Publications

A combined nitrogen purge and helium leak-detection system has been developed to safely pressure test and commission oil and gas process equipment. The system offers several advantages over conventional hydrostatic testing, and it is becoming accepted as an industry standard. Inert nitrogen gas (used as the pressurizing medium) also safely purges the process system of oxygen and flammable gases, while helium in trace amounts provides a means of detecting leaks as low as 0.03 cu m/yr. A mass spec. trometer is used to detect extremely low levels of the helium detector gas.Once a system has been certified as leak free, a nitrogen blanket can be left in the system. Process equipment also can be operated under simulated working conditions using nitrogen. This has proved beneficial for instrument calibration and training purposes.