Nitrogen gas is one of the primary products and services used throughout the Oil & Gas industry ranging from the initial drilling of the well to the delivery of the finished product via pipeline, truck and train to the end user. As a naturally occurring inert gas, Nitrogen can safely be used to displace hydrocarbons from refineries, gas plants or pipelines allowing for safe entry, inspection and repair. Nitrogen has several properties that make it an ideal tool for use in the energy industry; it is inert, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non reactive with other materials.

Applications within the Energy industry for this process include; Purging of hazardous materials, Heating of vessels and reactors, Well completions and fluids removal, Pigging and Inerting pipelines, Cooling of hot process vessels, System Drying and De-watering, Pneumatic Pressure Testing, Leak Testing, Underbalanced Drilling, Velocity Cleaning.

Nitrogen Services can be delivered to the customers’ site in a variety of methods; as a cryogenic liquid, compressed dry gas bottles, or filtered from the atmosphere at site using a Nitrogen membrane unit. The most common treatment method used in Alberta is to deliver the Nitrogen to site in bulk as a cryogenic liquid, and convert it to a warm dry gas using a diesel fired heat exchanger on the pumping unit. The Nitrogen gas can be delivered at temperatures ranging from -150 to +400 C. and pressures starting at atmospheric and up to 10,000 psi. Recent developments have also allowed for the use of Nitrogen filtering membranes to become an accepted method of gas delivery for specific projects including low rate delivery, underbalanced drilling and remote locations.

The method of application chosen depends on the project size and scale, with economics being of major consideration. Nitrogen applications can range in size from a two hour operation involving one pumper and operator. to operations lasting months and utilizing numerous pumpers and transports. Some projects require very large volumes of Nitrogen delivered in a short time period, which is normally provided by the conventional fired pumping equipment. A continuous supply of Liquid Nitrogen can be delivered to site by specially designed Nitrogen transports.

Compressed air can be utilized in a wide variety of applications within the Energy and Petrochemical Industries. Applications include the cleaning and commissioning of new facilities, drying pipelines following hydro test, pressure testing, heating of large systems, as well as the cleaning and commissioning of new build systems.
Compressed air is a very effective method of removing significant deposits of dirt, welding slag and construction debris from the process piping systems. In addition, systems can also be checked for integrity by confirming the absence of leaks, passing valves during the pressurization. The system to be cleaned is prepared and then pressurized to the designated pressure. For air blowing the pressure is then rapidly released, creating significant line velocity and movement of debris to the engineered collection point outside the system.

Following completion of a successful hydro test, pipelines are de-watered and prepared for use. Gas and finished product pipelines must be cleaned and dried prior to the introduction of the product to be transported. Compressor spreads can provide large volumes of -80 C Dew point air, combined with foam and brush pigs can clean and dry pipelines successfully to a very high standard.

Applications within the Energy industry for this process include: removal of construction debris, Pre-heating of vessels and reactors, De-watering and Drying, Pigging and Drying pipelines, Cooling of hot process vessels, Pipeline Pre-packing, Pneumatic Pressure Testing, Leak Testing, Velocity Cleaning, Pre-tensioning Pipelines.

Pre commissioning cleaning and flushing of hydraulic and lube oil systems is employed to insure that new rotating and hydraulic equipment will start up and operate as designed with a greatly reduced potential of premature failure. Contaminants such as rust, scale, slag, sand, dirt and oils can contaminate, foul and become trapped in bearing races, rotating equipment causing significant damage. Particles as small as five microns in size can cause significant damage if allowed to remain or become trapped in the process system. With proper cleaning of the system prior to operation, bearings, control valves, instrumentation and critical operating systems are subjected to far less wear, scoring and heating by scale, slag and construction debris. The cleaning process is normally conducted in three stages: removal of oils and varnishes, velocity flushing to remove particulate and debris, introduction and filtration of the lube oil. It is not unusual for the actual system product to contain significant particulate which must also be removed to prevent damage to the operating equipment.

Applications within the Energy industry for this process include: Cleaning of hydraulic control systems, Cleaning of Subsea control lines, Compressor lube oil system cleaning, Marine vessel control system cleaning, Steam & Gas Turbines lube systems, High efficiency heat exchangers, On Line Oil Filtration, Electrical Transformer Oil Filtration.

Lube oil flushing services are used to extend the life cycle of lubrication systems during commissioning and following periodic maintenance and repair services. Any facility that has a low tolerance for failures can use this service as a key pillar for their preventative maintenance program.

