Separation/treating
This article is the second of a two-part series on produced-water management in the Gulf of Mexico and covers four themes: equipment, process configuration, operations, and effluent quality.
Sharing state-of-the-art design and troubleshooting methods, the workshop identified future separation needs and gap statements and proposed how to close the gaps.
The pitfalls of utilizing an existing vessel without proper review are highlighted.
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Operators are looking for ways to better handle water coming from subsea wells, which is typically treated at topside facilities. Subsea separation systems are not equipped to discharge water back into the reservoir, so how do companies close the gaps? -
Virtual metering technology has been in use for years as a cost-effective means of monitoring production, but what else can it do? How reliable is it as a backup to physical multiphase meters?
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High-fidelity 3D engineering simulations are valuable in making decisions, but they can be cost-prohibitive and require significant amounts of time to execute. The integration of deep-learning neural networks with computational fluid dynamics may help accelerate the simulation process.
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Hydrocarbon processing and treating systems often require large and elaborate surface facilities. When operating in challenging locations, such as deep water or the Arctic, these systems can be expensive. This paper discusses a new adsorption-based gas-separation technology platform.
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Reducing a separation system’s footprint while increasing separation efficiency is demonstrated in an Oklahoma field trial.
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Process design of separation internals is just one step in improving the vessel performance. Just as important are the support design and installation steps. These lessons learned help to guide good off- and on-site planning to minimize separator turnaround.
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The data collected via monitoring and metering applications are increasingly viewed as central to assessing production performance and in decision making to optimize field development and operations.
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Troubleshooting and solving separation problems takes a combination of analytical tools, experience, and a knack for investigation. These 5 lessons provide a starting point for assessment.
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Oversizing a separator ensures meeting the life cycle needs of a facility, but are we setting ourselves up for failure in the long run? With peak rates typically being short-lived at best, or at worse, well beyond actual production rates, more weight needs to be given to the tail-end of production.
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Learn about the guidelines for early stages of projects and a method for evaluating the effect of inlet piping and devices on gas/liquid separator performance and useful tools to evaluate the adequacy of a proposed design. [Note: Updated on 22 May, the article contains a number of corrections.]
