Like ripples in a pond that spread outward after a stone has been dropped in it, the historically high levels of crude oil and natural gas that are being produced in the United States today have had a number of far-reaching benefits. Fuel prices –
whether to power a vehicle or heat a home, office, hospital or school – have stabilized; thousands of new jobs have been created in the expanding oilfields and their ancillary industries; and a reduced reliance on petroleum supplies from oftentimes
unstable or unreliable foreign sources are just some of the more noteworthy macro benefits.
To buttress this final point, just how finely access to the world’s energy supply rests on a knife’s edge was illustrated in September of 2019 when, according to a report by the Associated Press, Saudi Arabia’s Khurais oilfield and the
Abqaiq processing facility were the sites of damaging drone attacks. The damage that occurred temporarily halted operations at the Abqaiq facility, interrupting the refining of an estimated 5.7 million barrels of crude oil. That amount is equivalent
to approximately 5% of the world’s daily petroleum-product production.
While not subjected to such troubling volatility, the domestic oil-and-gas supply chains have been thrown into a bit of upheaval as production rates have steadily increased. Namely, all of these newly produced petroleum products have to get somewhere.
While pipelines and so-called “crude-by-rail” shipping have gained in popularity, the traditional crude-oil tank transport remains an important piece in the supply puzzle.
With the number of shipments via crude-oil trailer expanding, the haulers must keep in mind that crude oil is a hazardous commodity that must be handled with extreme care. To assist, Civacon has constructed a complete family of components that are dedicated to optimizing the safety, reliability and efficiency of crude-oil trailers:
- MaxAir® Internal Valves: Available in 6” x 6” and 5” x 4” configurations, these valves are engineered to perform in the harsh operating environments that define crude-oil transport. They have an internal air-cylinder design with no moving parts in the flow path resulting in maximum flow rates and low pressure drop when handling viscous media.
- Emergency Valves: Designed and engineered to deliver superior flow rates with low pressure drops. Feature a frangible connection at the shear groove and a durable, open-bore design that reduces loading, unloading and maintenance times.
- Vapor Vents: Feature a unique patent-pending dual-stage poppet action that effectively enables venting at tank pressures up to 35 psi (2.4 bar), while an added third port improves the vent’s closing speed. The cap threads into the top of the vent for a better seal with no need for a snap ring on top.
- 891 API Adaptors: Precisely engineered and manufactured to match perfectly with a standard API coupler. Two-piece, hard-coated aluminum construction provides longer life, while the heavy-duty poppet features an acetal resin bearing for smoother, quicker opening.
- TTMA Hybrid Butterfly Valves: Combines the durability of a traditional resilient-seated butterfly valve with the sleek, compact body style of a common wet/dry valve. Available in a variety of seat, disc and handle configurations, which makes them ideal for handling the full range of harsh and abrasive crude oil and refined-fuel products.
- LM Manholes: Feature six quick-opening adjustable cam levers and an open-rib cover design that provides strength without fear of product hangup. Applicable for use with opening pressures up to 30 psi (2.1 bar).
For more information on Civacon and its complete portfolio of transport-truck loading/unloading equipment and systems, please visit civacon.com.