Oil, Gas & Chemicals
Typical Projects
Quality Problems with Gas Shipments
CWA's Oil & Chemical Department has conducted a number of in-depth investigations and loss prevention surveys following recurring problems in the carriage of LPG including troublesome sulphur content and the presence of excess dimer in butadiene shipments
Bulk Liquid Contamination
CWA is regularly instructed to attend and investigate quality deviations in bulk liquid cargoes including liquefied gases both LPG and the 'chemical' gasses, petroleum products, petrochemicals and vegetable oils.
Refinery Business Interruption Claims
CWA has seen increased activity in this category of claim over recent years. We have dealt with a number of large refinery Business Interruption claims arising from problems in the feedstock supply and/or quality. Investigation of the issues involved requires thorough knowledge of refining practice and operating procedures. In one incident, the BI claim was due to serious damage sustained to the single point moory used for crude imports from VLCC's.
Corrosion Risk
Concerning fitness of vessel's tanks and tank coatings for carriage of aggressive bulk liquid cargoes.
Cargo Salvage and Reclamation
CWA has been engaged in a number of high profile tanker casualties (e.g. SEA EMPRESS, EVOIKOS, MULTITANK ASCANIA) requiring advice on the salvage of oil and chemical cargoes and subsequent claims assessment.
Unsafe Petroleum Berth, North Africa
CWA was instructed to conduct a detailed safety audit of a high volume gravity loading berth following a major spill incident causing fatalities and heavy property damage. Expert evidence was fielded by CWA at London Arbitration which focused on inadequacies for ESD. The berth in question was subsequently judged to be unsafe.
Asset Evaluation of Petroleum Plant
CWA advised on the remaining useful economic working life on various distributed assets of a petroleum handling operation in the Middle East. The items of equipment included piping, pumps, single buoy moory, storage tanks and vapour recovery units. The study evaluated the impact of maintenance standards and inflation on net values.
Oil Pollution Investigation and Environmental Damage Claim Assessment
CWA attended following a major oil spill incident within the inshore waters of South Korea. Independent assessments were made of the extent of the oil pollution damage and the efficacy of oil clean-up measures. The findings of the investigation were applied to an objective assessment of environmental damage.
Crude Oil Production, Treatment and Storage, Libya
A technical audit was carried out by CWA on behalf of a multinational oil company to investigate the design, operation and quality control procedures of the inland network of crude oil production facilities, stabilisation plant, pipeline distribution storage and transfer to an integrated marine terminal. The study recommended detailed remedial measures to improve efficiency of operation and quality control.
Discrete Sampling Analysis Techniques for Quality Control of Large Inventories of Bulk Liquids
CWA has been commissioned on numerous occasions to advise on the reliability of methods to sample and analyse large inventories using discrete, manageable sampling techniques. Bulk liquid storage and transfer operations for crude oil products, petrochemical and liquefied gas have been dealt with.
LPG Spill Consequence Analysis
CWA performed a detailed consequence analysis of LPG spill scenarios for a large scale LPG marine terminal, planned for the Middle East.
