces little propylene. The other important raw materials for polymer and other petrochemical syntheses are benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX). The worldwide demand for BTX has also been increasing continuously.

In view of the above, R&D Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has developed a novel process called INDALIN for selective conversion of undesirable light distillate streams to high yields of light olefins such as ethylene, propylene etc. along with gasoline enriched in BTX. INDALIN process can integrate a refinery with petrochemicals complex and thereby, offers tremendous opportunity for value addition through upgradation of low value streams to petrochemicals feedstocks.

INDALIN plant consists of mainly two sections, (i) Reactor and regenerator system for carrying out the cracking reactions in presence of solid fluidizable micro-spherical catalysts and regeneration of the deactivated catalyst and (ii) Main fractionator column and gas concentration section for separation of reactor effluent stream into various products.

The feed stream after preheating is injected into a riser reactor of required residence time to achieve the desired conversion. At the exit of the reactor, the entrained catalyst fines and the product hydrocarbons are separated by cyclones. The coke laden catalyst is sent to a regenerator through a stripper for burning of coke. The regenerated hot catalyst is then re-circulated at the bottom of the riser. The product effluent after separation of entrained catalyst is fed to downstream section for separation and recovery of desired products.

Catalyst of INDALIN is microspherical, fluidizable solid particles having definite particle size distribution. It comprises several active ingredients with varying crystalline and amorphous acid sites in different proportions depending on feed and operating objectives. The reactions are carried out at elevated temperature corresponding to riser top temperature of more than 550oC with catalyst to oil ratio of more than 12. The process and the catalyst are highly selective towards production of light olefins and aromatics from olefin rich naphtha / gas oil / kero range feedstocks. It also provides the flexibility to selectively maximize the light olefins or aromatics based on refinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirement by balancing be-

Table-1: Feed properties Light coker naphtha

Full range coker naphtha

Mixed naphtha 1

Mixed naphtha 2

Feed constituents, wt% Light coker naphtha

100

43.5

46.9

70.3

Heavy Coker naphtha

0

56.5

43.3

17.2

Raffinate

0

0

9.8

12.5

Density, gm/cc

0.683

0.742

0.717

0.695

Olefin content, wt%

61.3

43.8

48.1

51.2

IBP

52

49

53

53

10

55

78

56

56

50

68

126

95

72

90

110

161

149

137

FBP

150

182

185

180

Sulfur, ppm

5600

6900

6200

5300

Distillation, D2887, wt%

Fig 1. Typical yields of light olefins & BTX from INDALIN

tween cracking and hydrogen transfer reactions through tailor-made process conditions as well as catalyst.

Typical product yields INDALIN process is having an edge over the ‘Steam cracking’ process as the latter has limitation with respect to feed quality and olefinic naphtha cannot be processed in this energy intensive process. Also, the propylene to ethylene ratio of INDALIN process is much higher than that of steam cracking process. Many licensors are now offering technologies for upgradation of naphtha in FCC units employing either recycling of naphtha in the same riser before the fresh feed injection or recycling the naphtha in a separate secondary riser. However, as both these approaches utilize the same catalyst system and process conditions, maximization of propylene and ethylene through use of tailor-made catalyst system coupled with

58

JoP, July-September 2011

matching operating window is not possible.

During development of this process and subsequently for further optimization of the same, vast data bank has been generated using various feedstocks sourced from Indian refineries.

For illustration of the potential of INDALIN process in selectively cracking the lighter distillate fractions into light olefins, pilot plant data with four different feed streams are presented in this article.

Table-1 summarizes the detailed properties of 4 different feedstocks, viz. light coker naphtha, full range coker naphtha and 2 mixed naphtha streams containing coker naphtha and raffinate stream from aromatic complex in different proportions. Figure-1 shows the yields of light olefins, viz. propylene & ethylene and BTX obtained from the above feed streams when processed in INDALIN. It important to note that more than 50 wt% of the feed can be converted to ethylene, propylene & BTX. Propylene yield is more than 25 wt% of feed for all the streams. Propylene to ethylene ratio is 2 or more for all the cases, which is much higher than Steam cracking process. By increasing the

severity of the process and using a catalyst with more aromatics selectivity, the yield of BTX can be further increased.

Salient features Salient features of INDALIN process are summarized below: • Highly attractive yields of propylene (more than 25 wt% of fresh feed) and ethylene (more than 12 wt% of fresh feed) yields • Propylene to ethylene ratio is 2 or more, much higher than Steam cracking process • Gasoline rich in BTX (30-50 wt%) – higher margin through recovery of BTX and recycle of non-aromatic part of gasoline • Capability to handle feed stocks up to 95% TBP point of 400oC from different sources • Operability at wide range of severities to maximize either light olefins or BTX depending on refiner’s objective • Requires hardware configuration similar to conventional FCC unit - no major scale-up issue.

INDALIN process provides excellent opportunity to refiners for upgrading surplus naphtha and gasoill range materials, especially olefinic streams to high yield of ethylene, propylene and aromatics. The process can be easily integrated with downstream petrochemical complex for recovery of ethylene, propylene and extraction of aromatics.

Conclusion Indalin process has the ability to tackle the problem of disposal of olefinic naphtha generated from Cokers increasingly being employed for processing heavier crudes and at the same time upgrading the same to value added light olefins as well as BTX. Production of high yields of light olefins especially propylene from low value feed stock is the key feature of this technology which will help in vertical integration of refineries with petrochemicals. As a part of commercialization, presently, economic feasibility of setting up a grass root INDALIN plant in one of the Indian refineries is being examined.

Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to the management of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. for permitting the publication of this article and colleagues in Refining Technology Dept. at R&D Centre, Faridabad for their contribution.

Technology update

Sweetening of LPG Development of IIP-BPCL Catalyst, Thoxcat ES

Vivek Rathore1, PVC Rao1, V Suresh1, Gautam Das2, Sunil Kumar2 and MO Garg2 Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Corporate R & D Centre, Greater Noida-201306 Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun- 248005

1 2

IIP-BPCL Catalyst Thoxcat ES, Cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonamide was synthesized by chlorosulphonation of cobalt phthalocyanine with chlorosulfonic acid followed by amidation with ammonia. It was characterized by elemental, IR and FAB mass spectral analysis. The activity of the developed catalyst Thoxcat ES was evaluated using ethyl mercaptan as a model sulfur compound for mercaptan oxidation process for extractive sweetening of LPG and liquid-liquid sweetening of lighter petroleum fraction. In addition, stability of the developed catalyst was also evaluated by liquid-liquid sweetening using hexane thiol as a model compound and petroleum ether as an inert solvent. The performance of catalyst with respect to activity and stability was found to be better than the commercial catalyst being used currently in the refineries. Commercial trial run of catalyst has been successfully conducted in different FCC LPG Merox unit of various refineries and the performance was found to be better than the present commercial catalyst.

M

ercaptans are highly undesirable due to their foul odour and highly corrosive nature in the petroleum products like LPG, naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, ATF etc. Although there are several processes known for the removal of mercaptans from petroleum products, the most common practice is to oxidize the mercaptans in to less deleterious disulphides with air in the presence of a catalyst. Generally, the lower molecular weight mercaptans present in LPG, pentanes, LSRN and light thermally cracked naphtha are first extracted in alkali solution subsequently oxidized to disulphides with air in the presence of a catalyst. The disulphides, being insoluble in alkali solution is separated out from the top of the separator and the regenerated alkali is recycled to the extractor. In the liquid-liquid sweetening the lower mercaptans present in petroleum products like pentanes. LSRN, cracked naphtha etc. are converted to disulphides by direct oxidation with air in the presence of alkali solution and catalyst.

Phthalocyanines of the metals like cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum and vanadium catalyze the oxidation of mercaptans to disulphides in alkaline medium [1]. Among all cobalt and vanadium phthalocyanines are preferred.

As the metal phthalocyanines are not soluble in aqueous medium, for improved catalytic activity their derivatives like sulphonated and carboxylated metal phthalocyanines are used as catalysts for sweetening of petroleum fractions. The use of cobalt phthalocyanine monosulphonate as the catalyst in the fixed bed sweetening of various petroleum products and cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate [2] tetra sulphonate [3] and the mixture thereof [4] as catalysts for liquid-liquid sweetening / alkali regeneration in mercaptan extraction of light petroleum distillates have been reported. The use of phenoxy substituted cobalt phthalocyanine as sweetening catalyst [5], cobalt and vanadium chelates of 2,9,16,23-tetrakis (3,4-dicarboxybenzoyl) phthalocyanine as effective catalyst for homogeneous mercaptan oxidation [6,7] and cobalt/ vanadium chelates of tetrapyridinoporphyrazine as active catalysts for sweetening of sour petroleum distillates [8] have also been reported.

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JoP, July-September 2011

Figure 1: Sweetening catalyst demand for Indian & Worldwide refineries

Figure 2: Conventional sweetening process unit for extraction & oxidation of mercaptans from LPG

Cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate a commonly used catalyst in sweetening of LPG and light petroleum fractions by liquid-liquid mercaptan extraction and alkali regeneration is extremely dusty in the dry fine powder form and causes handling problem. To overcome this problem cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate is admixed with water and commonly used as slurry. However, with insufficient mixing the cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate precipitates out from the slurry. Moreover, even if the slurry is mixed sufficiently, it retains the cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate in suspension for a particular length of time only, beyond which the slurry becomes extremely viscous and may form gel, making it very difficult to remove the mate-

rial from packaging. Cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate, on the other hand, is highly soluble in water and its use can eliminate precipitation and gel forming problems associated with the use of cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate. However, it is reported that cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate has lower catalytic activity than cobalt phthalocyanine disulphonate (9).

During investigations on development of new sweetening catalysts for extractive sweetening of LPG and liquid - liquid sweetening of naphtha, amide group was targeted because it has a peculiar property of increasing the solubility of organic compounds in aqueous alkaline solution. The essential requirement of the metal phthalocya-

nine sweetening catalysts is their high solubility in aqueous alkaline solution.

Therefore the use of cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamides as a new sweetening catalyst was explored.

Considering the present scenario, refiners are forced to process more and more high sulfur crudes to increase the gross refinery margins. Therefore, the requirement of LPG sweetening catalyst is being increased and expected to grow 5-10% annually worldwide. Figure 1 present and projected demand of sweetening catalyst.

Indian refineries were importing sweetening catalyst and this requirement is going to increase in near future due to upcoming grass root refineries followed by more number of LPG treating units in India. In addition, with the growing concern over environment protection & challenges to meet stringent norms for fuels, there was need for up-gradation and replacement of competitor catalyst with high performance & cost effective indigenous catalyst. Therefore BPCL & IIP jointly had taken up a research project for the development of indigenous catalyst to capture the market of sweetening catalyst globally.

Present article describe synthesis, characterization and evaluation of cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide catalyst for extractive sweetening of LPG and liquid-liquid sweetening of lighter petroleum fractions like light straight run naphtha/light cracked gasoline. In addition, also discussed the comparative field trials results of the IIP-BPCL catalyst with commercial available catalyst at various refineries.

2. Sweetening Process & Reaction Mechanism Sweetening units are designed in several flow configurations, depending on feedstock type and processing objectives. All are characterized by low capital and operating costs, ease of operation and minimal operator attention.