One of the basic applications required throughout all sectors of the energy industry is the use of pumping services to circulate or transport fluids into systems, vessels, pipeline or well. The service can be used to fill a system for testing purposes, cleaning via high velocity fluid flow, or the transportation of a fluid when a primary/permanent pump has failed: Flushing of hazardous materials, Flushing of vessels and reactors, Well completions and fluids disposal, Pigging and Inerting pipelines, Construction Debris Removal, Well Injection Testing, Hydrostatic Testing, Inspection Tool Propulsion, Velocity Flushing, Emergency Pump Replacement, Functionality Testing of Process Systems.

Pumping services can be used to provide an efficient method of removing debris from pipelines and new build facilities by exceeding the cleaning force ratio and abrading debris and scale from the internal surfaces of the vessel and pipe walls. The debris laden fluid can be filtered and re-injected to remove additional debris. Other applications can range from high pressure water injection into under-pressured formations to enhance oil recovery to water disposal, to injecting large volumes of water into pipelines, process units or storage vessels for hydrostatic testing.

To operate at peak efficiency, process systems, vessels and pipelines must be kept as clean as possible to provide maximum production efficiencies. Some of the normal by-products from operating processes are the creation of deposits ranging in makeup from scales, sludges, precipitates, and metal deposits creating fouling of the vessels and piping. These by-products can significantly reduce system efficiency and eventually cause plugging and failure of the unit. In severe cases the build-ups can cause pressure or temperature increase that can result in failure of the process or the operating unit.
New construction facilities must also undergo similar cleaning process prior to start-up. Piping and vessels may contain a wide variety of debris, scale, oxides and oil that must be removed if the plant is to start up and run efficiently. In some facilities cleanliness levels necessary are similar to those found in the aeronautical industry where process systems must be absolutely spotless prior to start-up.

Applications within the Energy industry for this process include; Cleaning of new Process and Piping New Systems, Boiler Cleaning, Removal of Production Deposits, System Passivation, Heat Exchanger Cleaning, Hydraulic and Lube Oil System Cleaning, Process Tower Cleaning, Pipeline Cleaning, Condenser Cleaning, Reactor Vessel Cleaning.

We believe that all our clients face their own unique set of challenges and that the needs of our customers can be best met by providing innovative engineered solutions to these challenges. The most knowledgeable and respected specialist in the pre-commissioning cleaning business in Western Canada is one of the FourQuest Energy’s Directors. We have a combined eighty five years in the business and have engineered and managed numerous projects around the world. Our engineers review the job specifications and criteria and help determine the best method and route for the job execution.

Our calculations, results and recommendations are based on solid scientific and engineering principles. Procedures are written based upon our clients’ specifications and any other standards or regulations governing the project. Experienced and knowledgeable field staffs ensure that all the services are executed following the recommendations and procedures from the engineering work.

FourQuest Energy uses state of the art technical knowledge, custom tailored for our clients’ systems to engineer and determine all parameters, conditions and factors before the commencements of any operation.

When piping is fabricated, it forms a heavy oxide layer during hot working. This layer is known as mill scale and must be removed from critical systems before putting them in to service. Over the course of time, enhancements have been made to the techniques in the detailed engineering analysis used by plant start-up to perform steam blows. The theory behind steam blows is that the piping is blown with sufficient boiler pressure to ensure that the piping will experience enough dynamic pressure to assure adequate cleaning. Typically, boiler pressures during the steam blow provide a dynamic pressure throughout the piping, which is at least 20% higher than would be experienced for all plant operating conditions (CFR ≥ 1.2). Therefore, any potentially damaging particles will be blown out of the piping prior to the plant operation.

The time taken for an object to travel throughout the system and be ejected cannot be calculated. Instead, a technique of detecting particles in the emerging steam blow is used. This technique checks the emerging steam for particles impacting on a polished metal plate (commonly known as a target).

The steam blow method is similar to the exhaustive air blow technique, except the boiler is fired to generate the pressurised steam used to clean the steam path. Specialised quick opening valves and a detailed procedure along with the design of temporary spools, steam quenching devices, silencers, and debris containing equipment are required to perform this service.

For pre-commissioning, a continuous low-pressure steam blow technique has become standard practice for the cleaning of most steam system circuits. This method requires the steam generators to be continuously fired to generate steam velocities that are 5 to 7 times greater than the velocities generated during normal plant operations.