At Joule, we build products that improve performance and meet facility objectives. And when it comes to crude oil processing, all of our equipment is designed and engineered to help maximize flexibility and optimize production.
Crude oil distillation is an energy intensive process that requires crude oil heaters with cross heat exchangers, desulfurization and desalting. But our crude topping units can process light crude grades without a full-scope refining as a simpler way to process crude near the source. These units fill a need for producers with local markets for diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, AGO, LPG or asphalt but don’t have full refining capacity. Crude topping units act as atmospheric distillation units, producing hydrocarbon boiling point cuts to produce a range of products.
Crude oil stabilization is the removal of light components of the hydrocarbon stream to lower both the True Vapor Pressure (TVP) and the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) to safe levels for storage and transportation. This typically takes place before the oil enters the tank or pipeline, during stage separation at the well pad or central gathering station.
Joule engineers and manufactures separators, heater treaters and stabilization plants for crude stabilization. These products are a crucial part of crude oil processing that greatly reduce the volatility of crude, making it less susceptible to phase changes that take place when pressure and temperatures fluctuate.
The sweetening process works to strip hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and CO2 from crude oil. The removal of these components is crucial because left untreated, they can form acidic solutions from contact with water, causing corrosion in pipelines.
Our units sweeten sour crudes through a series of separation stages where H2S and CO2 are absorbed by ethanolamine, leaving sweet gas in the top of an absorber and separating H2S and water for disposal.