Whole reaction kinetic suggest that this reaction favored low temperature, low molecular weight mercaptans, optimal caustic concentration and the use of compounds that increases the solubility of mercaptans in the aqueous phase.

The flow diagram (fig. 2) depicts the equipment and the flow paths involved in the process. The LPG (or light naphtha) feedstock enters the prewash vessel and flows upward through a batch of caustic which removes any H2S that may be present in the feedstock. The coalescer at the top of the prewash vessel prevents caustic from being entrained and carried out of the vessel. The feedstock then enters the mercaptan extractor and flows upward through the contact trays where the LPG intimately contacts the down flowing caustic that extracts the mercaptans from the LPG. The sweetened LPG exits the tower and flows through a caustic settler vessel to remove any entrained caustic, a water wash vessel to further remove any residual entrained caustic and a vessel containing a bed of rock salt to remove any entrained water. Finally, the dry sweetened LPG exits from the unit.

pumped back to the top of the extractor for reuse.

The mechanism of the mercaptan oxidation reaction in presence of cobalt phthalocyanine based catalyst proposed by Wallace et al. [12], is presented in the given below scheme.

3. Experimental 3.1 Catalyst Synthesis

Preparation of develop catalyst involves reaction of cobalt phthalocyanine with large excess of chlorosulphonic acid in the temperature range 110-145째C for about 4-5 hours to yield cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonyl chloride which was isolated as wet cake in the temperature range 0-5oC. The wet cake was then dispersed in a mixture of water and methanol and reacted with ammonia to obtain cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide, which was isolated by acidifying the reaction mixture with concentrated hydrochloric acid followed by filtration, washing and drying [10,11]. Final structure of cobalt phthanocyanine tetra sulfonamide is shown in figure 3.

The caustic solution containing mercaptides flows from the bottom of the extractor through a control valve which maintains the extractor pressure needed. It is then injected with proprietary liquid catalyst (on an as needed), flows through a steam-heated heat exchanger and is injected with compressed air before entering the Liquid form of the catalyst was preoxidiser vessel where the extracted pared by dissolving the powder form of mercaptides are converted to disulthe catalyst in 2-3wt% aqueous sodium fides. The oxidizer vessel has a packed hydroxide solution along with dispersbed to keep better contact between ing agents. aqueous caustic and air The causticdisulfide mixture then flows into the separator Figure 3: Structure of Cobalt Phthanocyanine tetra sulphonamide vessel where it is allowed to form a lower layer of "lean" mercaptans caustic and an upper layer of disulfides.

The vertical section of the separator is for the disengagement and venting of excess air and includes a dimerstatsection to prevent entrainment of any disulfides in the vented air. The disulfides are withdrawn from the separator and routed to fuel storage or to a hydrotreater unit. The regenerated lean mercaptans caustic is then JoP, July-September 2011

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3.2 Catalyst Characterization

Figure 4: Experimental setup for Caustic Regeneration in Bubble Column Reactor

Cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonamide thus obtained was characterized through elemental analysis as well as spectroscopic techniques. Molecular formula for Cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonamide is C32H2ON12S4O8Co, elemental analysis, calculated is (C, 43.29; H, 2.27; S, 14.45; Co, 6.64) whereas found (C, 41.62; H, 2.34; S, 13.02; Co, 6.36).

The infrared (IR) spectra of the catalyst were recorded on Perkin Elmer 1760X FTIR spectrophotometer, in KBr pellet qualitatively. The IR spectra of the catalyst showed major peaks at 3399, 3152, 1627, 1521, 1400, 1327, 1253, 1160, 1110, 1036, 926, 751 and 571 cm-1. The broad peaks at 3399 cm-1 and 3152 cm-1 were assigned to N-H stretching vibrations.

The intense peaks at 1400, 1521 and 1627 cm-1 were assigned to aromatic C=C stretching vibrations. The intense peaks at 1160 and 1327 cm-1 were assigned to S=O stretching vibrations of sulfonamide group.

Components: 1, air cylinder; 2 and 14, pressure regulator valves; 3, 7 and 13, valves; 4, manometer; 5, wet gas flow meter; 6, three-way glass valve; 8, septum; 9, sintered glass; 10, thermometer; 11, reactor; 12, thermostatic water bath; 15, nitrogen cylinder.

Figure 5: Comparative performance of sweetening catalysts for Mercaptan oxidation

The fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectra of the catalyst were recorded on a JEOL SX 102/DA 6000 mass spectrometer. The mass spectra of the catalyst showed most prominent peak in the high mass range at 888 (molecular weight corresponding to molecular formula C32H20N12S4O8Co), indicating the major product to be cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulfonamide. The small peaks at m/a 808 and 728 indicated the presence of small amounts of cobalt phthalocyanine trisulfonamide and cobalt phthalcyanine disulfonamide.

3.3 Performance Evaluation

The performance of liquid form of Cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide catalyst (IIP-BPCL) was compared with commercial catalyst w.r.t both activity and stability.

3.3.1 Activity Test

As the catalyst plays role in enhancing mercaptide oxidation rate in the Oxidizer, activity of catalysts were evaluated by studying mercaptide oxidation reaction (caustic regeneration) using ethyl mercaptan as model compound.

Experiments were carried out by using 15000 ppmw mercaptide sulfur con-

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tent in caustic feed which corresponds very high RSH content i.e.750 to 1000 ppmw in LPG feed depending upon caustic circulation to feed rate ratio.

Activity of liquid form of this catalyst were compared with commercial catalyst under similar conditions.

The semi-batch bubble column type reactor made up of glass used for activity test was fitted with a sintered glass sheet for uniformly distributing the air flow and jacketed to maintain the desired reaction temperature by

circulating water from a thermostatic bath. The experimental setup is shown in figure 4 overleaf. The flow rate of air introduced from the bottom of the column was measured by a calibrated manometer and was cross checked by a wet gas flow meter. Required amount of ethyl mercaptan was added to 230 ml 14% aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution filled in the glass column and purging of nitrogen through NaOH solution was started in an up flow mode to remove dissolved oxygen and maintain an inert atmosphere.

Figure 6: Comparative Performance of Sweetening Catalysts for Caustic Regeneration in LPG Sweetening

Table 1: Catalyst Stability Evaluation of LPG Sweetening Catalyst Feed

Petroleum ether + Hexane thiol (nC6 Mercaptan)

Concentration of mercaptan in feed

IIP BPCL Catalyst, 743 ppmw Commercial Catalyst, 768 ppmw

Catalyst concentration on feed basis

89.5 ppmw

Reaction time

10 min

Air flow rate

1.23 NLPM

Reaction temperature

25oC

Cumulative volume of feed Mercaptan concentration in processed (liters) product (ppmw)

IIP-BPCL catalyst Commercial catalyst

0.5 1.0 Doctor -ve (< 5) 1.5 2.0 Doctor -ve (< 5) 2.5 3.0 Doctor -ve (< 5) Doctor -ve (< 5) 3.5 4.0 Doctor -ve (< 5) Doctor -ve (< 5) 4.5 Doctor -ve (< 5) Doctor -ve (< 5) 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.0 Doctor -ve (< 5) Doctor -ve (< 5) 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Doctor -ve (< 5) Doctor -ve (< 5) 5.7 7.8 Doctor -ve 5.8 8.0 9.0 5.9 11.7 13.0 6.0 13.0 19.5

Calculated amount of Cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide/Commercial catalysts required for maintaining a concentration of 200 ppmw in the reaction mixture was dissolved in 4-5 ml of 4%aqueous NaOH solution introduced through the septum. The gas flow was then quickly changed from nitrogen to air with the help of a threeway glass valve. The colour of the reaction mixture converted from dark greenish black (initially) to blue indicating the completion of the reaction.

The mercaptide sulfur concentrations in samples collected at different times were analyzed by potentiometric titration method UOP: 163-89 using an automatic Titration Unit Metler DL-50.

Time required for total mercaptide conversion to disulfide i.e., caustic regeneration were measured for this catalyst as well as commercial catalyst under similar conditions. The typical comparative results presented in figure 5 have shown that total conversion time for IIP-BPCL catalyst is much less than that of commercial catalyst under similar conditions. This has confirmed that this catalyst is more active than commercial catalyst.

Again figure 6 shows variation of conversion with time for both IIP-BPCL and commercial catalyst under similar conditions indicating higher rate of reaction for IIP-BPCL catalyst. This has also confirmed that the activity of IIP-BPCL sweetening catalyst is better than commercial catalyst.

3.3.2 Stability Test

Stability of cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonamide (IIP-BPCL) catalyst vis-avis commercial one was evaluated by measuring cumulative volume of feed treated repeatedly with same quantity of catalyst maintaining same conditions for both the catalysts. For this purpose, experiments were conducted by using petroleum ether as an inert base and hexane thiol (C6H13SH) as a model compound because this would be more difficult to oxidize and is also less volatile than ethane thiol.

The feed prepared by dissolving calculated amount of hexane thiol (C6H13SH) in petroleum ether was kept in feed vessel. A sample of feed was analyzed by potentiometric titration to estimate mercaptan content.

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Figure 8: Comparative performance of LPG sweetening catalyst during commercial trial at refinery-II

the catalysts have equivalent stability

4. Commercial Plant Trial run 4.1 Refinery-I

Figure 9: Comparative consumption of LPG sweetening catalyst for similar conversion of mercaptan during commercial trial

Commercial trial run of the IIP-BPCL catalyst i.e. Thoxcat-ES was successfully undertaken in one of the FCC LPG Merox units of a refinery and results were compared with commercial catalyst. Tthe unit was approx. 50 handles mixture ofcoker LPG where level ., the performance of IIP-BPCLwas Figure 7 reveals that the IIPBPCL catalyst Thoxcat ES was able to oxidize high RSH content feed stock and maintaining the product total sulfur limitation. In spite of high RSH content in the feed stock, consumption of Thoxcat-ES catalyst was lesser than the commercial catalyst.

3.3 Refinery-II

Subsequently, Second trial run was carried out in another LPG Merox unit which was running for high sulfur crude processing unit. The inlet RSH content of LPG was about 130150 ppmw and found to be less than 20ppmwt after IIP-BPCL catalyst treatment , which meets the specification of LPG. Plant data from figure 8 reveals that overall performance of the IIP-BPCL catalyst was found to be better than the commercial catalyst. and test were also ensure. Results of both the test were showed excellent performance of the catalyst.

For maintaining desired level of catalyst concentration in reaction mixture, calculated amount of cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonamide (IIP-BPCL) or commercial catalyst was dissolved in aqueous NaOH solution and filled in the reactor. Feed (100 ml) was then added to the reactor from the feed tank. Stirring and air flow rate were started simultaneously and continued for 10 minutes. Initially the colour of reaction mixture became greenish black and turned to blue at the end indicating almost complete conversion.

After allowing little time for separation of caustic and petroleum ether layer, the colourless treated product was taken out from the reaction vessel. Again 100 ml fresh feed was added to the used catalyst solution in the reaction vessel. The same procedure

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was repeated several times by contacting same catalyst solution with fresh feed till the product mercaptan content was found to increase. Initially mercaptan content was checked by qualitative Doctor Test and later estimated quantitatively in Automatic Titration unit Metler DL-50 by method UOP: 163-89 after the Doctor test became positive.

