How did we create these savings by re-designing one operational procedure?
At Swan & Company we have realised cost savings of nearly £800,000 over a period for our North Sea clients by changing one procedure alone, driven by an operational commitment to safe, intelligent, and extremely efficient working methods and innovation. Our in- house developed Methanol dilution and gas free innovation enables us to realise significant cost savings for our clients, as well as highly positive environmental improvement, without compromising operational or personal safety.
In 2020, Swan & Company (Marine Surveyors) Ltd., celebrated 50 years of service to the oil and gas industry. Over the years we have provided a specialist service to some of the world’s biggest oil producers in various locations all around the globe, saving these operators millions of pounds in the process. Our primary role is to oversee the facilitation, and transfer of specialist drilling fluids and powders in bulk. We ensure that these operations are carried out to the highest of standards, ensuring the utmost efficiency, whilst always maintaining the highest level of safety.
Methanol is a product that we have specialised in for many years, and something which has many volatile tendencies. As this product holds
so many dangers, we have a set of very specific and precise operational procedures, working methods, and risk assessments that we always follow meticulously.
Methanol is first and foremost extremely flammable, with a flash point of 12 degrees. Because of this, and to make the carriage of bulk Methanol as safe as possible, one of the provisions we insist on is the removal of oxygen from the supply vessel system prior to loading. This is done by inerting the system with nitrogen, and then continually ‘padding’ with nitrogen throughout the entirety of having Methanol on board. When the tanks have been emptied, and then tank cleaning is required, the atmosphere of these tanks need to be returned to the correct and safe level of oxygen – 20.9%. The procedure to achieve this was, for many years, to fill the utilised tanks with fresh water to 100% capacity which would displace the nitrogen – the tanks would then be emptied, and atmosphere would be returned to normal. The water used to displace the nitrogen would then be classed as waste and would need to be discharged to shore for disposal (Methanol washings). With different vessels, come different shapes and sizes of tanks, sometimes these tanks can be as big as 200m3
each. There
were times when close to 400 tonnes of waste would be created just to clean two Methanol tanks – a hugely negative reportable amount over the course of a year for any client.
We decided to invest some time and money into creating an entirely new way of returning Methanol tanks to working standard after use, but whilst doing so dramatically reducing the amount of waste created. This would lead to far more positive environmental impact, large monetary savings, and hugely reduced carbon footprint by taking road tankers used to transfer waste off the road.
We spent approximately two years researching and developing ways in which to return an atmosphere within a vessel tank to normal working levels in a safe, efficient, and quick manner. The aim was always to remove the need to fill vessel tanks with fresh water, thus removing the creation of huge amounts of waste, and huge amounts of disposal costs.
In early March 2019 we conducted an initial trial of the procedures we had created on a vessel in Aberdeen port. The trial was the first of its kind anywhere in the world and was designed to put into action a newly developed procedure that dilutes methanol residues safely, leading to a discharge to shore of minimal Methanol washings whilst gas freeing the vessel tank and making safe for entry. We utilize quayside machinery in line with strictly detailed working Methods, procedures, and risk assessments to do this. The aim was to reduce the waste disposal by a minimum of 85% and therefore create the huge environmental and cost savings.
The Report • June 2022 • Issue 100 | 103
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