Oil Major in Australia
The company is one of the leading refiners and marketers of petroleum products in Australia.
Challenge
A petroleum storage and distribution terminal in Victoria had a groundwater treatment system that:
- Had been designed for another terminal where it had been operating successfully.
- Had been decommissioned, relocated, modified and re-commissioned at another terminal.
- Was operating less than 50% of the time due to persistent mechanical problems.
- Was not achieving acceptable treatment efficiencies.
- Was unacceptably costly to run due to daily maintenance requirements.
Solution
Seeking to resolve a remediation equipment problem rather than engaging another consulting firm, company asked The Remediation Group to investigate.
The Remediation Group attended to site and:
- Observed the system’s configuration to identify modifications from the original design.
- Reviewed the operational logic to determine why the system was shutting down so frequently.
- Recommended a number of repairs, modifications and additions appropriate to this site, to improve treatment efficiency and operational reliability.
- Carried out the changes and progressively worked the faults out of the system.
Since then, The Remediation Group has carried out minor upgrades including the introduction of telemetry system to enable remote access to monitor performance. The Remediation Group continues to perform regular preventative maintenance on the system.
Results
As a result of The Remediation Group’s modifications:
- The system has been improved operating reliability, from less than 50% of the time to 98%.
- The volume of groundwater extracted and processed has increased from 2.2mL in 2005-06 to 16mL at the end of 2009.
- The volume of PSH (Phase Separated Hydrocarbons) extracted peaked early and by the end of 2009 approximately 3,100 of PSH have been recovered.
Feedback
"As a result of The Remediation Group’s work, the system is working far more efficiently with higher recovery, and equipment failures are very rare. As a result, we have made huge savings, especially in maintenance costs."
Environmental Specialist, Leading Oil Company
