Dave Godfrey, Rotork, UK, discusses how downstream oil and gas operators can support ageing assets and reduce downtime.
R
efineries and associated downstream applications are complex systems that require specialist equipment to run smoothly and to support continuously high production demands. A key element within this is flow control. Actuators control the valves that allow oil and gas to be produced, transported, stored, refined and sold. Effective flow control provides high degrees of reliability, repeatability, accuracy, safety and efficiency. Actuators are seen in a diverse range of applications within oil and gas, stretching from wellheads to tank farms, and pipelines to refineries. They provide day-to-day flow control and safety functions in these challenging environments. Actuators are therefore a common sight on downstream sites such as refineries. The exact role that they play can differ, depending on customer requirements. For example, thousands of Rotork IQ3 intelligent electric actuators control a variety of gate, ball and butterfly valves to manage the flow of crude oil at a refinery and petrochemical site on the island of Zhoushan, near Shanghai, China. This site refines
HYDROCARBON 65
ENGINEERING
August 2022
