S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em Cairn India Limited.

Management System
Skin Effect Heat
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S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em
Cairn India is building the world’s longest
continuously heated and insulated pipeline
(~700 km) to evacuate the crude from the
Mangala field in Rajasthan. The export
pipeline route from source at the Mangala
Production Terminal to the Gujarat coast
at Bhogat via Salaya passes through the
states of Rajasthan and Gujarat covering
eight districts and more than 250 villages.
In addition, there will be 4 branch lines
ranging in length from 2.5km to 21km
delivering crude to customers enroute.
Work is currently in progress across nine
construction spreads.
Necessity, as they say, is the mother
of invention and in the case of Cairn
it was the same for this innovation of
technology.
The necessity of evacuating the Rajasthan
crude, which is waxy in nature and in order
to ensure its flow has to be maintained
above 65 degrees centigrade, resulted in
customising existing heating technology
into the Skin Effect Heat Management
System (SEHMS), an innovative system
by far the longest of its kind in the
world today. SEHMS technology has
traditionally been most often applied to
shorter above ground applications and
there were many innovations required to
apply this technology to an underground
cross country pipeline system. The crude
oil pipeline is insulated with 90 mm Poly
Urethane Foam (PUF) to arrest the heat
loss from pipeline to the surrounding soil,
this is further enclosed with a 5 mm HDPE
jacket for protection and to make it water
Cairn India Limited
tight. Above ground heating stations with
maximum 1MW power generating units
have been installed at approximately 20
km intervals along the pipeline route. In
addition, 2 intermediary terminals and a
total of 36 heating stations are installed
along the pipeline route.
SEHMS technology also known as
the Skin Trace System (STS) or Skin
Electric Current Tracing (SECT), are all
dependent on the same principles of
skin and proximity effect for operation.
They are all established and proven
electrical heating technology used for
long distance piping and pipelines.
SEHMS generates heat on the inner
surface of a carbon steel heat tube
that is welded to the carrier pipe to be
heat traced, in our case the 24” crude
pipeline. An electrically insulated, high
specification temperature-resistant
conductor is installed inside the heat
tube and connected to the tube at the
circuit end. The tube and conductor
are connected to an AC voltage source
in a series connection. This method
of heating is called skin-effect heating
because the return path of the circuit
current is pulled to the inner surface
(approximately 1 mm) of the heat
tube by both the skin effect and the
proximity effect between the heat tube
and the conductor. The outside surface
of the heat tube is at ground potential,
and completely safe, while the inner
surface of the tube carries full current.
The heating circuit impedance is mainly
resistive, generating heat in the heat
tube wall and, to a lesser extent, in the
insulated conductor. Additional heat
results from eddy currents induced in
AC VOLTS AC VOLTS
(Outside Surface (Inside Surface
to Earth) to Earth)
Heat Tube
(with insulated
wire inside
Carrier Pipe
Fluid
Thermal
Insulation
STSTM System
the heat tube wall by the current flow
through the insulated conductor. The
allowable circuit length is determined
by the power output, heat tube size,
conductor size, and the carrier pipe
temperature. SEHMS ‘s advantage over
other electrical trace heating systems is
that extremely long circuit lengths are
possible – typically a pipeline of up to 20
km may be heated from a single electric
supply point (2 circuits of 10km each).
In ideal situations the SEHMS heating
system is not required on the Mangala
– Bhogat Pipeline as the 90mm of PUF
pipeline insulation will be enough to
keep heat losses within acceptable
limits. However, certain operational
situations, such as low flows or a
stoppage, could lead to wax formation
at lower temperatures (<65 deg C) and
for this reason SEHMS is a critical system
because without it there would be no
S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em
C Tyco Thermal Controls LLC
way to re-melt the crude oil and keep the
pipeline operational.
The key SEHMS elements are
transformers, heat tube, pull boxes, end
boxes, and temperature sensors.
For this project, and in a first for India,
an insulation plant was set up at the pipe
manufacturers Mill using cutting edge
spray applied insulation techniques.
Power generating stations of 1 MW each
are being installed at the distance of
approx 20 km along the pipeline length.
Fuel for the gas engines producing the
power for the pipeline heating system
comes from an 8 inch diameter pipeline
laid parallel to the main 24 inch crude
pipeline. The primary gas source is
from the Cairn’s Raageshwari field in
Cairn India Limited
Rajasthan. A total of 36 intermediate
power and heating stations are being
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S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em

S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em
STSTM System Termination

Power Source
and Temperature
Monitoring

RTD’s

Heat Tube

C w
Tyco Thermal Controls LLC
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Cairn India Limited

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Cairn India Limited

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S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em

S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em
A view of the Mangala development pipeline showing the SEHMS and the Raageshwari Gas Pipeline

built along the length of the pipeline
route.
Skin Effect Heat Management System
was chosen as a suitable solution for the
below advantages:-
• Safe
• Custom engineered
• Easy to maintain
• Rugged and reliable
• Provides built in redundancy
• Cold Re-start capability
The details of the Power Source and A full scale test of the SEHMS system was of the SEHMS, and by extension the
Temperature Monitoring are as follows: conducted on a 1.4km section of buried pipeline insulation upon which the
pipeline close to Viramgam in March 09. SEHMS depends.
• Power requirement – 40 W / m
• Voltage – Approx. 4000 V This test was successful in all respects The Mangala Development Pipeline
• No Current Flow on Outside confirming that the SEHMS system Project is unique as it is believed to be by
Skin of Tube was performing better than expected, far the longest such continuously heated
• System Earthed & Grounded with achieving the maximum required “re- and insulated pipeline in the world.
Earth fault automatic trip melt” temperature of 75 degrees Celsius Currently, the longest pipelines using
• Remote Emergency Shut-down and able to maintain the operating this technology are in Russia (160 km
capability temperature of 65 degrees C. Heat up long) and Indonesia (115 km long).
• Current Flows Through Center time to bring the pipeline from ambient
Conductor temperature were consistent with those

Cairn India Limited

Cairn India Limited

• Successfully used in similar • Current Returns Through Inside predicted. This was a great boost to the
conditions Skin of Outer Tube confidence in the design and installation
 S k i n E f f e c t H e aT M a n a g eme n t S y s t em

CAIRN INDIA LIMITED

Cairn India is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production
companies in India. It is headquartered in Gurgaon near Delhi and has material
exploration and production positions in 10 blocks in India and one in Sri Lanka.
Cairn produces oil and gas from three blocks in India: Ravva in Andhra Pradesh,
CB-OS/2 in the Cambay Basin in Gujarat and RJ-ON-90/1 in Rajasthan where it
works in partnership with ONGC. In 2007, Cairn India was listed on the National
and Bombay Stock Exchanges.

Cairn has been operating in India for 15 years and has played an active role in
developing the oil and gas resources in the country. The Mangala field, discovered
in January 2004 near Barmer, Rajasthan and dedicated to the nation in August
2009 by the Prime Minister, the Hon’ble Dr. Manmohan Singh, is the largest
onshore oil discovery in India in more than 20 years. The Mangala, Bhagyam and
Aishwariya fields have recoverable oil reserves and resources of approximately 1
billion barrels.

In total there have been 25 discoveries on the Rajasthan block and the company
is focused on exploiting the full potential.

Cairn India will account for more than 20 percent of India’s domestic crude
oil production when the Rajasthan fields reach the current approved plateau
production rate of 175,000 barrels of oil per day in 2011.

Health, safety and the environment are integral to Cairn India’s business
management and the company is committed to working with all stakeholders to
deliver material growth.
Cairn India Limited.

www.cairnindia.com