Design and Surge Study of Salaya Mathura Pipeline for Higher Throughput of Crude Oil Transportation

Abstract

Salaya Mathura Pipeline (SMPL) is one of the major crude oil pipelines in India stretching over a length of 1870Km Starting from Salaya (near Vadinar) in Jamnagar district on the coast of Gujarat totransport crude oil to Indian Oil refineries at Koyali (Gujarat), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Panipat (Haryana). In light of the expansion of crude refining capacities of these refineries, redesign of SMPL is imminent. In this paper, two models for SMPL have been developed for design and operation increasing the throughput of crude oil from 30MMTPA to 40 MMTPA. In the first model, design of larger diameter loop-lines has been undertaken in order to meet the increased capacity. In the secondmodel, an alternative design has been proposed increasing the diameter of the main pipeline.The design methodology of these two models has been accomplished usingPipeline Studio (PLS). The first model deals with replacing the existing loop-lines, whereas the second model is concerned with replacing the entire main pipeline with larger diameter pipeline that can be run parallel to the existing line.In view of higher throughput, the pump stations have been redesigned.Both the cases of pipelines have been tested for real time operation by making a detailed study assuming steady state flow at various pressure conditions. As pressure surges occur due to the events such as shutting down of a pumping station or pumping unit, unstable controls, oscillation in tank levels, the sudden closure of a valve, or any other sudden blockage of the moving fluid, calculations have been carried out to predictthe pressure surges in the aforementioned pipelines using the Joukowsky equation. Comparison has been made between the results obtained from the equation and the pressure trends observed using PLS while operating under steady state conditions.