Spherical Oil Separators

[wrs + 893]

The big spheroids are oil separators and they are not common.  They are difficult to fabricate and they have a complex interior, i.e. the are not just empty vessels.  Fixing the damaged ones with the holes probably won't be possible.  New ones will have to be constructed.  These things are not meant to be opened up for maintenance like some units.

 

https://park-science.blogspot.com/2017/03/type-of-separators.html

 

 

http://www.industrialseparation.com/20120919_spherical-separator-operating-principle.html

This link says they are rarely used.  I read some old archived articles from aramco in the 60s which described how they were built on site at abquiq and transported to where they needed to go.  They are custom devices built to specs as required.  Hitting them at the top ruins most of the important components used in the separation process.  The bottom is for the outflow and is empty.  The four with the holes at the top are likely a total loss.

Edited September 19, 2019 by wrs

[wrs + 893]

This Atlantic article comments on the Spherical Separators

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/what-the-abqaiq-attack-should-teach-us-about-critical-infrastructure/

Scale

Just as the oil fields around Abqaiq are among the largest in the world, the gas-oil separators and other equipment at Abqaiq were also built on a larger scale than anywhere else in the world. Many of Abqaiq’s facilities such as their giant spheroids that tower over people as they drive by were custom-built to a very large scale and cannot be easily replaced—certainly not by any off-the-shelf replacements.

[PINGFan + 52]

1 hour ago, wrs said:

This Atlantic article comments on the Spherical Separators

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/what-the-abqaiq-attack-should-teach-us-about-critical-infrastructure/

Scale

Just as the oil fields around Abqaiq are among the largest in the world, the gas-oil separators and other equipment at Abqaiq were also built on a larger scale than anywhere else in the world. Many of Abqaiq’s facilities such as their giant spheroids that tower over people as they drive by were custom-built to a very large scale and cannot be easily replaced—certainly not by any off-the-shelf replacements.

There is a lot of equipment that is custom built in oil and gas plants.  That is why it takes years to build a plant, these plants are huge, like small cities.

Here is an interesting video if you have time to watch it.  If you start it at about 5:50 in it gives a much closer up view to how a plant looks and how complex it can be. At about 2:20 in it will show a wider view of the plant.  I worked at this plant numerous times.  When it shows the coke drums I would guess they are 200 feet tall.  I worked at the top platform, but I am happy I didn't have to ever climb the towers:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiKNBGiSBBI

Edited September 19, 2019 by PINGFan

[wrs + 893]

I worked in two diffrent refineries on the Houston Ship Channel when I was in college.  I worked at DuPont and Exxon Baytown which were on opposite sides of the ship channel.  I was a bricklayers helper on a turnaround at DuPont one summer.  The other summer I was in the general labor group at Exxon.