The typical results on stability test conducted for liquid form of IIP-BPCL catalyst and commercial catalyst are presented in Table 1. These results show that the conversion have started decreasing after processing 5.7 litres of feed for both the catalysts. This shows that deactivation rate is almost similar for both the catalysts and therefore it can be concluded that both

Based on the various field trials at different refineries, it was also found that the consumption of developed IIP-BPCL catalyst was lesser than the commercial available catalyst. Figure 9 shows the comparative cumulative consumption of IIP-BPCL catalyst and commercial catalyst for more than four months based on the stream days of the LPG sweetening unit.

5.0 Conclusion Cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide catalyst prepared by chlorosulphonation of cobalt phthalocyanine with chlorosulphonic acid followed by amidation with ammonia has been found a potential catalyst for extractive sweetening of LPG, liquid-liquid sweetening of lighter petroleum fractions. Laboratory evaluations have

shown that while its activity is better than the commercial catalyst currently being used in the Indian refineries, its stability is equivalent. Trial runs conducted at various refineries have established the commercial potential of this catalyst for LPG sweetening. In addition, catalyst Thoxcat-ES is economical and consumption is found to be less for similar conversion in spite of very high mercaptans in feed w.r.t commercial catalyst. Also, ThoxcatES finds application in other sweetening processes like fiber-film contactor apart from the conventional treatment process .

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to BPCL management for their constant support, encouragement for the research.

References 1. B. Basu, S. Satapathy and A.K. Bhatnagar, Catal Rev.-Sci Eng. 35(4) (1993), p 571.

2. R.R. Frame, US Patent 425022, February 10, 1981.

3. D.H.J Carlson and P. Urban, US Patent 2622763, December 16, 1976.

4. D.H.J Carlson and P. Urban, US Patent 4248694, February 3, 1981.

5. Institute of Kinetics and Catalysis, Sofia Ger. Offen. 3816952, November 23, 1989.

6. W. Clifford, Ger. Offen. 2757476, June 29, 1978.

7. Ashland Oil Inc., Fr. Demande1 2375201, July 21, 1978.

8. G.P. Anderson and W. Clifford, Ger. Often. 2441648, March 13, 1975.

9. Dowd; Edward J, US patent 4,885,268, December 5, 1989.

10.Bir Sain et. al., US patent 6,740,619, May 25, 2004.

11.Bir Sain et. al., US patent 6,565,740, May 20, 2003.

PVC Rao Vivek Rathore

Mr. Vivek Rathore, Dy. Manager, joined BPCL R&D in 2006. With Masters in Chemical Engineering from IISc Bangalore and Bachelor of Engineering from Pt. R.S.U. Raipur, his expertise are processing of Crude oil and crude oil blends, Resid Up-gradation, LPG sweetening catalyst, Biofuels, Glycerol valorization, and Reaction modeling.

Dr.P.V.C.Rao, Senior Manager, BPCL (R&D) has 23 years of research experience in Petrochemicals and Refining. He has a Ph.D (Chemistry) from IIT, Bombay. His areas of expertise are processing of opportune crude oils/ blends, Biofuels, Sweetening catalyst, Bitumen, Resid Up-gradation, and Product & Process development and Analytical sciences Sunil Kumar

V Suresh

Mr. V Suresh, presently holds a position of DGM ( Tech.) at BPCL Mumbai refinery. He is engineering graduate in Chemical Engineering. He has 25 years experience in petroleum refining industry. His areas of expertise are Advanced Process Control, Process technology and MES activities.

Mr Sunil Kumar is a Technical Officer at CSIR-IIP, Dehradun. With M.Sc from Garhwal University, he has been engaged in laboratory experimental work related to development of sweetening catalyst for over 12 years. He has 21 patents and 3 papers. He received CSIR Technology Award for Innovation.

MO Garg

Gautam Das

Dr. Gautam Das, a Senior Scientist at CSIR-IIP, Dehradun, holds PhD in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur and has about 26 years of research experience in kinetic modeling and simulation of refinery conversion processes like catalytic reforming, hydrodesulfurization and sweetening; commissioning and operation of pilot plant. His present research area is process development on sweetening catalysts. He has been responsible for the development and commercialization of LPG sweetening catalyst.

He has 23 research papers and 22 patents in his credit.

Dr. M O Garg is Director of CSIR-IIP, Dehradun. He is Post graduate from IIT-Kanpur and PhD from University of Melbourne both in Chemical Engineering. Earlier he worked in R & D Division of Engineers India Ltd and Process System Services Division of KTI-Technip India Ltd. He has developed and commercialized several technologies and has received two CSIR Technology Awards as well as a CSIR Shield for his commercialization efforts. His areas of expertise are liquid-liquid extraction, simulation and modeling, process integration, advance control, and process conceptualization. He is acknowledged as an expert in petroleum refining and petrochemicals.

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Technology update Novel Anti-micropitting Synthetic Gear Oil Developed by IndianOil R&D Centre In a significant breakthrough, the R&D Centre has recently developed micropitting resistant synthetic gear oil. Micropitting is the tiny wear and tear in the form of pits in the gear boxes. Micropitting is actually caused by a fatigue failure of the surface of a material commonly seen in rolling bearings and gears. To circumnavigate this, the scientists at the R&D Centre have developed a special new product called Servosyngear 320 Plus which meets the DIN 51517-3 specification of gear oils and have been approved by M/s. Flender for helical, bevel, bevel-helical and planetary gear units.

Servosyngear Plus series (VG 220,320,460 & 680) are all new generation synthetic gear oils designed to provide optimum equipment protection and oil life even under extreme operating conditions.

This new product has been approved by M/s.

Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Project (DBCRTPP), Yamuna Nagar, a unit of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd. The product was introduced in Flender make coal mill gear boxes and has completed more than two and a half years of performance satisfactorily. This lube oil was introduced in all the 12 coal mill gear boxes of the plant, thereby enhancing productivity of the power plant.

The use of Servosyngear 320 plus has dramatically reduced the problem of gear failure faced by the customer due to use of conventional mineral based gear oil. The synthetic oil has helped increase the coal mill load to its designed capacity. The operation of the gear box has become smooth and all the bearing temperatures are within the permissible limits. It has helped in enhancing the life of gear boxes considerably and reduced shut downs leading to substantial savings for the customer. After successful performance of the product at DBCRTPP, the oil has also been introduced the product in similar applications at their sister concern M/s. Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power plant. as appeared in the INDIANOILxPRESS.COM

Slurry Hydro-conversion Process Eni has started work on the first commercial application of its slurry technology (EST) at Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi refinery, near Pavia in northern Italy. EST is Eni’s proprietary technology for the conversion of heavy oil residues to products including gasoline and gas oil. The project is scheduled for completion with the startup of the 23000 b/d plant by the end of 2012. Eni has been developing the process since the mid-1990s, starting at its San Donato Milanese laboratories and continuing at its Taranto refinery, where a 1200 b/d demonstration plant started operations in 2005. The design of the new plant began in 2008 and involved contractor Saipem for engineering activities.

EST technology will enable Sannazzaro to become a zero fuel oil refinery. The technology can valorise the exploitation of unconventional crudes and will also enable Eni to evaluate new sources of raw material for its refining operations.

EST is a hydroconversion process that employs a slurry nano-catalyst to refine different types of heavy feedstocks, such as residues from the distillation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils (including Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt) or non-conventional oils (such as bitumen from tar sands), characterised by high contents of sulphur, nitrogen, metals, asphaltenes and other polluting species that are difficult to manage with traditional refining processes.

The technology can produce gasoline and gas oil without generating coke or fuel oil for continually declining markets. Apart from its special catalyst, the process scheme features a supply of hydrogen produced from methane, effectively enabling the transformation of methane into liquid fuels via hydrogen production.

Wireless automation Wireless integration of Shell Ethylene Cracker Shell Eastern Petroleum’s ethylene cracker complex (ECC) on the island of Pulau Bukom, Singapore, is now equipped with wireless technology, used to gain secure mobile access to process control systems. The control project, part of Shell’s Houdini project at Bukom, features a wireless network designed by Belden and includes hardware supplied by Yokogawa.

It has mobile access to all process data via wireless local area network at defined places in the refinery to provide appropriate effficiencies. The benefits include improved overall efficiency, resulting from faster commissioning of the petrochemical process control system and improved maintenance effficiency, as well as system cost reduction as fewer local panel units are needed.

Belden performed project management, design and building of the WLAN system, which includes a wireless distribution system incorporating 90 Hirschmann BAT54-F X2 access points for the ECC and multiple antennas, linked across a redundant, fibre ring backbone.

Yokogawa supplied all the process control and instrumented safety systems, while Belden designed and delivered the wireless infrastructure, which acts as an interface to the process control systems. All relevant parts of the system had to be certified to comply with ATEX/IEC60079 for hazardous areas.

WLAN products installed at Bukom include outdoor access points, together with accessories, antennas, surge arrestors, managed switches, media converters and Industrial HiVision. For enhanced security, the Eagle firewall was used at the demarcation point to Shell’s process LAN. The backbone is based on Belden’s PROFInet copper and fibre-optic cables, as well as Lumberg Automation Ethernet M12 connectors for all Ethernet devices. At locations where wired LAN access was difficult, connectivity relies on wireless point-to-point links.

The wireless project started in 2007, with planningat Belden’s centre in Neckartenzlingen, Germany. The first factory acceptance test involved the construction and operation of the whole system, with testing of hardware, including all devices, cables and labels; software, including firmware versions, configuration, security and management system; and documentation and certification compliance, and theo verall functionality of the system, including its roaming capability.

The setup was moved to Singapore to ensure functionality with Yokogawa’s control system. Finally, it was transported to the plant on Bukom Island and, after completing a final site acceptance test, was handed over to Shell.

Fuels & additives

The Global Marine Market What's ahead? Refiners, shippers search for answers on 2015, 2020 bunker fuel supply and quality Jack Peckham Executive Editor, Diesel Fuel News, HART

R

efiners and ocean ship operators around the world continue to scramble for answers to big-money questions about what is going to happen to global marine bunker fuel supply and quality in 2015 and 2020.

It’s a multi-billion-dollar investment question for the world’s refiners and ocean ship owner-operators, the latter burning (roughly) 235 million tonnes per year of bunker fuel in the world’s overwhelmingly dieselpowered shipping fleet, according to the most recent International Energy Agency MediumTerm Oil & Gas Outlook 2011 report.

The 2015 question is about the supply and relative price of 0.1% sulfur marine gasoil (MGO) or marine diesel oil (MDO) mandated in a growing number of emission control areas (ECAs, sometimes described as sulfur emission control areas or SECAs) including parts of Europe and most of North America.

The “cleaner” MDO/MGO distillate fuels would drastically reduce sulfur oxides, particulate matter and other pollutant emissions caused by burning conventional heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Some experts (including the U.K.based Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association) predict a big price gap between HFO and MDO/MGO by 2015 – big enough to justify multi-milliondollar installations of stack emissions scrubbers on-board ships. These scrub-

bers would have to deliver equivalent emissions reduction to MDO/MGO fuel-switching, while enabling the continued use of relatively “cheap” HFO. But others aren’t so sure about such a price gap, including some members of an “experts group” that continues to draft plans for a global report on lowsulfur bunker fuels for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marpol Annex-6 cleaner fuels/emissions legislation.

