Oil & Gas Processing, Refining & Petrochemicals

Industry Overview - Electric Heating in Oil & Gas

Oil and gas operations use electric heating on process streams, reboilers, fuel gas, tanks and pipelines where accurate temperature control, fast response and integration with hazardous area designs are critical. Electric systems can be easier to control than combustion-based heaters and can support wider decarbonisation plans. Intelligent SCR power control helps to manage large connected loads, improve stability and provide useful diagnostics to DCS and SCADA systems.

Heater skids & immersion heaters
Fuel gas & process gas preheaters
Dehydration & regeneration units

Trace heating & pipeline systems
Offshore & refinery utilities
Panels integrated into ATEX/IECEx solutions

Process Machinery & Applications

Typical systems using electric heating and SCR power control in oil, gas and petrochemical projects.

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Heater Skids & Process Preheaters

Electric circulation and immersion heaters for crude oil, gas, and chemical streams.

Common pain points:

ATEX integration
power quality
temperature uniformity

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

Line & Trace Heating Systems

Electric heat tracing for pipelines, valves, and instrumentation in offshore and refinery applications.

Common pain points:

freeze protection
zone balance
reliability

Recommended controllers:

REVO PN

REVO C

Regeneration & Dehydration Units

Electric reboilers and heaters for glycol and molecular sieve systems.

Common pain points:

temperature control
demand management
safety interlocks

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

Offshore Platform Utilities

Heaters for process fluids, tanks, and HVAC air systems in marine and hazardous environments.

Common pain points:

space constraints
hazardous area integration
energy usage

Recommended controllers:

REVO PC

REVO C

Bitumen & Heavy Oil Heating

Electric heating of viscous fluids for transfer and storage operations.

Common pain points:

thermal consistency
startup current
maintenance

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

Gas Conditioning & Fuel Gas Heaters

Electric heaters for dew point control and combustion gas conditioning.

Common pain points:

rapid response
energy spikes
control integration

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO PC

Typical Pain Points & How We Solve Them

Hazardous Area Integration

Oil & gas systems often require ATEX or IECEx certified panels and careful segregation between safe and hazardous areas.

Solution: REVO controllers are installed in suitable panels and can be integrated into ATEX/IECEx-certified packages by OEMs and panel builders, with power equipment kept in safe or protected locations.

High Inrush & Power Quality

Large heaters and transformer-fed loads can cause flicker, high inrush currents and stress on the electrical supply.

Solution: Phase-angle control with current limiting via REVO-PC or REVO C helps smooth load application and reduce inrush, while appropriate firing modes minimise disturbance on the supply.

Safety & Shutdown Integration

Process heaters must coordinate reliably with ESD systems, trips and process interlocks.

Solution: REVO controllers provide inputs and alarm outputs that can be integrated with DCS/SIS/ESD logic, helping ensure heaters respond correctly to trips and process conditions.

Temperature Uniformity & Stability

Uneven or unstable temperatures in preheaters, reboilers or tanks can compromise process performance and equipment life.

Solution: Using REVO C or REVO-PC with suitable firing modes improves control resolution and stability, supporting uniform temperature across elements and vessels.

Maintenance & Remote Operations

Remote and offshore sites require reliable systems with clear diagnostics and minimal unplanned visits.

Solution: Diagnostics such as open/partial-load detection, current monitoring and alarms from REVO C and REVO-PC can be brought into control systems for remote monitoring and maintenance planning.

Energy Management & Electrification

Electrification projects and new heater loads can increase site demand and energy costs if not managed carefully.

Solution: REVO-PC and REVO-PN can support demand limiting, staggered starts and coordinated zone control to help manage site load profiles as more electric heating is introduced.

Snapshot: Offshore Glycol Regeneration Heater Upgrade

Problem: an offshore glycol regeneration skid using contactor-based electric reboilers was causing noticeable flicker on the platform supply and offered limited temperature control feedback to the DCS.

Solution: the reboiler heaters were re-controlled using a REVO-PC master with REVO-C zone control for each heater group. Phase-angle control with current limiting was applied during start-up, then optimised firing modes were used in normal operation. REVO-PC provided Profinet communications back to the platform control system, exposing power, current and alarm data for each group.

Result: smoother electrical loading on start-up, more stable reboiler temperature, better visibility of heater performance in the DCS and improved support for remote troubleshooting (typical benefits achievable on similar upgrade projects).

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Why CD Automation?

Integration into ATEX/IECEx panel and skid designs
REVO-PC with Modbus, Profinet, EtherCAT into DCS/PLC
Firing modes for resistive and transformer-fed heater loads
Support for OEM skid builders and offshore integrators
Suitable for new electrification projects and retrofits

Industry Overview - Electric Heating in Oil & Gas