Emissions and Air Quality Implications of Upstream and Midstream Oil and Gas Operations in Mexico

Mexico approved amendments to its constitution in December 2013 that initiated transformational changes to its energy sector. This study developed a 2016 bottom-up emissions inventory for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from upstream and midstream sector sources, including onshore and offshore well sites, gas flaring, natural gas processing facilities, and natural gas compressor stations, throughout Mexican basins. Crude oil storage tanks at onshore oil well sites and venting and fugitive sources at offshore oil production sites were the primary sources of VOC emissions. Key contributions to NOx, CO, and PM2.5 emissions were from internal combustion engines at offshore oil well sites and midstream operations. SO2 emissions were associated with onshore and offshore gas flaring and boilers and process heaters at natural gas processing facilities. Application of the inventory with the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) indicated that oil and gas production operations could contribute to ozone and PM2.5 concentrations in Mexican and U.S. states under favorable transport patterns. This study provides a foundation for assessing the implications of Mexico’s future energy policies on emissions and domestic and cross-border air quality and public health.

Firefighting Drones - A Safer & Efficient Technology to Confront Industrial Fires

Objectives/Scope This paper presents the variety of possibilities that this new technology can offer and how we can apply those technologies to optimize our HSE and take preventive measures that will be economically and humane solutions to crises. New technology, including Artificial Intelligence & Robots, does not necessarily mean it will replace human jobs and human judgment but will be used as tools to minimize hazards in critical situations and helps to solve the problems in a faster and efficient way. Methods, Procedures, Process The recommended technology to fight fire in hazardous zones can be described as a “firefighting drone.” This drone can be considered a faster and safer approach for fire suppression that can respond to any fire alarms and fly in narrow places inside the live plant, crude oil storage tanks, and navigate quickly to exact fire location without any fear of crashing it to anything and eliminates the risk of reaching high rise buildings where it is not secured and has low visibility. One such method is a firefighting drone that carries fire extinguisher balls, where it mainly consists of dry powders that contain melamine phosphate as an extinguishing component. This extinguishing ball works as a fire auto hydrant that is attached to the drone. This mechanism helps the drone carry the fire extinguisher balls to any place and throw the ball into the fire to suppress it. The main advantage of such fire extinguisher balls is its lightweight comparing to water, and it is environmentally safe and harmless to the human body if used in hazardous zones such as oil and gas plants. Results, Observations, and Conclusions Studies show that fire extinguisher balls have high extinguishing effectiveness and serve a wide range of applications. Results show that around 0.5 kg ball size has the ability to extinguish a 1-meter radius. This paper explains how easy its to build such a drone. However, due to the nature of this application using thermal resistance material is a must, and utilizing Artificial Intelligence will enhance the drone capabilities & will help to improve firefighting methodology. This type of drone is designed to be used in very high-temperature conditions and can be controlled safely from a ground station manually where you can see the fire location and assess the situation without the need to be there and wait for the fire team's presence. Novel/Additive Information With the use of the new lightweight fire extinguish ball, we can enhance the typical current firefighting method for small and medium-scale fire, where it puts out the fire faster & help us prevent it from growing to a more significant fire. The ultimate goal of this drone is to save the life of firefighters, plants, and equipment. Since the oil and gas industry is of high importance in the UAE, using proper and enhanced HSE measures will maintain our assets and avoid crises that will have a massive impact on business continuity.

