Marathon refinery to deploy wi-fi safety system

Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC plans to deploy a wireless gas detection system from Accenture at two units within Marathon’s 192,000-b/d refinery in Robinson, Ill.

Jerry C. Welch, senior vice-president of Marathon Petroleum, said the system will alert workers within the refinery of any gas incidents and will help colleagues outside the plant to find refinery workers.

“The refining industry has not been able to use wireless networks to remotely detect hazards or locate workers,” Welch said. He believes the system “has the potential to transform onsite safety in our industry and should be relevant to many other sectors.”

The dense amount of steel used in refineries and chemical plants makes it difficult to use wireless systems, Accenture said. The system uses a lapel-based wireless four-gas detector and wi-fi tags.

Colin Fulton, director of Accenture Plant and Automation Solutions, said several technologies from various companies were combined to create the Accenture Life Safety Solution system, which allows remote monitoring of incidents and provides continuous gas monitoring.

Can nanosensors boost oil production?

Oil companies and service companies are helping finance a research consortium promoting nanotechnology. The consortium hopes that subsurface nanosensors can coax more oil and gas out of conventional reservoirs.

The Advanced Energy Consortium says it “seeks to build a vital and economical hydrocarbon bridge while renewable energy resources are being developed.” AEC seeks to use nanosensors to characterize reservoir rock formations.

The medical industry already uses nanotechnology—engineering on the level of atoms and molecules. Paul Ching, AEC executive director, said most major oil companies are researching nanotechnology.

AEC members include BP America Inc., Baker Hughes Inc., ConocoPhillips, Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Marathon Oil Corp., Occidental Oil & Gas Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and Total SA. The Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas manages AEC. Rice University is a collaborating technical partner.

Separate from AEC, ConocoPhillips announced a 3-year nanotechnology program with the University of Kansas to research and test new technologies for enhanced oil recovery.

Stephen Brand, ConocoPhillips senior vice-president of technology, said the inclusion of nanoparticles might yield more efficient, environmentally sensitive EOR technologies.