Tank Vapor Recovery System Upgrade

Cannon was selected to help increase the existing capacity, safety, and reliability of the tank vapor recovery (TVR) system at an oil and gas company’s dehydration and processing facility. Upgrading the TVR system required replacement of the existing vapor collection network with stainless steel piping from the tank battery to the VRUs; rerouting the discharge piping from the VRUs; new VRU compressor packages; and additional instrumentation and automation to better monitor and control the TVR system. The project scope included topographic survey and 3D laser scanning of existing site conditions, piping system design, equipment foundation design, pipe support analysis and design, electrical system upgrade design, automation design, and preparation of construction drawings and documents.

The project was completed in two stages. The first stage of construction focused on removing “bottlenecks” from the existing TVR system. The scope included replacing the existing VRU piping from wash tanks, production inlet separator, and the main collection header to the skid limits (suction scrubbers) of the existing VRUs. The replacement piping was stainless steel and was sized for current and proposed system flow rates.

Tie-ins were designed for the new VRUs. The construction for the first stage occurred during a planned plant outage, so the design allowed for a quick turnaround during execution. The second stage of construction involved installation and start-up of the new compressors, including piping completion, skid foundation installation, electrical design, and automation design to incorporate the TVR system and VRU instruments into the plant PLC.