Upstream Oil Processing
Upstream Oil Processing
Upstream Oil Processing
With ProSeps quality oil processing equipment, the unwanted components found in raw crude production dont stand a chance.
ProSeps onshore and offshore oil process solutions offer the multiple advantages of half a century of deep, trustworthy global project management and execution experience. Whether you decide on individual treating units or fully integrated process trains, any solution we provide will exceed your needs. Our seasoned know-how enables us to give you best-fit technology from our design repertoire and as necessary, to originate new concepts to customize our established applications for your requirements. Our solutions allow for full automation, reduced losses in production, and fewer operational problems. ProSeps flexible approach equips clients to meet codes with everything necessary for a single process unit, an entire process train, or anything in between. Our packages can include everything you need, such as instrumentation, piping, machinery skids, and panel fabrication.
The benefits of partnering with ProSep abound, from horizontal flow separation technology, to the ease with which we can incorporate mechanical coalescers in combination with electrostatic grids, to thermal treaters that combine both heating and coalescing capabilities in one efficient process unit. We strengthen our offering with ProSalt, an injector / mixer system that allows for improved efficiency in dilution water consumption and downstream dehydration for desalting systems.
fEATURES
Individual Treating Units to Fully Integrated Process Trains Mechanical and Electrostatic Coalescing Internals Single-Stage and Multi-Stage Desalting Systems Onshore and Offshore Designs Global Project Management and Execution
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As the name implies, only free water is removed from the production inlet stream, leaving the emulsified water in the outlet oil stream. The percentage of emulsified water in that stream depends on the oil API gravity. Meeting this requirement requires operating at a particular treating viscosity combined with a calculated retention time. We address the treating viscosity requirements by heating the production stream as shown in the diagram (left) with scavenged heat or by adding internal firetubes to the FWKO itself.
ELECTROSTATIC DESALTER
RECYCLE WATER
DESALTING TECHNOLOGY
A system can desalt by two methods: (1) dehydration and (2) dilution, or changing the produced water solution concentration. Most of the salt (99.99%) is in solution in the water, so removing the water associated with the oil also removes the salt at the same time. If the salt concentration is very high, however, then even removing 98% or more of the associated water may not meet the oil salt content specification. The next step is to reduce the salt concentration in the associated water by mixing it with dilution water with no salt (freshwater) or a smaller concentration of salt (brackish water). Again, several stages of dehydration and dilution may be required to meet specification. This is dependent on the inlet production cut and salt concentration. The ability to introduce the dilution water into the process stream without creating an emulsion and at the same time developing a homogeneous mixture between the dilution water and the brackish produced water is essential to this design. ProSep offers ProSalt an injector / mixer system that improves efficiency in water consumption and downstream dehydration.
TECHNOLOGY
ProSeps separation technology is based on a horizontal flow regime. From FWKOs to desalters, the horizontal flow pattern allows us to provide two-phase and three-phase designs that maximize vessel utilization for each component. As the process progresses through the vessel and the water droplets suspended in the oil phase coalesce into larger droplets, they finally reach the critical particle diameter where Stokes Law begins to apply. Stokes Law defines the terminal settling velocity of a particle of a particular size as it falls through a fluid. The terminal settling velocity is perpendicular to the horizontal process flow velocity. This can be particularly critical in equipment designed to produce 0.5% BS&W or less where the droplet population is reduced and smaller coalesced droplets may be formed. As you can see from the vector analysis below, a unit utilizing an upflow design creates a velocity vector directly opposite to the vector created by Stokes Law. The conclusion is that if all parameters in Stokes Law are fixed, a horizontal flow regime can remove a smaller droplet size, which translates into a more efficient system. A big advantage with a horizontal flow regime comes with the design of a vertical electrostatic grid system. As the oil phase progresses downstream through the vessel it can be exposed to multiple stages of electrostatic fields of varying potentials. Built-in adjustability allows these fields to match the water content remaining in the oil phase, thus ensuring complete and efficient dehydration. One additional advantage is the facility to incorporate mechanical coalescers in combination with the electrostatic grids. These coalescers can be placed in the process stream to provide either bulk or polished coalescence.
one problem. This can be illustrated by designs that allow the following: Operation with a gas phase, thus eliminating the need for a degassing vessel before an electrostatic dehydrator. Installation of mechanical coalescers in the inlet section to reduce the water cut to acceptable levels before entering the electrostatic field, thus increasing the inlet water cut that a dehydrator can process. Placement of firetubes in various locations in process systems to improve efficiency and streamline necessary equipment.
INTERNALS
Inlet Momentum Management (Momentum Breakers, Vane Diffusers, Cyclonic Distributors) Gas Demisting (Mesh and Vane Mist Extractors, Axial Flow Cyclonic Demisters) Viscosity Enhancement (Firetubes, Heating Coils) Plug Flow Distribution (Perforated Plates) Oil Phase Coalescence (Mechanical Elements, Vertical Electrostatic Grids) Outlet Phase Management (Vortex Breakers, Weirs) Solids Removal (Sand Wash and Extraction Systems) Firetube Protection (Detection and Wash Systems)
APPLICATIONS
Liquid stabilization through the removal of gas Removal of free water from the oil phase Removal of emulsified water from the oil phase to a specified level, or in the case of desalting, to allow the salt to meet a specified maximum Reduction of salt concentration, which may be required to meet specified maximum (via dilution water)
MODULAR CONCEPT
In order to provide the flexibility demanded by todays business model, ProSep utilizes a modular design system to develop equipment that can provide solutions to more than
OIL
OIL
Upflow Design Horizontal Flow Design
A CUSTOMERS ExPERIENCE
ProSep personnel were involved in the supply of an advanced design horizontal coalescer installed in the Gulf of Mexico platform in 1998, where the coalescers design enabled it to significantly exceed design capacity while simplifying operations. Design features that aid in enhancing performance include: horizontal flow to minimize water carry-over with the bulk oil phase, cyclonic inlet device to smooth the pipe-tovessel transition and degas the oil at inlet conditions, baffles to distribute oil flow evenly across the vessel cross section, multiple externally adjustable electrostatic grids to vary field density and allow improved coalescence, and enhanced coalescence packing to optimize removal of water droplets coalesced by the electrostatic field. The existing upflow coalescer was frequently unable to achieve 1.0% BS&W in oil effluent at less than 50% of its design flow rate, while the horizontal flow electrostatic treater consistently provides <0.4% BS&W at 120% of design capacity. The equipment has become the standard design approach for this client.
ABOVE: The 50,000 BOPD horizontal electrostatic treater (left) consistently exceeds design capacity, while the conventional treater (right) is unable to meet its 35,000 BOPD design capacity. This is accomplished with a treater that is only slightly larger than the conventional treater. APPLICATION: Crude Oil Dehydration
REfERENCES
Available upon request.
About ProSep
ProSep is a technology-based process solutions provider for the upstream oil and gas industry. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes technologies to separate oil, gas and water generated by oil and gas production.
ProSeps innovative offerings have been awarded three Spotlight on New Technology Awards from the annual Offshore Technology Conference in Houston in 2005 and onwards, comprising the proprietary technologies ProScav, CTour and ProSalt.
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