That legislation requires all ocean ships to switch to 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel in 2020 – or 2025, if a 2018 report by the IMO “experts group” indicates a likely shortfall in low-sulfur bunker fuel supply in 2020. As with the “ECA” rules in 2015, the global IMO rules in 2020 (or 2025) would allow ships to install stack emissions scrubbing to achieve equivalent emissions reductions to switching to 0.5% sulfur bunker fuel.

Big doubts on 0.5% sulfur HFO One big point of debate: Is it reasonable to expect plentiful supplies of 0.5% sulfur HFO in 2020? (Most of the experts doubt that.) Or instead will global refiners have to boost output of middle distillates drastically, by perhaps hundreds of millions of tonnes?

At the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in July 2011 in London, the experts group – formally known as the “Correspondence Group on Assessment of Avail-

ability of Fuel Oil under Marpol Annex-6” – continued to grapple with how to define data-gathering and supply/demand modeling for the 2018 report on low-sulfur bunker fuel.

The “correspondence group” report includes a summary of technical discussions, remaining issues and a draft methodology framework for the study.

It recaps some older marine-fuel projection studies by EnSys and American Petroleum Institute (API) and tries to predict the impact of future, improved ship fuel economy.

The report also takes a few stabs at predicting the rate of adoption of alternative fuels in shipping, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Asked what’s next on the “correspondence group” agenda, IMO told Diesel Fuel News on July 19 that “in the next session – MEPC 63 – there will be further discussion on the methodology as it was agreed there was sufficient time to further look into this.”

Some highlights from the latest “correspondence group” draft report include: Alternative fuels

Some industry commentators on the draft report “expressed reservations regarding technical and other issues related to using alternative fuels on ships. However, given the current and planned use of fuels such as LNG, which would comply with the 0.5% global fuel sulfur limit, other comJoP, July-September 2011

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ments suggested that the demand projections should consider this factor.”

Alternative compliance methods (stack emissions scrubbing technology)

Commentators to the correspondence group stated that “this factor clearly has the potential to have the largest impact on estimates of future demand for fuel meeting the 0.5% global sulfur limit. As such, this factor may also create the largest uncertainty for the 2020 demand projections. Widespread use of abatement technology, such as exhaust gas scrubbers, could significantly reduce demand for 0.5% sulfur fuel in 2020 because vessel operators would be able to continue to use high sulfur fuel. However, it is not yet clear that scrubber technology will be mature enough for widespread use by 2020.”

spondence group that consideration should be given to whether the refining industry would be able to provide a 0.5% sulfur heavy fuel oil blend.”

Non-marine refined product demand

“For the 2007 Experts Group work, estimates of total global demand (including land-based demand) of petroleum products and future crude oil pricing were based on projections made by the International Energy Agency (IEA). …

To the extent that these organizations make substantially different projections of refinery product and alternative fuel demand, the Experts Group should determine which of these projections to use. Correspondence group participants were divided on how this should be done.”

existing 4.5% sulfur cap and a limit of 3.5% sulfur beginning in 2012. Within SECAs [sulfur emission control areas], the current limit of 1.0% sulfur began in July 2010 and was preceded by a limit of 1.5% sulfur.”

Timing of studies

“One important component of the fuel availability review is the timeline under which this review will be conducted. From the comments made by the correspondence group, it is clear that a review should be performed as close to the 2018 deadline as possible to allow for the use of the most up-to-date information, including information on distillate use in ECAs, refinery investments, fleet size, fuel consumption, and the fuels market.”

Refinery supply capabilities Supply modeling

This would be used to estimate the refinery investments and capacity additions necessary to meet the projected demand for marine fuel oil meeting the global 0.5% sulfur limit by ship operators in 2020. “In addition to choosing the model, production methods and product demand also need to be considered,” according to the report.

Analysis of production methods for 0.5% sulfur fuel

“An important component of the supply modeling is to determine how the 0.5% sulfur fuel will be produced. This affects the assumptions on how crude oil will be processed to meet demand.

“In the Experts Group work, it was assumed that 0.5% sulfur fuel would be produced as a distillate fuel, as this was a specific case to be studied. However, the comment was raised in the corre-

“A key input to this analysis is refinery capacity projections. However, while the supply model estimates what refinery capabilities are needed to meet demand projections, it does not provide a way to estimate future capacity taking into account projects under construction, announced projects, refinery upgrade/construction time, refinery closures and mothballing of units.

“Therefore, capacity additions estimated to be needed by the supply model should be compared to known and projected refinery capabilities.”

Lower-sulfur bunker fuel supply experiences

“The terms of reference direct the correspondence group to consider experience gained with the introduction of the various fuel oil sulfur content reduction steps required by Marpol Annex-6. The global standards include an

Study costs

“The resources necessary to perform the work under this review are a function of the methodology used. For the 2007 Experts Group, US$4,000 was expended for the demand modeling performed by MSR-Consult ApS and US$38,000 was expended for the refinery modeling performed by EnSys. The EnSys work consisted of four model cases. …“Based on these costs, an estimate for this study could be US$10,000 per supply model run.”

Jack Peckham can be reached at: jpeckham@hartenergy.com

+1 (305) 517-7635

This story originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of FUEL magazine and is reprinted with permission

by Hart Energy copyright 2011 (www. hartfuel.com).

Jack Peckham

Jack Peckham is executive editor of Diesel Fuel News and Gasification News. Jack came to Hart 13 years ago from the newsletter group of the Financial Times of London, where he was editor of U.S. Oil Week. Before that, Jack was a reporter for Knight-Ridder newspapers. Jack was a University Board of Governors Scholar at Wayne State University in his native Detroit, Michigan, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism and English. When not traveling on business, he makes his home in Colombia, South America.

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Fuels & additives

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isVªksfy;e bZaèku orZeku fLFkrh orZeku le; esa vf/kdrj isVªksfy;e bZa/kuksa dks fjQkbujh esa rS;kj fd;k tkrk gSA dPps rsy dk ifj’kks/ku fofHk™k çfØ;kvksa ds }kjk isVªksfy;e bZa/ kuksa dk mRiknu fd;k tkrk gSA isVªksfy;e bZa/ku ¼isVªksy] Mhty] ,0 Vh0 ,Q0 vknh½ ,d

gkbMªksdkcZu dh yach J`a[kyk okys ;kSfxd gksrs gSA ftlesa dkcZu ijek.kq dh ,d J`a[kyk gksrh gS rFkk çR;sd dkcZu ijek.kq ij gkbMªkstu ds ,VEl yxs gksrs gSA Mhty rFkk isVªksy dk mRikn fjQkbujh esa fofHk™k izfØ;k ds mRiknksa dks feykdj fd;k tkrk gSA

fofHk™k çfØ;k,a ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ ÛÛ

dPpk rsy vkLou ;wfuV ,Q0 lh0 lh0 ;wfuV fjQksjesaV ;wfuV gkbZMªksØsdj ;wfuV && oflczsdj ;wfuV && dksdj ;wfuV Hkkjr esa Mhty rFkk isVªksy dh xq.kork Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks ds }kjk cuk;s x;s Mhty rFkk isVªksy ds ekud eki naMksa ds vuqlkj dh tkrh gSA IS 1460:2005&Mhty ds fy, Vscy&1 IS 1460:2005& isVªksy ds fy, Vscy&2

Hkkjr esa Mhty rFkk isVªksy ds Hkkjrh; ekudksa dks cuuk rFkk isVªksfy;e bZa/kuksa ds ekudkssa dk uohurj.k Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks }kjk fd;k tkrk gSA Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks fofHk™k isVªksfy;e mRikndksa dks fu;af«kr djrk gSA rFkk le;&le; ij mudk la’kks/ku Hkh djrk gSA fofHk™k isVªksfy;e mRikndksa dk ekud cukus ds fy, fofHk™k ,tsafl;ksa dks lEefyr fd;k tkrk gSA ÛÛ vks0 bZ0 ,e0 ,tsalh ÛÛ ljdkj fu;«ak.k djus okyh ,tsalh ÛÛ rsy cukus okyh dEiuh

ÛÛ mRikn dks ç;ksx esa ykus okyh ,tsalh ÛÛ Mhty rFkk isVªksy ds ekudksa dks le;&le; ij vko’;drk ds vuqlkj mudk fodkl rFkk la’kks/ku Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks us fd;k gSA Vscy&3 Hkkjrh; Mhty ekud ds fodkl dk fooj.k Vscy&4 Hkkjrh; isVªksy ekud ds fodkl dk fooj.k

bZaèkuksa dk okrkoj.k ij çHkko Mhty rFkk isVªksy ls pyus okys okguksa ds }kjk mRlftZr /kq,¡ ls tks okrkoj.k nqf"kr gksrk gS mldks jksdus ds fy, Hkkjr esa dkQh Á;kl fd, x, gSaA Mhty o isVªksy esa xaèkd dh ek«kk dkQh gksrh FkhA mldks Hkh le;&le; ij de djds mles nqf"kr gksus okys okrkoj.k dks dkQh LoPN fd;k x;k gSA isVªksy esa cSaftu dh mifLFfr ls okrkoj.k nqf"kr gksrk gSA Hkkjr ljdkj us isVªksy rFkk Mhty esa cSathu o lYQj dh ek«kk de djus ds fy, dkQh Á;kl fd, x, gSaA gekjs ns’k esa fofHk™k fjQkbujh esa u;s ÁkSlsl ;wfuVksa dks yxk;k x;k gSA ftl dh otg ls fjQkbujh esa mRikfnr isVªksy rFkk Mhty esa xa/kd dh ek«kk dkQh de dh x;h gSA blds fy, fjQkbujh }kjk yxHkx 50]000 djksM+ dk [kpkZ fd;k x;k gSA

bZaèku dh xq.koÙkk dks csgrj cukus ds Á;kl ¼jksM eSi½ ns’k esa isVªksy rFkk Mhty dh xq.koÙkk dks csgrj cukus ds fy, vkWVks¶;wy ikWfylh ds uke ns’k esa jksM eSi rS;kj fd;k x;kA blds fy, Jh elgsydj th ds }kjk ,d vkWVks ¶;wy ikWfylh Hkh cuk;h x;h gSA ftlds vuqlkj Hkkjrh; rsy dEifu;ksa us ,d fn;s x;s le;&lkj.kh ds vuqlkj isVªksy rFkk Mhty dh

Vscy&1 Hkkjrh; Mhty fof’k"Vhdj.k IS:2796

1-

?kuRo dfxjk@eh3 150 c

820&800

820&845

820&845

2-

xa/kd ek=k ihih,e vf/kdre

500

350

50

ÛÛ iqjkus iz;ksx esa yk, tkus okys okguksa esa u, fodflr midj.k yxkus ds fy, izksRlkgu ;kstuk ykxw djuk%& vHkh rd ,lh dksbZ iz.kkyh ugha gSA bZa/ku vFkZ O;oLFkk dh ?kks"k.kk%& fdyks ehVj@yhVj ;g tkjh dh tk jgh gS

