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The portable pumping units weighed 125 tons each. They arrived by sea,
were hauled to their places on the line on giant trailers.
Electronically operated control board at Sidon terminal indicates
amount of oil being directed into one of the 20 storage tanks.
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portable gas turbine pumping unit, and permits the line to continue to
operate safely.
From Shu'bah, Barrel X continues westward
through alternate base stations and portable gas turbine driven
pumping units at Rafha, 'Uwaigilah, Badanah, and Jalamid, 677
kilometers to Turaif, the most westerly operating location in Saudi
Arabia.
UNIQUE HYDRAULIC PUMP
Turaif has three electric-motor driven
centrifugal pumps, and two permanently mounted 5,000horsepower
gas-turbine driven centrifugal pumps, instead of the six diesel-driven
pumps used at the other three main pump stations. Turaif also has
another Tapline innovation: a booster pump driven by a part of the
hydraulic power supplied by the main gasturbine driven pumps. Here is
how it works:
After the oil leaves the main gas turbine
driven pumping units at high pressure, a small part of it is diverted
into the hydraulic turbine. This turbine is similar to a centrifugal
pump, except that highpressure oil is forced through it, causing it to
rotate. The rotation of the hydraulic turbine then drives a
conventional centrifugal booster pump, which boosts the main oil
stream to the suction pressure required for satisfactory operation of
the high speed gas-turbine driven pumps.
When Barrel X leaves Turaif, it moves 165
kilometers to Qaryatain, Jordan, where it is boosted by a permanently
mounted 5,000-horsepower gas turbine unit. This unit is controlled by
radio from Turaif. It functions in the same manner as the units at
Shu'bah, 'Uwaigilah and Jalamid, but the pumping unit and controls are
installed in a conventional building instead of in portable vans.
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