NORM in Oil and Gas Equipment: Sources, Risks, and Regulatory Framework
Understanding naturally occurring radioactive materials in production systems and the path to compliant management Executive Summary Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is an unavoidable byproduct of oil and gas production that concentrates in equipment through well-understood geochemical processes. Despite being routine, NORM is often misunderstood by operations personnel unfamiliar with radiological hazards, leading to either […]
Maintenance Intervals and Performance Degradation in Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers
How to Preserve Design Thermal Duty Through Evidence-Based Maintenance Strategies Executive Summary Air-cooled heat exchangers (ACHEs) are critical assets in refinery, petrochemical, and power generation operations. Yet the relationship between fouling accumulation, thermal performance degradation, and optimal maintenance timing remains poorly understood in practice. This paper explains how air-side fouling degrades ACHE performance, why visual […]