Petrofac Awards Contract for Gas Leak Tracking to Bertin Technologies
Petrofac, a leading service provider to the international Oil & Gas industry,
awarded a contract to Bertin Technologies, a subsidiary of CNIM group, to
supply, install and commission a pioneering gas leak tracking system, Second
Sight®, at the Saudi Aramco owned Jazan refinery1. This system opens up a new
era in gas detection methods for Oil & Gas industry.
Bertin Technologies has achieved a major
breakthrough by customizing its own gas imaging camera. Initially developed for
defense and civil security applications, Second Sight® 2 has been adapted to
IECEx3 hazardous area and Saudi Aramco standards. To enhance the level of safety
on site, Bertin Technologies will provide a turnkey solution that detects and
monitors explosive gas clouds.
A
new era in gas detection: complete scene visualization, real time and easy to
operate solution
Second Sight® solution has been selected
by Saudi Aramco and Petrofac because it offers several benefits that complement
conventional gas detection methods. It provides, in real time, a complete scene
visualization. In the case of an alarm activation, it localizes the leakage
source and direction of the explosive gas cloud in the vicinity.
Second Sight® provides continuous wide
area coverage per device, with typical spans of 700m in length by 500m in width
(approx. 0.4 mi by 0.3 mi). With fields of view of 30° to 60°, Second Sight® can
supervise entire sectors of a plant with detailed spatial resolution.
Second Sight® conveys a rich stream of
information: the dynamic representation of gas flux allows users to identify not
only the specific zones from which gas plumes originate, but also the direction
of dispersal, leading to efficient responses to hazardous events. Its detection
capability includes a large number of hydrocarbons such as methane, butan, LPG
in addition to toxic industrial compounds such as Ammonia and sulfur dioxide. It
can detect multiple gases at the same time.
Due the infrared technology, Second
Sight® is unaffected by humidity, carbon dioxide nor other atmospheric
constituents present in a plant atmosphere.
Explosive gas leaks are an ever-present
risk that has to be managed at refineries. Any leak has the potential to
accumulate into dangerous clouds that can ignite when they reach a certain
concentration. Current leak detection methods typically deploy point detectors
at various locations in a refinery that measure specific chemicals. These
traditional point detectors do not always give a full and accurate picture of
the chemical environment. A single explosive incident can cost billions of
dollars and to mitigate against such an event, additional layers of gas
detection are implemented.
“Bertin
Technologies has been supplying chemical and biological detection systems for
more than 15 years in France and worldwide, for Defense and Homeland security”,
says Philippe Demigné, Bertin Technologies' President. “Our Second Sight®
technology already has a proven track record in the monitoring and visualization
of hazardous gas clouds for safety purposes. This solution has been used during
large events including the Football World Cup 2014, or in monitoring public
buildings, from USA to South Korea.
While setting an advanced level in
Chemical and Oil & Gas safety standards, Bertin Technologies has demonstrated
once again its agility in combining multiple fields of expertise in order to
develop dedicated systems for demanding requirements”.