3-

1- flVsu uEcj U;wure 2- flVsu baMDs l

48 46

51 46

51 46

isVªksy rFkk Mhty 2010

4-

ikWyh lkbZfdfyd gkbZMªkd s kcZu

&

11

11

5-

vklou fjdojh 350 000-0 fjdojh 370 000-0 fjdojh 360 000-0

85 95 &

& & 95

& & 95

Øekad

Hkkjr LVst II

vfHkys{kf.kd

Hkkjr LVst III

Hkkjr LVst IV

Vscy&2 Hkkjrh; isVªksy fof’kf"Vdj.k IS:2796

Øekad

vfHkys{kf.kd

bZdkbZ

Hkkjr LVst II Hkkjr LVst III

Hkkjr LVst IV

1-

?kuRo 15 degoc

ds0 th0@eh3

710&770

720&775

720&775

2-

vklou] fjdojh 70 degoc fjdojh 100 degoc fjdojh 150 degoc fjdojh 180 degoc

izfr’kr izfr’kr izfr’kr izfr’kr

10&45 40&70 & 90

10&45 40&70 75 &

10&45 40&70 75 &

vk;ru

210 2

210 2

210 2

vafre mcky fcUnq vf/kdre jsflM;w vf/kdrd

vk;ru vk;ru vk;ru vk;ru

degoc

3-

fjlpZ vkWdVsu u0 ¼U;wure½

uEcj

88

91

91

4-

xa/kd dqy vf/kdre

ek=k@ihih,e

0-05

150 ih0ih0,e0

50 ih0ih0,e0

5-

ySMa ek=k vf/kdrd

xzke@yhVj

0-013

0-005

0-005

6-

cSfa tu ek=k vf/kdre

vk;ru

&

1

1

xq.koÙkk esa dkQh ifjorZu fd;s gSA ftlls isVªksy rFkk Mhty ls pkfyr okguksa }kjk mRlftZr /kq¡, ls okrkoj.k dkQh LoPN gqvk gSA mlh vkWVks ¶;wy ikWfylh ds vuqlkj gh Hkkjr dh fjQkbujh;k¡ isVªksy rFkk Mhty mRiknu dj jgh gSA blh J`a[kyk esa vÁSy 2010 ls egkuxj rFkk ,u0 lh0 vkj0 esa Hkkjr LVst&IV ¼;wjks IV½ ds vuqlkj isVªksy rFkk Mhty mRiknu fjQkbujh }kjk dj fn;k tk;sxkA ftlesa isVªksy esa lYQj dh ek«kk 50 ih0 ih0 ,e0 rFkk Mhty esa lYQj dh ek«kk 150 ih0 ih0 ,e0 gks tk,xkA Hkkjr esa isVkª y s rFkk Mhty dh xq.koÙkk dks lq/kkjus ds lkFk& lkFk okguksa dh VSDuksyksth ds dke esa lq/kkj fd;s x;s gSA rFkk okguksa esa Á;ksx dh tkus okyh VSDuksyksth dk fodkl ,l0 vkbZ0 ,0 ,e0 ¼SIAM½] ,s0 vkj0 ,s0 vkbZ ¼ARAI½ rFkk Vh0 bZ0 vkj0 vkbZ0 ¼TERI½ ds lkFk feydj fd;k x;k gSA okguksa ds fodkl ds fy, Hkh dkQh [kpZ fd;k x;k gSA

vWkVks ¶;wy ikWfylh ij iqu% fopkj isVkª fs y;e ea«kky; ds fnukad 22 ekpZ 2007 ds funs’Z kkuqlkj vkWVks ¶;wy ikWfylh ij iqu% fopkj djus ds fy, fuEufyf[kr rhu lnL;ksa dh ,d lferh fu;qDr dh xbZ%

1½ ckW;ks Mhty lEesyu] 2005] ubZ fnYyh ÛÛ Jh ,e ch yky] ps;jeSu ,l- ,- lh- ¼SAC½ ÛÛ Jh ds- ,l- ckykje.k] bZ- Mh-] lh-,p-Vh-

70

JoP, July-September 2011

ÛÛ vc rd fd;s x;s lHkh iz;klksa rFkk fodkl ij /;ku nsus ds ckn ,slk ik;k x;k fd 2010 vizy S rd isVkª y s rFkk Mhty xq.koÙkk bl izdkj gksxh s esa ÛÛ Hkkjr LVst&III ¼;wjks III½ lHkh ’kgjksa esa isVkª y lYQj dh ek=k 150 ihih,e cSfa tu esa 1 izfr’kr rFkk Mhty esa lYQj dh ek=k 350 ihih,e gksxh ÛÛ Hkkjr LVst& IV ¼;wjks IV½ 13 pqus gq;s ’kgjksa esa ykxw gksxkA ftlds vuqlkj isVªksy esa lYQj dh ek«kk 50 ih ih ,e rFkk cSUthu dh ek=k 1 ¼,d½ izfr’kr gksxh o Mhty esa lYQj dh ek=k 50 ih ih ,e gksxhA

Hkfo"; ds bZa/ku rFkk oSdfYid bZa/ku Hkkjr LVst&IV ,aM V ¼;wjks IV ,aM V½ vkWVks¶;wy ikWfylh ds vuqlkj cuk;s x;s jksM eSi ds ek/;e ls Hkfo"; esa ns’k ds lHkh Hkkx esa Hkkjr LVst&IV ¼;qjks IV½ ds ckn fofHk™k varjky esa Hkkjr LVst&V ds vuqlkj fjQkbujh esa isVkª y s rFkk Mhty dk mRiknu gksxk ftles cSfa tu o lYQj dh ek=k u ds cjkcj gksxh isVªksfy;e ds HkaMkj flfer gS vkSj blfy, oSdfYid bZa/kuksa dh [kkst nqfu;k Hkj esa tkjh gSA

¼CHT½ ÛÛ MkW- vkj-ds-eYgks=k] bZ- Mh- vkbZ- vkS- lh- vkj ,.M Mh ¼R&D½

Hkkjr esa oSdfYid bZa/ku ds :i esa iz;ksx fd;s tkus okys fofHk™k oSdfYid bZa/kuksa ij dke gks jgk gSA muesa ls izeq[krk gS%&

lfefr us vkWVks ¶;wy ikWfylh dh eq[; flQkfj’kks dk ok;q dh xq.koÙkk ds vk/kkj ij iqu% fopkj fd;k%

ÛÛ ,FkksukWy&xSlksyhu CySaM ÛÛ ck;ks¶;wy&Mhty&ck;ksMhty CySaM ÛÛ xSlh; ¶;wy& && ,y0 ih0 th0 && lh0 ,u0 th rFkk lh0 ,u0 th0 gkbMªkstu feJ.k && Mh0 ,e0 bZ0

ÛÛ Hkkjr LVst 3 ¶;wy dks 13 çeq[k ’kgjksa esa rFkk Hkkjr LVst 2 ¶;wy dks Hkkjr ds lHkh ’kgjksa esa 2005 rd ykxw djuk ÛÛ Hkkjr LVst 4 rFkk Hkkjr LVst 3 ds okguksa esa mRltZu fu;eksa dk Øe’k% 2010 rd ykxw djuk ÛÛ y[kuÅ rFkk ’kksykiqj ’kgjksa esa Hkkjr LVst 4 ¶;wy dkss ykxw djuk ÛÛ Á;ksx esa yk, tkus okys okguksa ds }kjk Ánw"k.k dks de djus ds fy, ih-;q-lh- ¼PUC½ Á.kkyh dks ÁHkkfor djuk rFkk Ánw"k.k QSykus okys okguksa dh igpku djuk% ;g dke vHkh gksuk gS ÛÛ 2005 ls 2010 rd ds okguks dk mRltZu de djus ds fy, mu okguksa dk fufj{k.k rFkk muesa j[k&j[kko%& Á.kkyh dks ykxw djus dh ÁkFkfedrk nsuk%& vHkh rd ;g dk;Z ugha gks jgk gSA ¼iqjkus rFkk [kjkc j[k&j[kko okys okgu vf/kd okrkoj.k nwf"kr djrs gSa½ ÛÛ u, okguksa dh fjeh’ku dks pSd djuk%& vHkh rd ,slh dksbZ Á.kkyh ugha gSA ÛÛ 11 ’kgjksa esa 2005 ls dsVsysfVd duoVZj dh dk;Z {kerk dks pSd djus dh vfuok;Zrk%& vHkh rd ,slh dksbZ Á.kkyh ugha gSA

,FksukWy&xSlksyhu CySaM gekjs ns’k esa ,FksukWy&xSlksyhu CySMa ¼5% rFkk 10%½ ds lkFk dkQh ijh{k.k fd;s tk pqds gSA lHkh ,FksukWy&xSlksyhu CySMa dk ijh{k.k okguksa esa Hkh fd;k tk pqdk gSA rFkk gekjs ns’k esa 5% rFkk 10% ,FksukWy&xSlksyhu CySMa ds fy, Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks us vks0 bZ0 ,e0 ds lkFk feydj mudk fof’kf"Vdj.k rS;kj dj fn;k gSA vf/kdre jkT;ksa esa 5% rFkk 10% ,FksukWy&xSlksyhu CySMa dh vuqefr ns nh x;h gSA xSlksyhu esa ,FksukWy feykus ls xSlksyhu dk vWkdVsu uEcj Hkh c<+ tkrk gS rFkk dkcZu eksuks vWkDlkbM ds mRltZu esa deh vk tkrh gSA

Mhty ck;ksMhty CySaM ck;ksMhty ,d v{k; bZ/a ku gS vkSj fdlh Hkh [kk|

fufgr vkWDlhtu gksrh gSA rFkk lYQj fcYdqy ugh gksrk vkSj blesa mPpdksfV ds lafx/kd ¼yqcfjdSVa ½ xq.k gksrs gSA vrajfufgr vkWDlhtu bls isVkª Ms hty ls vf/kd dk;Zd’q ky bZ/a ku cukrh gSA D;ksfa d mldk flVsu uEcj isVkª Ms hty ls vf/kd gksrk gSA bls fdlh Hkh vuqikr esa isVªksy&Mhty esa feyk;k tk ldrk gSA 20% rd feykus ij batu esa dksbZ Qsj&cny djus dh t:jr ugha gksrhA

;k v[kk| ouLifr rsy ls bls cuk;k tk ldrk gSA ifjogu lSDVj ds fy;s ÅtkZ ds oSdfYid vkSj v{k; Jksr ds :i esa ck;ksMhty dk fodkl vkRefuHkZjrk dh fn’kk esa jk"Vª ds iz;klksa esa egÙoiw.kZ cu x;k gSA ;g ÅtkZ lqj{kk dh j.kfufr dk ,d egÙoiw.kZ ?kVd gSA

ck;ksMhty ÛÛ ;g ,d ,LVj vk/kkfjr vWkDlhtuÑr bZa/ku gS tks fdlh Hkh ouLifr rsy [kk| ;k v[kk| ;k i’kq pchZ ls cuk;k tkrk gSA ÛÛ ck;ksMhty mRizsjd ds :i esa fdlh vEy ;k vk/kkj dh mifLFkfr esa ouLifr rsy vkSj vYdksgy ds chp ,d ljy jklk;fud vHkfØ;k ls curk gSA ÛÛ blesa Hkkj ds vuqlkj yxHkx 10% vraj-

i;kZoj.kh; fpark,¡ ÛÛ ck;ksMhty igyk vkSj ,dek«k oSdfYid bZa/ku gS ftlds ÅRltZu ifj.kke vkSj LokLF; ij laHkkfor izHkkoksa dk iwjk ewY;kadu LoPN ok;q vf/kfu;e /kkjk 211 ¼ch½ ds rgr vesfjdh

i;kZoj.k laLdj.k ,tsalh ¼bZ0 ih0 ,0½ dks izLrqr fd;k x;k gSa bu dk;ZØeksa esa bZ0 ih0 ,0 }kjk bZa/kuksa vkSj bZa/ku esa fy,s tkus okys inkFkksZa dh tk¡p dh lokZf/kd dM+h ijh{kk ’kkfey gSaA ÛÛ ck;ksMhty mRltZu esa ikyh ,VkseSfVd gkbMªksdkcZu ih0 ,0 ,p0 rFkk ukbVªsM ih0 ,0 ,p0 ;kSfxdksa dk de Lrj gksrk gS] ftUgsa laHkkfor dSalj tud ;kSfxdksa ds :i esa igpkuk x;k gSA ck;ksMhty isVªksfy;e Mhty ls tqMs+ LokLF; laca/kh [krjksa dks de nsrk gSA vius can dkcZu pØ ¼dkcZu lo;kstu½ ds dkj.k ck;ksMhty dkcZu&MkbZvkWDlkbM ¼CO2½ dk 78% de mRltZu djrk gSA ;g ,d v{k; bZa/ku gS vkSj tSo vi’;d rFkk fof’k"Vrk jgrh gSA iSVªksMhty dh rqyuk esa ck;ksMhty mRltZu%&

