Design, commissioning and operational experience of a heat tracing system with extensive electronic monitoring

The authors describe one of the most extensive heat-tracing monitoring systems ever installed, the Lisburne Facility at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Over 400 circuits in a crude oil separation facility are independently and individually monitored. The results of the initial construction commissioning and the first six months of operation are reported. An analysis of cost effectiveness and engineering lessons learned about the operation of electrical heat-tracing systems are examined in detail. The system is considered to be definitely worth the investment because of the increased reliability compared to a heat-tracing system without monitoring