Crude Oil Storage Tank Refurbishment Duration Optimized by 40% Through Advanced Techniques

Crude storage tanks are an important asset in every oil company. Having adequate storage capacities is important economically and ensure steady supply of oil in the market. Hence, taking a huge tank out of service for refurbishment is technically and safety critical, and as much as putting it back into service on time. This paper presents an advanced methodology and assessment of tank refurbishment process of large capacity Crude Storage Tanks, in compliance with the International Codes and Standards resulting in optimization of the project schedule by approximately 40% as compared to conventional methodology of refurbishment. By deploying the advance techniques, detailed assessment, and dynamic planning we have been able to accelerate the completion of the project, improve tank availability time without compromising with the Integrity and HSE.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMBINED RESERVOIR OF MIXTURE OF TECHNICAL COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS AS COMPONENT OF ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY

In this study the development, analysis and description of the sche­me of environment protection technology for the oil storage were carried out. The proposed scheme is provided for the utilization of vapors of technical combustible liquids stored at the enterprise, namely diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil, formed during the manifestation of the phenomena of small and large reservoir breathing in significant quantities. Set of initial data and the mass hour­ly emission of such vapors into the en­vironment were obtained according to an improved approach. Development of a high-pressure storage reser­voir for such vapors as the executive device of environmental protection technology for the oil storage according to an improved approach was carried out. Parameters of the reciprocating compressor, which distills the mixture of such vapors from the low-pressure storage reservoir to the high-pressure sto­rage reservoir, compressing them, was selected. Calculation of the reservoir wall thickness ba­sed on the theory of strength of closed solid shells was carried out taking into account the mechanical properties of the wall material, namely steel 60, and the value of the pressure of the gaseous fluid in it. Magnitudes of weight of the deve­loped reservoir and the cost of materials for its manufacture were determinated. Design of a combined reservoir for the ac­cu­mu­lation of a volley of a mixture of such vapors with a system of intermediate cooling of the mixture after its compression by a reciprocating compressor and the pos­sibility of heating the condensate in the reservoir was de­ve­loped.

Accurate Localization of Oil Tanks in Remote Sensing Images via FGMRST-Based CNN

Object localization is an important application of remote sensing images and the basis of information extraction. The acquired accuracy is the key factor to improve the accuracy of object structure information inversion. The floating roof oil tank is a typical cylindrical artificial object, and its top cover fluctuates up and down with the change in oil storage. Taking the oil tank as an example, this study explores the localization by combining the traditional feature parameter method and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). In this study, an improved fast radial symmetry transform (FRST) algorithm called fast gradient modulus radial symmetry transform (FGMRST) is proposed and an approach based on FGMRST combined with CNN is proposed. It effectively adds the priori of circle features to the calculation process. Compared with only using CNN, it achieves higher precision localization with fewer network layers. The experimental results based on SkySat data show that the method can effectively improve the calculation accuracy and efficiency of the same order of magnitude network, and by increasing the network depth, the accuracy still has a significant improvement.

Chemical Variability in the Composition of Zhumeria majdae (Rech. F. & Wendelbo) Essential Oil According to Storage Time and Temperature

Zhumeria majdae (Rech. F. & Wendelbo) is an aromatic herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family, traditionally employed in the Persian medicine for the treatment of a wide number of diseases. In the present study, the chemical composition of Z. majdae essential oil obtained from the plant’s aerial features, and stored at various temperatures (refrigerator temperature 4 °C, freezer temperature −20 °C, and room temperature 20 ± 3 °C) and times (0, 3, 6, and 9 months) was studied. The essential oil was isolated through hydrodistillation, and its composition was evaluated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results showed that the composition of essential oils changed as a function of the various storage temperatures and times. Linalool (34.85–48.45%), camphor (27.09–39.17%), limonene (1.97–4.88%), and camphene (1.6–4.84%) made up the main volatile compounds which showed differences in their concentrations according to the various storage conditions. Notably, when compared to a non-stored treatment sample (analyzed immediately after essential oil collection), the amount of linalool and camphor increased in all samples stored in all conditions of temperature and time, with the exception of the samples stored for nine months at room temperature. On the other hand, limonene and camphene contents decreased during the storage treatments, showing that the highest content of these compounds occurred in the non-stored treatment. Essential oil storage at the freezer temperature and for three months storage time resulted in the highest average value of the major constituents, highlighting these as the best conditions for obtaining the highest content of the major compounds.