Vscy&3 Mhty ekudksa dk fodkl IS:1460 Mhty fof’kf"Vdj.k fodkl ds Hkkjr esa c<rs dne ¼Hkkjrh; ekud 1460½

iSjkehVj

1974

lhVsu uEcj U;wure

42

1980

mRltZu dk izdkj

1995

42

45

2005 ¼Hkkjr LVst III½

2000 48

& 366 &

& 366 &

& 366 &

350 & 370

350 & 360

xa/kd] ek=k vf/kdre

1-0

1-0

1-0 ¼0-25½

0-25 ¼0-05½

0-05 ¼0-035½

ih0 ,0 ,p0] vk;ru Áfr’kr & vf/kdre

&

&

&

11

dqy lSMhesVa ek=k@100 feyh

1-0 ¼1½

1-6 ¼2½

1-6 ¼2½

2-5 ¼3½

Vscy&4 isVªksy ekudks dk fodkl xSlksyhu of’kf"Vdj.k fodkl ds Hkkjr esa c<+rs dne ¼Hkkjrh; ekud 2796½

iSjkehVj

1964

1971

1984

1995

ch 100

ch 20

dkcZu eksuks vWkDlkbM

44

9

gkbMªkd s kcZu

68

14

inkFkZ d.k

40

&8

dkfy[k

50

20

iksyh ,jksefS Vd gkbMªkd s kcZu

80

13

ukbVªkts u vkWDlkbM

6

1

lYQj

100

20

51

vklou 0c vf/kdre 85 Áfr’kr vk;ru 90 Áfr’kr vk;ru 95 Áfr’kr vk;ru

1-0 ¼1½

deh izfr’kr

2000

2008 ¼Hkkjr LVst III½

2008 ¼Hkkjr LVst IV½

ch 100% 100 izfr’kr ck;ksMhty ch 20% 20 izfr’kr ck;ksMhty feyk gqvk isVªksMhty

,y0 ih0 th0 ¼LPG½

vkdVsu uEcj U;wure

83

83@93

87@93

87@93 ¼87 ULP½

88

91@95

91@95

,uvks ukWd baMDs l U;wure

&

&

&

82

84

81@85

81@85

vklou vf/kdre

U;wure fjdojh ¼70]125 ,oa 180 000-0 ij½

U;wure ,oa vf/kdre fjdojh ¼70]100 ,oa 150 degoc ij½

xa/kd] ek=k% vf/kdre

0-25

0-25

0-25

0-2 0-15 ¼ULP½

0-10@ 0-05

0-05@ 0-015

0-005

ySMa ek=k xzke@ yhVj vf/kdrd

0-56

0-56@0-8 0

0-56@ 0-80

0-013@0@80 @0-56@0-15

0-013

0-005

0-005

;g ,d vPNk xSlh; bZ/a ku gSA orZeku le; esa okguksa esa bldk iz;ksx fd;k tk jgk gSA bldk iz;ksxs djus ls okguksa }kjk tks ,fe’ku gksrk gSA mlls okrkoj.k de nqf"kr gksrk gSA orZeku le; esa Hkkjr ljdkj ds vuqlkj ,y0 ih0 th0 dk iz;ksx okgu fu;e ds vuqlkj ekU; gSA Hkkjr esa vks0 bZ0 ,e0 us ,y0 ih0 th0 ls pyus okys okguksa dk fuekZ.k ’kq: dj fn;k gSA ;g okgu nksuksa bZ/a kuksa ¼isVªky s rFkk ,y0 ih0 th0½ ls pyk;s tk ldrs gSA ,slk ekuk x;k gS fd æO; bZ/a kuksa dh rqyuk esa xSlh; bZ/a ku ds iz;ksx esa ykus ls okrkoj.k de nqf"kr gksrk gSA

csta hu vk;ru% vf/kdre

&

&

&

&

5]3]1

1

1

lh0 ,u0 th0 ¼CNG½

,sjksefS VªDl vk;ru% vf/kdre

&

&

&

&

&

42

35

vksyfQful vk;ru% vf/kdre

&

&

&

&

&

21@18

21@18

isVkª fs y;e bZ/a ku ¼Mhty rFkk isVkª y s ½ dk ,d oSdfYid lh0 ,u0 th0 Hkh gSA ftldks iz;ksx esa ykus ls okrkoj.k esa dkQh lq/kkj gqvk gSA Hkkjr ljdkj us lHkh eSVkª s ’kgjksa esa dsoy lh0 ,u0 th0 ls pyus okys okguksa dks vkKk nh gSA lh0 ,u0 th0 okguksa ls mRlftZr /kq,¡ esa CO, HC rFkk PM dh ek=k dkQh de gksrh gSA JoP, July-September 2011

71

Mh0 ,e0 bZ0 ¼DME½

;g Hkh ,d xSlh; bZ/a ku gS tks ,y0 ih0 th0 ds leku gksrk gSA bldks Hkh okguksa esa bZ/a ku ds :i esa iz;ksx fd;k tk ldrk gSA Mh0 ,e0 bZ0 ds vf/kdrj HkkSfrd xq.k ,y0 ih0 th0 feyrs gSA Mh0 ,e0 bZ0 dks ,y0 ih0 th0 ds lkFk 20 izfr’kr feykdj Hkh okguksa esa bldk iz;ksx bZ/a ku ds :i esa fd;k tk ldrk gSA Mh0 ,e0 bZ0 dk lhVsu vf/kd gksrk gSA rFkk ;g bZ/a ku lYQj jfgr gSA ftlls okrkoj.k de nqf"kr gksrk gSA

okrkoj.k ,oa ¶;wy xq.koÙkk ;s lp gS fd fjQkbujh }kjk fd;s x;s iz;klksa rFkk vkWVks ¶;wy ikWfylh ds }kjk cuk;s x;s jksMeSi ds vuqlkj ns’k esa isVªksy rFkk Mhty dh xq.koÙkk dkQh csgrj gks x;h gSA isVªksy rFkk Mhty esa ,sls ;kSfxdks dh ek=k rFkk iznw"k.k QSykus okys lyQj ,oa cSathu dh ek=k Hkkjr LVsV&V ds vuqlkj 10 ih0 ih0 ,e0 gks tk;sxh ftlds fy;s fjQkbujh dks dkQh [kpkZ Hkh ogu djuk iMsxkA blds lkFk&lkFk okguksa esa iz;ksx dh tkus okyh VSDuksykSth dk Hkh fodkl gqvkA ,slk ekuk tkrk gS fd vkus okys le; esa isVªksy rFkk Mhty esa lYQj dh ek=k ds 10 ih0 ih0 ,e0 ds gks tkus ls okrkoj.k dkQh vPNk gksxk rFkk dgk tk ldrk gS fd okguksa esa iz;ksx fd;s tkus okys bZa/ kuksa esa tks mRltZu gksxk mlesa dksbZ Hkh ,slk rRo ugh gksxk tks fdlh izdkj dk okrkoj.k dks nqf"kr djsxkA ml le; ¶;wy&U;wVy ds uke ls tkuk tk;sxkA oSdfYid rFkk xSlh; ¶;wy dks iz;ksx esa ykus ls okrkoj.k esa isVªksy rFkk Mhty ls mRiUu gksus okys izeq[k PM, NOX, SOX, CO2 dh ek=k esa dkQh deh vkrh gSA ,slk ik;k x;k gS fd mijksDr lHkh iz;klksa ls bZa/ku xq.koÙkk dkQh vPNh gksrh gSA ysfdu fQj Hkh okrkoj.k ,dne LoPN ugh gks ik jgk gSA

okgu esa iz;ksx fd;s tkus okys isVªksy rFkk Mhty ls FkksM+k cgqr okrkoj.k nqf"kr gksrk gSA fofHkUu v/;;uksa esa ,slk ik;k x;k gS fd LoPN bZ/a ku vxj iqjkus okguksa esa iz;ksx fd;k tkrk gS rFkk iqjkus okguksa dh tk¡p&iM+rky le;&le; ij ugh dh tkrh gS rks mu okguksa ds mRltZu ls Hkh okrkoj.k nqf"kr gksrk gSA gekjs ns’k esa fofHkUUk ekxksZ ij lM+d dh n’kk Bhd ugh gS ftlds dkj.k Hkkjh la[;k esa okguksa dks pyus esa vf/kd le; yxrk gSA rFkk okgu lM+d ij [kM+s jgus ls Hkh dkQh mRltZu gksrk gS ftlls Hkh okrkoj.k nqf"kr gksrk gSA ,slk ik;k x;k gS fd isVkª y s o Mhty esa nwljh phtksa ds feykoV ls Hkh bZ/a ku dh xq.koÙkk [kjkc gksrh gSA ftlds ifj.kke Lo:i bZ/a ku dh xq.koÙkk vPNh gksus ds ckotwn okrkoj.k mruk LoPN ugh gks ik jgk gSA LoPN okrkoj.k ds fy, t:jh gS fd bZa/kuksa dh xq.koÙkk ds lq/kkj ds lkFk&lkFk%&

