Oilandgasprocessing

Oilandgaswellsproduceamixtureofhydrocarbongas,condensateoroilwaterwithdissolvedminerals,usuallyincludingalargeamountofsaltothergases,includingnitrogen,
carbondioxide(CO2),andpossiblyhydrogensulfide(H2S)andsolids,includingsandfromthereservoir,dirt,scale,andcorrosionproductsfromthetubing.Thepurposeofoiland
gasprocessingistoseparate,remove,ortransformthesevariouscomponentstomakethehydrocarbonsreadyforsale.
Forthehydrocarbons(gasorliquid)tobesold,theymustbe:
separatedfromthewaterandsolids
measured
sold
transportedbypipeline,truck,rail,oroceantankertotheuser

Contents
1Hydrocarbonpreparation
2Fieldfacilities
3Functionofafacility
3.1Mainprocess
3.2Secondaryprocess
3.3Auxiliarysystems
4Productionrates
5Transportation
6NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
7Onlinemultimedia
8Externallinks
9Seealso
10Category

Hydrocarbonpreparation
Thegoalistoproduceoilthatmeetsthepurchasersspecificationsthatdefinethemaximumallowableamountsofthefollowing:
water
salt
otherimpurities
Similarly,thegasmustbeprocessedtomeetpurchaserswatervaporandhydrocarbondewpointspecificationstolimitcondensationduringtransportation.
Theproducedwatermustmeetthefollowingrequirements:
regulatoryrequirementsfordisposalintheoceanifthewellsareoffshore
reservoirrequirementsforinjectionintoanundergroundreservoirtoavoidpluggingthereservoir
technicalrequirementsforotheruses,suchasfeedtosteamboilersinthermalfloodoperations,orinspecialcases,forirrigation

Fieldfacilities
Theequipmentbetweenthewellsandthepipeline,orothertransportationsystem,iscalledanoilfieldfacility.Anoilfieldfacilityisdifferentfromarefineryorchemicalplantina
numberofways.Theprocessissimplerinafacility,consistingnotofchemicalreactionstomakenewmolecules,butof:
phaseseparation
temperaturechanges
pressurechanges
Inarefinery,thefeedstreamflowrateandcompositionaredefinedbeforetheequipmentisdesigned.Forafacility,thecompositionisusuallyestimatedbasedondrillstemtestsof
explorationwellsorfromexistingwellsinsimilarfields.Thedesignflowratesareestimatedfromwelllogsandreservoirsimulations.Eveniftheestimatesaregood,thefollowing
changeoverthelifeofthefieldaswellsmatureandnewwellsaredrilled:
composition
flowrates(gas,oil,andwater)
pressures
temperatures
Facilitieshaveadesignratethatisabestguessmaximumflowbasedon:
thenumberofwells
productionprofiles
totaloilorgasthatcanbeproducedfromthereservoir

Functionofafacility
Mainprocess
Themainfunctionofanoilfacilityisto:
separatetheoil,gas,water,andsolids
treattheoiltomeetsalesspecifications(e.g.,BS&W,saltcontent,vaporpressure)

measureandsampletheoiltodetermineitsvalue
deliverittothetransportationsystem(i.e.,thepipeline,truck,ship,orrailroadcar)
Thegasmustbetreatedforsalesordisposal.Inthepast,disposalsometimesmeantflaringorventing,butnowgasthatcantbetransportedisusuallycompressedforreinjectioninto
thereservoir.Gastreatingmayinvolveonlyseparationfromtheliquids,oritmayincludeadditionalprocessessuchas:
compression
dehydration
removingH2SandCO2
gasprocessingtocondenseheaviercomponentsthatcanbetransportedasaliquid
Thefollowingpagesincludedmoredetails:
OilFacility(/Oil_facility)
GasFacility(/Gas_facility)

Secondaryprocess
Inadditiontoprocessingtheoilandgasforsale,theproducedwaterandsolidsmustbetreatedfordisposal.Forproducedwater,treatingusuallyincludesremovalofdispersedand
dissolvedhydrocarbonsand,inadditiontoseparationoroilskimming,mayinclude:
filtration
deionization
or
pumping
Iftreatingofsolidsisrequired,itmayincludewaterwashingandagitatingthesolidstoremovetheoilandthenseparatingthewaterfromthem.

Auxiliarysystems
Inadditiontotheprocesssystems,auxiliaryprocessheatingandcoolingmayberequired.Processheatisusuallyneededforoiltreatingandsuperheatingfuelgasforuseingas
turbinegeneratorsorcompressors.Processcoolingisusuallyrequiredforgascompression.
While,ifnecessary,facilitiescanberunwithoutelectricpower,powergenerationandelectricalsystemswillusuallybeincludedforafacilitythatislargeorcomplexorforliving
quartersthatareprovidedforpersonnel.
Allfacilitiesrequiresafetysystems,including:
safetyinstrumentationandshutdownsystem
fireandgasdetection
firefightingequipment
ameansofevacuation,suchasliferaftsandescapecapsulesforoffshore
otherequipment,dependingonthelocationandcomplexityofthefacilityandwhetheritismanned

Productionrates
Theactualproductionratesforafacilityincreaseasthewellsarecompleteduptothedesignrate.Thisratewillbemaintainedaslongaspossiblebydrillingadditionalwellsthen,
oilandgasrateswilldecline
waterrateswillincrease
flowingpressurewilldecreaseasthereservoirisdepleted
Theequipmentmustbedesignedtooperateoverarangeofflowrateswithuncertaincompositionsandtemperatures.

Transportation
Gasisusuallyrestrictedtopipelinetransportationbutcanalsobeshippedinpressurevesselsonships,trucks,orrailroadcarsascompressednaturalgasorconvertedtoaliquidand
sentasaliquefiednaturalgas(LNG).

NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
UsethissectiontolistpapersinOnePetrothatareaderwhowantstolearnmoreshoulddefinitelyread

Onlinemultimedia
Smith,Graeme.2015.UpgradingCrudeOilSeparatorsandSystemsforMatureOilFields.SPEPFCWebinar.http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=14947#
(http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=14947#)

Externallinks
UsethissectiontoprovidelinkstorelevantmaterialonwebsitesotherthanPetroWikiandOnePetro

Seealso
Oilfacility(/Oil_facility)

Gasfacility(/Gas_facility)
Safetysystems(/Safety_systems)
PEH:Oil_and_Gas_Processing(/PEH%3AOil_and_Gas_Processing)

Category
Categories(/Special%3ACategories): 4.1.4Gasprocessing(/Category%3A4.1.4_Gas_processing) NR(/Category%3ANR)

(https://www.onepetro.org/search?q=Oilandgasprocessing)

(http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=Oilandgasprocessing)

(http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Oilandgasprocessing)

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