Utility Hoses in Refineries

Oil refineries are essential to the petroleum industry's downstream sector. Dixon, a well-known supplier of fluid transfer products, provides a broad range of products for the oil and gas industry.
Refineries vary in size and processing capacity, with the Talley Asphalt Products refinery in Kern, California processing 1,700 barrels of crude oil per day and the world's largest oil refinery, Jamnagar Refinery located in Gujarat, India processing 1.24 million barrels per day. With such large amounts of petroleum needing to be processed, an extensive piping system and efficient hose connections are necessary to ensure timely processing. Utility stations play a crucial role in this process.
Utility Stations
Utility stations are one of the primary methods through which plant operators interact with process facilities. These stations provide nitrogen, plant air, steam, and water to other process and maintenance areas in a plant. Each utility has a unique type of connection, which ensures that the right utility is connected to the process. Utility stations are distributed throughout the plant, and each utility is supplied with approximately 50 feet of hose (15 meters).
Use of Utility Services
Utility hoses are referred to using the acronym SWAN, which stands for steam, water, air, and nitrogen. Dixon offers high-quality utility hose assemblies, including air hoses, nitrogen hoses, utility water hoses, multi-purpose hoses, and steam hoses ranging in size from 3/8" to 4" made into assemblies to custom specifications. All of our hoses are designed to withstand even the most challenging environments, ensuring durability and performance.
Connecting hoses to the utility station requires proper fittings for the application. Dixon provides a variety of connections for utility hoses in refineries.
The largest sector of a utility station is steam, which is used to clean vessels, heat parts of vessels, and clean heat exchanger tubes. Ground joints are utilized for this process.
Water is another element available at utility stations. It is used to clean shell and heat exchanger tubes, along with the general cleaning of floors and vessels. Standard cam & groove couplings along with Dixon's EZ Boss-Lock cam & groove couplings are used here.
Air is also available at utility stations and is used to clean shell and heat exchanger tubes. In addition, it is used to clean plate heat exchanger tubes and tanks. Dixon's Air King couplings play a vital role in this process.
Lastly, nitrogen is provided at utility stations because it is an inert gas used for maintenance in refineries. When a vessel is removed from service, nitrogen is used to purge the gas from the vessel. All of the nitrogen must be removed before the maintenance process can begin. Dixon offers Dix-Lock N-series and Dual-Lock P-series couplings for use with nitrogen at a utility station.
The Right Connection® for Utility Services
The ability to transfer crude oil through the various stages of the refining process is crucial and must be handled with care. Utility stations in refineries provide easy access to the necessary utilities to keep things running smoothly. Having the proper hose assemblies and hose fittings at these utility stations ensures the oil refining process remains safe and efficient throughout the plant.