ÛÛ okguksa ds ;krk;kr dk lqfuf’pr izca/k ÛÛ bZa/kuksa esa nwljs oLrqvkas dh feykoV ÛÛ okguksa dk ,d fuf’pr le; vuqlkj j[kj[kko o fufj{k.k djukA ÛÛ mijksDr lHkh ij Hkh /;ku nsuk t:jh gSA

lh0 ,u0 th0& gkbMªkstu CYkSaM ¼CNG-

Hydrogen Blend½

lh0 ,u0 th0 rFkk gkbMªkts u ds CySMa dk iz;ksx okrkoj.k dks de nqf"kr djrk gSA Hkkjr esa bl dke dh izxfr ds fy, bafM;u vWk;y dkWiksjZ ’s ku vkj ,aM Mh lsUVj dks uksMy ,tsUlh ds :i esa pquk x;k gSA bl lh0 ,u0 th0& gkbZMkª ts u fefJr bZ/a ku ij vkj0 ,aM lsUVj esa dkQh iz;ksx fd;s tk jgs gSA bu lHkh fd;s tk jgs dk;ksZ ls ,slk vuqeku gS fd vkxs vkus okys le; esa ge lHkh dks izn"q k.k jfgr okrkoj.k feysxkA

lkjka’k ns’k esa isVªksy rFkk Mhty dh xq.koÙkk dks csgrj cukus ds fy,s vkWVks¶;wy ikWfylh ds uke ls ,d jksM eSi rS;kj fd;k x;k gSA ftlds vuqlkj le;&le; ij fjQkbZujh }kjk isVªksy rFkk Mhty dk mRiknu gks jgk gSA vkWVks¶;wy ikWfylh ds vuqlkj ns’k esa vizSy 2010 ls 13 pqus gq,s ’kgjksa esa Hkkjr LVsV&IV ds vuqlkj isVªksy rFkk Mhty dk mRiknu gksxkA blds vuqlkj isVªksy esa lYQj dh ek=k 150@50 ihih,e rFkk cSUthu dh ek=k 1 izfr’kr ,oa Mhty esa lYQj dh ek=k 350@50 ihih,e gksxh bZa/kuksa dks okgu esa iz;ksx djus ls okrkoj.k de nqf"kr gksxkA ,slk ik;k x;k gS fd oSdfYid bZa/kuksa ds iz;ksx ls Hkh okrkoj.k de nqf"kr gksrk gSA bZa/ku dh xq.koÙkk dks csgrj cukus ds lkFk&lkFk ;g Hkh vko’;d gS fd lHkh okguksa dk j[kj[kko Hkh ,d le;kuqlkj gksrs jguk pkfg;sA ns’k esa lM+dksa dh n’kk Hkh Bhd gksuh pkfg, ,oa bZa/kuksa esa fdlh Hkh izdkj dh feykoV dks Hkh jksduk pkfg,A mijksDr lHkh iz;klksa dks djus ls ,oa lYQj o jcSZuftu dh ek=k uk ds cjkcj gksus okys bZa/kuksa ¼¶;wy U;wVy½ ds iz;ksx ls okrkoj.k nqf"kr ugh gksxkA Hkkjr LVst V ds isVªksy rFkk Mhty esa lYQj dh ek=k 10 ihih,e gksxh ftlls okrkoj.k uk ds cjkcj nqf"kr gksxkA ml le; ;g isVªksfy;e bZa/ku ¶;wy U;wVy ds uke ls tkuk tk,sxkA bu lHkh fd;s tk jgs iz;klksa ls ,slk vuqeku gS fd vkus okys le; esa ge lHkh dks ,d iznw"k.k jfgr okrkoj.k feysxkA

14 flracj fgUnh fnol 72

JoP, July-September 2011

Peterotech activities

First IDT meet Petrotech Society in association with Institute of Drilling Technology, Dehradun organised a two day seminar on "Drilling Technology" from 25th to 26thâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; April 2011 at Institute of Drilling Technology, Dehradun. The course was inaugurated on morning of 25th April in the Conference Hall of IDT. Mr A.K.Hazarika, CMD, ONGC was the Chief Guest and Mr U.N.Bose, Director(T&FS), ONGC, the Guest of Honour at the inaugural function. Also present was Mr Ashok Anand, Secretary General, Petrotech Organised for the first time by IDT, the two day seminar, was attended by 45 participants which included senior executives from Upstream & Downstream, Oil & Gas Industry and Professors & lecturers from prestigious technical institutes and universities involved in academic and research work. The objective of such seminars is an endeavor to bring the teaching faculty and practicing managers together to share their knowledge, experience and expertise in the various fields of the hydrocarbon industry.

Mr Sarpal, Secretary Petrotech Society, extended welcome to the Chief Guest, Guest of Honour and to the participants and also to the select gathering of distinguished invitees consisting of the august members of the faculty of the course.

In his key note address, Mr Shailendra Dutta, GGM and Head of Institute addressed the participants and gave a brief on the various activities carried out by IDT. Mr Dutta, appraised about the initiative taken by ONCC, to strengthen academia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; industry ties, and the efforts taken by IDT to enroll fertile mind to undertake research and development activities that serve effectively the contemporary and upcoming needs of the E&P industry. HOI-IDT briefed about the contents of the course, he said that emphasis has been given on modern aspects in area of Drilling, Drilling Fluid & Cementing Technology with unique case studies. The two day course has been designed & aimed to expose participants from academia and also from the industry to the principles of modern practices of Drilling Technology as well as their applications.

Mr U.N.Bose, Director(T&FS), ONGC and Guest of Honour, brought out the demand of oil field executives required by the industry globally in the coming decade. He brought a clear picture of the responsibility that rests with the academia towards producing qualified engineers for the Upstream industry of petroleum. Mr Bose said that Oil & Gas Industry uses technology of 21st Century, akin to the Space

Industry. He cited the example of LWD, where real time data is retrieved and interpreted for instant decision making. Mr Bose appraised the gathering of the present and future energy need of the country and the various initiatives taken by ONGC in this respect. He stressed on the importance of Technology and the people behind the technology.

Director(T&FS), hoped that the academia from the country would go enriched from here and work to strengthen and grow their capabilities and infrastructure to educate and train the voluminous manpower requirement of the E&P industry.

Mr A.K.Hazarika, CMD, ONGC at the outset complimented IDT & Petrotech society for organizing such a useful seminar. In his inaugural address, Mr Hazarika also spoke about the importance of modern technologies in efficiently exploring petroleum as days of easy oil are gone. In E&P industry major cost is incurred in drilling, which includes 60% of the total cost, unless we drill we cannot discover hydrocarbons no matter any amount of exploration is done.

He noted that academic and industry collaboration for the advancement of science has a long track record of success.

He cited on various issues & how this unique but complementary contributions and perspectives of each can create a fruitful synergism. He advised that institutes includes those subjects in their curriculum as per requirement of the present day. CMD, ONGC admonish the academia and requested that they are not only to generate degree holders but also to produce technically competent & qualified personnel, as ONGC needs lots of manpower to carry out the mammoth task of making the country energy secured.

After the vote of thanks by Mr Ashok Anand, Secretary General, Petrotech Society and the inaugural tea, backed by visionary addresses during the inaugural session the technical sessions planned for the seminar began in accordance with the programme.

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22nd Governing Council Meeting of Petrotech The 22nd Meeting of Governing Council was held on 25th July 2011 at 1830 hrs in Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The status of action taken on the points discussed in the previous meeting was deliberated by the members and various suggestions were given for future activities.

Election of Chairman Petrotech and Governing Council Members from amongst the Corporate members were also held. Petrotech also bid a farewell to Mr R S Sharma, former Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC & Chairman Petrotech and Mr J L Raina, former Secretary General Petrotech and also placed on record their appreciation for the contribution and guidance provided by them.

Climate Change Science, Sustainability and Low Carbon Initiatives The 3rd Seminar on “Climate Change” was organized by Petrotech in collaboration with ONGC on 18th-19th May 2011 at Hotel The Claridges, New Delhi. 62 participants from major oil and gas companies participated in the seminar. Mr Ashok Anand, Director General, Petrotech welcomed the august gathering present on the occasion.

During his welcome address he emphasized that the solution to climate change problem lies in efficient use of energy which is available and new technologies can help to solve the problem. Mr A B Chakraborty, GGM-Chief, CMG ONGC during his address mentioned that the information and knowledge about climate change science and sustainable development is being shared through this forum. He also apprized that we began with understanding about climate change science and about its data followed by what is being done globally in terms of negotiations and what are the carbon markets?

Mr Anand Kumar, Director Petrotech, in his keynote, illustrated different people define sustainability differently but we all would define it similarly once we define the word ‘business’. He also expressed Gandhi Ji’s views about business:

74

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“Business is an opportunity to serve the people and the society better” Once the business is carried out with this objective, then the same is sustainable. Any business would never be sustainable if its objective is only to make profit. In the past few decades the Business, all over world has undergone paradigm change from supply driven to demand driven, where the customer has choice. Three factors have been responsible for the same: (i) Opening up of Economy (ii) The rise in Population and (iii) rising number of informed Millennial (the younger generation of 21st Century). The rising population with its increasing income and awareness, have made the whole business demand driven.

Mr A M K Sinha, Director (P&BD), IOCL firstly conveyed his deep sense of appreciation to Petrotech and ONGC for having chosen the topic “Climate Change Science, Sustainability and Low Carbon Initiatives” which is an extremely contemporary subject to talk about. As a practicing manager, one would imagine the business issues for today and tomorrow will be increasingly fed, on one hand by commercial incentives and on the other hand by environmental concerns.

Ever since 1987 sustainable Development was drawn defining “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. However this apparently lucid definition of ‘Sustainable development’ seems to leave a situation of potential conflict between the present and future generations.

Peterotech activities

Today’s business is increasingly facing problem which are spilling over the geographical boarder and thereby in meeting the needs of today, we are destroying the ability for future generations to meet their requirements A sustainable business practice will therefore be committed to create a positive impact on the society in which we operate.

Sixth Summer School Programme on “Petroleum Refining and Petrochemicals” at IiPM The sixth edition of the Summer School Programme on “Petroleum Refining and Petrochemicals” was inaugurated by Mr. RS Butola, Chairman, on 6th June 2010 at IiPM in presence of Dr. R. K. Malhotra, Director (R&D), Mr. Sudhir Bhalla, Dir (HR), Mr. Ashok Anand, Director General, Petrotech, Mr. Anand Kumar, Director, Petrotech and Mr N. K. Bansal, ED (IiPM).

The summer school programme is a unique platform provided by Petrotech IndianOil’s R&D Centre and IiPM for exchanging views, experiences and perceptions between academia and Industry and also giving an understanding and a clear vision of the requirements of the hydrocarbon Industry to academia. The programme was attended by 20 Professors / Lecturers of Chemical Engineering from different Institutions in India and 20 professionals from different Refineries and R&D Centre. The programme concluded on 10th June, 2011.

cial address on the occasion. While welcoming the participants of the programme, he expressed that Industry and Academia should work in collaborative mode to develop a synergic relationship leading to knowledge sharing and ultimately development of cutting edge technologies for the Industry. He describes this Summer School as the testimony of such relationship where more and more interests showed by academia for such programmes. He requested the academia to take maximum advantage of Sabbatical Policy of IOCL to increase interaction between academia and industry. While concluding his address, he emphasized that in today’s business scenario, people’s capability is the only differentiating factor for two organizations in same business and also requested academia to change the curriculum as per the need of the industry so that Industry can get customized manpower with required competencies and skill.

Shri R. K. Malhotra, Director (R & D), deliberated about the IndianOil’s own initiative of Industry Academia interactions. Describing the present and future challenges before the downstream oil industry, he concluded his address by emphasizing the importance of Industry Academia interaction through such programmes as well as a sabbatical approach.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Butola, advised that one should try to make the processes efficient so that profitability increases leading to definite sustainability. He advised the academia to come forward and work shoulder to shoulder with the industry to find answers to the challenges that the industry is presently facing such as reduction in Carbon footprint which will certainly be one of the governing factors influencing technology selection for future refining processes, up-gradation of

Mr N K Bansal, welcomed Chairman, IOCL & all other dignitaries present on the occasion. Mr Bansal was very appreciative of Petrotech/IOCL R&D for initiative taken for organizing such Summer School on Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals in association with IIPM. Mr Anand Kumar, who conceptualised and introduced the first Summer School in 2006, explained its aims and objectives. He further introduced to the Summer School while addressing the august gathering and faculty from different technical institutes. He also appraised about the activities being undertaken by Petrotech to bridge the gap between two pillars of the Society i.e. Academia & Industry.

