Frozen valves and instruments on a remote site are a common and frustrating experience in the oil and gas industry. The downtime and loss of productivity that happens due to a freeze are even worse – you’re losing money every hour that your equipment isn’t working properly.
Freezes don’t just happen due to low temperatures, though that’s certainly a common cause. Large pressure cuts also frequently freeze valves due to the Joule-Thomson Effect. That means valves can freeze at any time of year – even when you’re least prepared to deal with a freeze.
Addressing freezes as they happen is expensive – the manual labor required to defrost and restore equipment, plus the productivity loss from shutting down until the freeze is over.
How Do You Prevent Freezes?
Some producers try to prevent freezes by wrapping vulnerable valves with heat tape and insulation. But while that might work sometimes, it’s not effective in more extreme situations – plus cutting through all that tape and insulation to access the valve for repairs is pretty messy. Insulation jackets are also a popular preventive option but are ineffective when freezing is caused by a high-pressure differential.
So, what can you do? Just fixing freezes as they come up is stressful, as you probably know all too well.
Catco Catalytic Heaters Can Help!
That’s where Catco Catalytic Heaters comes in. Our heaters are flameless and operate in hazardous environments, like oil and gas sites. They have no moving parts, so they can operate indefinitely as long as they have a clean fuel supply. And you can focus the radiant heat wherever it’s needed most on your equipment.
Our catalytic heaters are a cost-effective solution that can prevent expensive production shutdowns all year round due to cold temperatures and low pressure. We promise we won’t leave you out in the cold! Schedule your product demo today to see how Catco heaters work with your own eyes.