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Sand management/control

Case Study: Modifying a Desander Design To Handle Low Flow Rates

Low flow rates presented a challenge in handling solids from a jetting operation before reinjection. A new cyclone was designed, tested, and installed in just 4 months to manage the suboptimal conditions.

Locked
December 1, 2024
By Olof Nilsson
Journal of Petroleum Technology
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Fig. 1—Reducing the size of cyclone liner inserts for the FourPhase DualFlow desander increases separation efficiency at lower flow rates. The 50-mm insert was designed for the case described. 150 mm is the standard for the cyclone, but we have also used 100-mm inserts with excellent results.
Fig. 1—Reducing the size of cyclone liner inserts for the FourPhase DualFlow desander increases separation efficiency at lower flow rates. The 50-mm insert was designed for the case described. 150 mm is the standard for the cyclone, but we have also used 100-mm inserts with excellent results.
 

The Challenge

A major North Sea operator had faced issues with sand filling up the production separator on a late-life well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The well was previously shut in due to sand production. A jetting operation was required, with solids to be separated on the water line upstream of the reinjection pumps in order to protect the pumps from erosion damage. The expected solids sizes were fines of 20–150 microns and sand in the 150–800-micron range.

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