Shri Sudhir Bhalla, Director (HR), also delivered his speJoP, July-September 2011

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Peterotech activities

the last drop of crude to quality product, development of catalysts indigenously to reduce dependency on the other part of the globe as well as reducing processing cost, development of processing capacity of worst quality opportunity crude oils in our refineries, development of the capability to produce catalysts with performance testing, etc.

A very special moment was created during the inaugural session when IndianOil’s former Executive Director (Refining Technology), Dr. Sobhan Ghosh, an eminent Chemical Engineer and eminent Research Scientist, was honoured along with his wife with shawl, flower bouquet and memento by Mr. Butola, for his outstanding contribution to the core business of the Corporation.

Mr Ashok Anand while proposing Vote of Thanks, congratulated Mr R S Butola, for taking over as Chairman IOCL and expressed his gratitude towards IiPM for hosting such an important summer school on Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals in their premises.

4th Industry Educational Tour to University of Alberta Canada 10th-17th July 2011 Petrotech entered into an MoU with University of Alberta Canada in December 2007 for establishing a frame work for mutual cooperation. Under the MoU, besides faculty exchange and feedback received from the participants of three industry educational tour to UoA, Petrotech has organized the 4th Industry Educational Tour to Alberta, Canada held from 10th to 17th July 2011 on the Theme “A Focus on Energy Techno logy Futures” A group of 23 senior executives from major oil & gas companies like ONGC, IOCL, HPCL, EIL & GAIL and Director from RGIPT, Rae Bareli participated in the tour.

There were 16 sessions and 22 speakers covered various session on topics • Global priorities and challenges • World Oil and Gas Scenario, with a special focus on the global picture of unconventional oil and gas plays • Heavy Oil, Availability and Economics • Overview of the Downstream/Upgrading and Refining Side of Heavy Oils • New Research in 3-C and 3-D Seismic Modelling and Analysis

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JoP, July-September 2011

• Canadian examples of technology, and collaborative development in unconventional plays • Canadian examples of technology, and collaborative

development in unconventional plays Shale gas: • Fracture Treatment Design and Economic Optimization of Frac Spacing along a Horizontal Lateral; • Completion Strategies • Advances in Pipeline, Transportation and Technology • Advances in drilling technology • Gas Production, with a Focus on Unconventional/ Shale Gas Plays---Status, Prospects, and Challenges • Gas hydrates: the status of research, and the way forward • Applied Energy Research, Collaborative R&D— prospects and offerings • Reservoir Engineering and Enhanced Oil Recovery: advances and state of art in technology and practices, • Enhanced Oil Recovery in Oil Sands Processing • Challenges of oil refining, with particular reference to heavy oil and fuel quality • Environment and Safety: Issues in Heavy Oil, Shale Oil, and Shale Gas Production • Earth Sciences---new avenues for research and innovation(Basement 05) • Reducing Carbon Footprints (Basement 09)Immediately adjacent Besides the above classroom programmes the group visited the following industries • • • • •

Enbridge (pipeline technology) at Calgary Encana (Gas Production) Dow Chemicals at Edmonton Suncore Refinery at Edmonton Group also visited Fort McMurray a representative of Syncrude took them for a trip of Syncrude mining operations and Certificates were distributed to all the

Peterotech activities participants by Dr Thomas Scott on completion of the programme.

Mr Ashok Anand, Director General Petrotech went prior to the group to finalize the programme. He also had a meeting with Mrs Indira Samarasekera, President University of Alberta, Canada. Certain revision and inclusion in the MoU between Petrotech and UoA which were discussed and agreed to which was signed in December 2007.

eral, PETROTECH and Dr R R Singh GM Chemistry KDMIPE were on the dais. Among the august audience Mr S K Das ED-HOI, GEOPIC as well as Mr S K Dutta ED-HOI, IDT and all the Group Heads of KDMIPE Were also present.

Since the course began on 5th September (Teacher’s Day) Mr P K Bhowmick paid his special homage to Dr

Mr Anand Kumar, Director Petrotech joined the group during the inaugural session of the 4th Industry Educational Tour at Edmonton and highlighted the activites of Petrotech and apprised about the forthcoming 10th International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition being held from 14th-17th October 2012.

He had discussions with various faculty of the U0A, and found tremendous opportunities to work together adding greater value to the MOU between Petrotech & UoA. He also mentioned a plan could be worked out for visits of some of globally know energy and corporate affairs experts of UoA to India, and having sessions with the CEOs, Govt officials and veterans of IndianOil Industry and looked into the details of a T&D programme for the GM, ED and Director level people from oil Industry.

Dr Edy Wong, Asst Dean, Centre for International Business Studies; Dr. Joseph Doucet, Natural Resources and Energy Chair, School of Business; Dr. William McCaffrey, Dep’t of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Mr David Potter (Director, Integrated Petroleum Geosciences Graduate Program); Mr Anand Kumar, Director, PETROTECH were also present during the inaugural session of the tour.

7th Proficiency Course on Modern Practices in Petroleum Exploration

S Radhakrishnan on Teacher’s Day and started his inaugural address with memorable quotation of Dr S Radhakrishnan, one of the most distinguished diplomats, scholars and teachers of India, apart from being the first Vice President and the second President of the country.

“We must dare to think unthinkable thoughts” We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think what no one else had thought. He expressed this should be the mantra of all the explorers. He also mentioned that the course has been designed to familiarize the participants with the latest technology advancements and modern practices in E&P sector. To facilitate learning visit to various laboratories of ONGC have been planned to get hands on experience of problem solving. Mr Bhowmick finished his speech

5th-9th September 2011 at KDMIPE-ONGC Dehradun

The 7th Proficiency Course on Modern Practices in Petroleum Exploration jointly organized by PETROTECH and KMDIPE-ONGC Dehradun. The course was attended by 33 high skilled representatives of prestigious institutes like IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IIT BHU, NGRI, MIT Pune, ISM Dhanbad, Cotton College Guwahati, University of Caluctta, UPES, RGIPT Rae Bareli, PDPU Gandhi Nagar, Osmania University, BSIP Lucknow and DIbrugarh University. 20 Executives from major oil and gas companies like IOCL and Oil attended the above course.

Mr P K Bowmick ED (R&D) –HOI, KMDIPE, Mr S N Singh IPS ED-Chief Security, Mr Ashok Anand Director Gen-

During his visit to university of Alberta, Mr Anand Kumar, Dir Petrotech, interacted with Group of Indian MBA Students at the UoA Business School, on 15th, July'11. Mr Kumar, covering various topics ranging from the Energy scenario in India, opportunities and requirements of Indian Energy Industry from Business school. Answering questions from the students he also dwelt upon global and Indian oil & gas scenario, and also explainable to them vision, mission and role of Petrotech.

JoP, July-September 2011

77

Peterotech activities with few lines of one of his favourite singers Shri Bhupen Hazarika. In his first few lines of his famous Song “Ami ek jajabor, prithibi amake apon koreche, ami bhulechi nijer ghor” meaning, “I am a bohemian, the world has embraced me and I have forgotten my home”. He expressed his belief an explorer must have a zeal of a bohemian.

Mr S N Singh IPS ED Chief Security talked elaborately about the importance of security aspects for oil installations in India. Dr R R Singh introduced the participants about the orientation of the course alongwith the contents. Mr Ashok Anand talked about the independence of man- machine relationship. the weak long programme was coordinated by Dr P N Kapoor, EA to ED R&D KDMIPE-ONGC. The following topics were covered besides the visit to laboratories, Subir Raha Museum and Geological Site visits.

ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.

Visit to Geophysics Division Visit to Subir Raha Oil Museum, Tel Bhawan Visit to Geochemistry Laboratories Visit to Basin Research Group Visit to GEOPIC Visit to Geological Sites Visit to Institute of Drilling Technology (IDT)

South West Research Institute, US Texas

Topics :

i. ii.

iii.

iv. v. vi. vii.

viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv.

xvi. xvii.

Visits:

i.

78

Petroleum Exploration: Global and National Scenario Remote Sensing Techniques in Petroleum Exploration Sedimentary Processes, Environments and Formation of Different Lithotypes and Lithofacies and Sedimentological Techniques of Clastic and Carbonate Rocks as Applied in Hydrocarbon Exploration Biostratigraphy and Palynological Techniques Petroleum Origin and Accumulation Principles and Classification and Principles of Geochemical Methods of Petroleum Exploration Gravity and Magnetic Methods in Petroleum Exploration Fundamental Principles of Reflection and Refraction Seismic Surveys and Modern Practices of Data Acquisition for Various Types of 2-D Seismic surveys including, Multi Component Surveys Various Kinds of VSP surveys and 4-D Surveys for onshore and offshore areas Modern Practices of Seismic Data Processing for Various Kinds of 2-D, 3-D and 4 Surveys including VSP survey data Shale Gas Exploration and Exploitation Modern Practices of Seismic Data Interpretation for Various Kinds of Seismic Surveys Modern Practice of Coal Bed Methane Exploration and Development Natural Gas Hydrate Exploration Petroleum Systems Modeling – A Risk Assessment Tool Modern Practices in Reservoir Engineering Modern Practices of Well Log Interpretation for Petrophysical Characteristics, Fluid Saturations, and Geological Characteristics ( Lithology, Depositional Environments and Facies and Delineation Dips) Principles of Sequence Stratigraphy and Petroleum Systems in Sequence Stratigraphic Frame Work Petroleum Exploration in Frontier Basins Visit to Geology Laboratories

JoP, July-September 2011

Mr Anand Kumar, Director Petrotech was invited by the South West Research Institute (SWRI), one of premier independent research organisation of US, based in San Antonio, Texas, on 9th August, 2011. This self financed R&D institution has turnover of US $ 500 million last year. They work very closely with industry and academia in providing solutions and also developing new technology and tools. Each department of this institute is autonomous and self sustained, under the holding apex management group, headed by a CEO. Mr Kumar, interacted with over 30 scientists of SWRI, individually and collectively, and emphasised on the need for SWRI people to visit and conduct awareness programmes in India, which they highly appreciated.

Industry Academia Interface

Director General, PETROTECH addressed the gathering during the Industry Academia Interface held at IT BHU

2nd Petrorech Subir Raha Memorial Lecture Nobel laureate Dr RK Pachauri, DG TERI and Chairman IPCC delivered the 2nd Subir Raha Memorial Lecture on 2nd September, 2011, at NDMC Convention Centre. The text of his speech is on page 16.

Petrotech Petrotech is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. It was founded by distinguished members representing the entire spectrum of the hydrocarbon industry. The Governing Council of the society is well represented by the multinational, private sector and major public sector Oil Association and its Bye-laws. Petrotech has 33 corporate members, 11 institutional members and 8 student chapters.

Petrotech

601-603, Tolstoy House, Tolstoy Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001 Phones +91 11 2335 4002 - 05 Fax +91 11 2335 4001 Email info@petrotechsociety.org, petrotechsociety@vsnl.net Web www.petrotechsociety.org