The Barge is Back

A couple weeks ago we talked about the extreme growth in the U.S. oil and gas industry due to the fracking revolution that unearthed a plethora of natural gas and shale oil across North America and how it gave rise to some little known players in the industry falling under the midstream sector umbrella. The increase gave way to constrained infrastructure problems (how do we transport all this fracked energy??) which has forced refiners to think outside the box…in other words, the barge is back! 

Monitoring the Midstream

Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce. The production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry in the United States.

A Service Perspective on Upgrades

For the past month we’ve been talking all about upgrading an LFL System. We’ve touched upon the life expectancy of an older system, using the most up-to-date advancements in both software and hardware platforms, operating under the safest conditions possible and even addressed common problems that plague an older system in harsh industrial environments. 

Does your High Temperature Process Need an LFL Upgrade?

Due to the nature of high temperature processes, those operating above 200°C, some older model LFL Systems have a life expectancy of 10-15 years. In critical applications like these, it is essential to ensure that the LFL System is up to date and fully operational, if not, it might be time for an upgrade.

There are 2 common areas of the LFL System that are often affected by the inherent demands of running a process at high temperatures: