Carbon neutral ownership

These cutting-edge proactive maintenance techniques optimise pipeline pump management to maximise uptime and energy efficiency, says Seth Tate, Manager of Contracts & Digital Offering, Sulzer, USA.

ore than 285 000 miles (460 000 km) of pipelines are used to move liquid hydrocarbons to terminals and refineries around the world. This requires roughly 121 terawatt-hours per year which equates to 86 million t of CO2. 1 While innovation is the major factor for improving energy consumption in new equipment, avoiding unexpected downtime and optimising existing asset performance presents the greatest opportunities for pipeline operators. Sulzer’s new and innovative approach connects technology to decades of experience in pump system engineering and maintenance to maximise equipment uptime, as well as efficiency.

Today, sustainability is being written into national laws, setting goals for a net-zero target in 2050. Governments are encouraging businesses to adopt more sustainable initiatives to the point that some major projects can only be won by companies that have made a commitment to the net-zero goal. In the oil and gas sector, many major operators joined the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which aims to accelerate the industry’s response to climate change.

Simplifying the reliability equations Looking in detail at the root cause of asset failure, as well as the latest innovations in technology, reveals how the energy consumption of a pipeline depends on several factors such as maintenance techniques, operator acumen, inventory management, and reliability-based actionable intelligence. Operators are forced to focus on after-the-fact, highconsequence issues because they struggle to consistently relate equipment conditions to maintenance efforts and classleading technology.

This often leads to pushing the other operational assets harder, thus trading optimal efficiency with the need to maintain shipping rates. There is a lot to be said about the growth in big data analytics for pumps, but one thing is clear – it is not taking the place of the human resource, rather it is amplifying their value. Sulzer now has a solution that changes the narrative from reactive to proactive actions. Using artificial intelligence (AI), technical expertise, and proactive management techniques, Sulzer provides a competitive advantage with minimal capital investment.

Working as an operating partner, Sulzer offers Total Pipeline ServicesTM (TPS) to connect a range of services designed to improve the economic strength of pipeline pumping systems. This flexible and simple-to-manage approach optimises pump performance, which directly reduces carbon emissions, supporting the company’s sustainability objectives.

Impacting CO2 emissions In 2019, Sulzer began the journey to provide a solution to help customers stabilise OPEX budgets, continuously monitor pump health, and engage expertise for the best asset performance. The ability to optimise pump performance and predict issues before they become a concern has the potential to significantly reduce levels of CO2 associated with the industry.

Employing new forms of communication, Sulzer uses existing pump health monitoring as well as industry-leading expertise to focus on the heartbeat of the equipment. By illuminating pre-failure conditions and energy waste, each pump can benefit from optimised efficiency as well as reliability to ensure minimal energy demand and associated emissions.

Figure 1. Employing new forms of communication, Sulzer uses existing pump health monitoring as well as industry-leading expertise to focus on the heartbeat of the equipment.

Performance guarantees With the TPS solution, Sulzer offers a continuous warranty and performance assurance on assets that are vital to the pipeline’s operation, which is a first for any OEM or maintenance provider. This provides maintenance budget security for the operator backed by a high-quality repair service.

Improved pump reliability means planned maintenance on other equipment can be completed efficiently without being called to unexpected issues on the pumps. This results in fewer long-distance road trips for maintenance personnel, which on average equate to 108 kg of CO2 per call-out.2

Decreasing pump downtime results in fewer road trips from maintenance personnel, but also fewer long-distance freight hauls to service shops, and less time running other pump assets at low efficiency to take up the slack of the unavailable pump. In all, that could easily be 3 t per event, just in transportation.3

Environmental goals Pipeline pumps are designed to transfer large volumes over great distances, which requires considerable effort. The scale of the motors in these installations means that seemingly small improvements in efficiency can have significant effects on both costs and environmental impact.

In fact, technology that can improve efficiency by 1% can remove 667 t of CO2/yr on the average pipeline. This contribution can be significant to the overall company goals.4

Every pipeline asset has its own unique set of characteristics that affect energy consumption; predicting potential failures is the most effective solution in terms of uptime and cost. That is why Sulzer also monitors operating, maintenance and engineering knowledge gaps, providing the necessary focused training to the valued employees. Sulzer’s expertise in advanced pump analysis, combined with its shop overhaul and field experience, offers the best solution in the forward push to carbon neutral ownership.