OilVoice - GL Awarded Project Management Consultancy Contract in China

GL Awarded Project Management Consultancy Contract in China

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) will provide commissioning consultancy services for the gathering and purification plant for the Puguang gas field in China. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) contract to GL. Puguang is the biggest Chinese gas field with high content of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. In order to avoid any hazard during the start-up and the operation, the commissioning activities have to be planned and executed with great care.

The operating centres of Germanischer Lloyd's Industrial Services in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China will jointly execute the project. The contract is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.

Sinopec Zhongyuan oil field is responsible for the construction and the operation of the plant. The plant consists of two units, the gathering plant and the purification plant. The gathering plant is constituted by pipelines connecting the different wells. The purification plant is made up of several sections including the gas desulphurization, dehydration, sulfur recovery, tail gas treatment, acidic water steam stripping, sulfur molding and related utilities units. The plant is divided in six trains. Total capacity of the field is 36 MNm3/day with 18% hydrogen sulphide.

The aim of the technical consultancy services is to ensure a safe and efficient commissioning and start-up of the plant at as low as reasonably practicable risk. The commissioning preparation includes development of the specifications, procedures, documentation and dossiers that will be used during the execution of the activities. These considerations have to be taken into account at an early stage of the project to allow pre-requisites and constraints to be identified and addressed. The delivery is based on an integrated concept whereas the GL team works closely with the owner's team.

The scope of service is to review the technical documentation and to provide technical advisory. During the plant operation GL will provide advice and team training for the long term operation. Due to the high content of hydrogen sulphide, the safety and environmental conditions have to be taken care of.

What is hydrogen sulphide (H2S)?
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a highly toxic and flammable gas. Being heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until it is too late.

What is carbon dioxide (CO2)?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless gas consisting of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. CO2 exists in gas state above -78.5°'b0C and in solid state (dry ice) below -78.5°'b0C. CO2 changes from solid to gas by sublimation.

Germanischer Lloyd
Germanischer Lloyd (GL) is a ship classification society and an international technical assurance and consulting company for the energy sector. The company employs more than 6,100 engineers, surveyors, experts and administrative staff in 80 countries. The global network consists of more than 200 locations around the globe.