Unmanned Offshore Oil/Gas Platform Pig Launcher Detector

The Pig Launcher detector should be located just downpipe from the pig launcher.

It is good that you are designing "an unmanned offshore Oil/Gas Platform"

Is it April 1st?

Thank you for your response. Not April 1st. The Platform is 30Km of the coast of West Africa. Where should the Pig Received detector be located? Pipe is 30Km long, should the sent and received detector be on the Platform?

I did not know a company would entrust designing such multi million infrastracture to an amateur.

The real thing becomes obscure to a novice and untrained mind. Nothing positive comes from them. Their mind is dark as the crude oil with all the rubbish that comes from below the earth. No sound engineering background therefore no sound knowledge.

I believe that you are the novice here!

YOU are the one asking the forum to do your work/job/research/thinking for you.

"where should Pig Launcher detector be located in the pipe?."

" Where should the Pig Received detector be located?"

Do your own work!

Intelligent mind is never abusive. Its obvious you use insults to hide your incompetence and lack of knowledge and experience. If you had given a positive answer to my simple question designed to agitate the mind of young graduates may be you would have learnt something for the first time in your life. Goodbye.

I'm sorry that I misunderstood your original plea for help.

I thought you said, "I am designing an unmanned offshore Oil/Gas Platform".

Goodbye.

Oh, goodbye, then. Sad to see you go so soon.

Please close the door behind you. There is one hell of a draught in here.

It was not a draught but an excited pupil engineer pressed the ESD button.This is why engineers should go through a sound training.

I agree. And design engineers should have a sound understanding of the item they are designing.

If you are a student read this,"

1. Are there specific rules for posting?

• "Do your own homework. CR4 is not a homework cheat site. While some here might relish the opportunity to sharpen up old rusty skills by working the homework problem, consider the following and consider it well. If you cheat on your homework by using someone else's answers, you are only cheating yourself, because the purpose of any homework or other academic assignments is to help you learn - by practice, repetition, and self-discovery."

If you had been honest, the reception might have been more serious and friendly.

Are there specific rules for posting? The question is begging CR4 for an answer. Another question: What is forum? May be this will raise another anger instead of a simple explanation. I repeat define "Forum"

The answer to your question is yes. (I'm asking myself why I'm wasting my time here)

1. There are specific rules for posting.

Robert Odigie, put your cursor over the highlighted sentence above and click the left mouse button. You will behold the magic of the internet.

Next, using the instructions provided here: "Tips to Effective Internet Searching - Hannon Library" search for "forum".

Finally, you have not explained why you can't find the answer to this simple question yourself.

You are, after all, the designer.

While Lyn and I have had our differences concerning responses to posts, I do believe you are the one in error here. You ask a question that appears to involve design of very expensive, environmentally threatening, and probably life threatening issues should the answer be in error, in a rather limited field of endeavor with certainly only a few experts in the world. Why would anyone in any "forum", unless they just happened to be an offshore rig designer, want to take that responsibility? If just trying to stimulate a discussion, then word the post differently or of course you will receive such responses.

The unmanned platform is in operation and nobody is trying to learn from engineers with no experience particularly in Oil/Gas and the nuclear industry. With 37 years in the industry I have never had a forum where people make comments on subject in which they had little or no experience. Engineers are trained to share opinion, and pass on new technology for the benefit and development of the industry. Your degree is not just a meal ticket but to learn from others with experience and to pass it on to young graduates what the university did not teach them. An experience engineer will not be afraid of my design question. Please restrict yourself to layman questions that comes up sometimes in the forum. I want young graduates who participates in this forum to gain experience for the benefit of the profession and the industry. We shall share difficult subjects.

You obviously have no experience with a legal system that actually encourages lawsuits. Anything you say can and will be held against you, doesn't just apply to felonies anymore. I have no doubt that should someone offer incorrect information and you apply it to a real world application, there will be a way to trace the source, despite not using real names on posts. I see this is not in the USA, so the fear may not be as real for you. Our money grubbing legal eagles (vultures is more applicable) here, despite all site precautions, would find me if I told you something incorrect and it lead to disaster, and all disclaimers can be broken by our lawyers.

Again - word the question so that we know you aren't trying a shortcut to designing a complex and hazardous piece of equipment, and you will get responses you desire - not what you received.

Take any professional design magazine you will meet my question and the answer there. Nobody seek your help and you have given no useful information, and I demanded not for your information. I have made my point clear and I expect you to gain from it. Sorry if you are hurt, may be I misunderstand you. Goodbye.

Whilst in basic agreement with comments that have been posted regarding the legal and safety issues, I will offer a couple of insights.

From my limited experience with pigs on the pipelines that I had connection with, the pigs were always sent downstream (no point sending product back to its source), therefore the sent detector would, in your case, likely be on the platform just after the launcher. The received detector would be on the receiver at the other end. We also had numerous detectors enroute to monitor the pig's progress, but that was over land, I don't know the ramifications of doing this under sea, but it's probably doable.

Surely the supplier of the equipment will give you the correct information in this regard.

Great to hear and read comments from intelligent engineer with experience. I would advice all other commentators to visit API store and purchase a copy of ASME codes; ASME B31.8; B31.4; B31.3 etc. Pigging systems and pig traps are generally designed according to the same codes as the pipeline to which they are connected following strictly all the codes set out in ASME. You are right with the detector, but for an unmanned platform remotely controlled from onshore using optic fibre, the pig sent and receiver detector could be located on onshore/offshore or the FPSO for subsea system. Generally the supplier provides details and little is done by a design engineer other than provide process characteristics. I throw this topic to the forum that we may share experience for the benefit of the profession and not seeking their knowledge after 37 years in the industry. I discover our colleagues have either not had experience on the design of onshore platform or an FPSO and subsea systems. I suggest they join and contribute positively to this interesting professional topic which borders on Control systems instrumentation, piping and process.

You do yourself no favours with your attitude.

Perhaps you can enlighten me with regard to your statement that both send and receive detectors could be located at the same end.

Whilst both indicators could be so located (and generally are at both ends), surely the detectors themselves would need to be at their respective ends as there would appear to be no other way that the sending end could actually detect when the pig has reached the receiver if the detector were not at the receiver.

I guess it could be achieved by pressure monitoring from the send end in that when the pressure drops significantly it would be reasonably safe to assume that the pig had reached the receiver (or gone out through the side of the pipe), and a pressure rise could indicate a blockage, conversely a pressure increase at the receiver could signal that the pig is on its way, and a pressure drop would indicate a blockage.

As I said earlier, my experience with these is limited so that method may be in use, I have only ever seen the magnetically and mechanically monitored types.

Pipe? Why do you need a pipe? Just launch the damned thing, we are getting hungry over here and the BBQ grill is ready!

This is a fantastic technology. May be you should improve on your design by replacing the pig with a barrel of whisky or crude oil. Don't forget to patent your idea. It is worth investigating.