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Introduction
The role of a production engineer is to maximize oil and
gas production in a cost-effective manner.
This behavior can be justified by the fact that several quality lines
are crossed very rapidly by the isothermal reduction in pressure. At
the point where the liquid ceases to build up and begins to shrink
again, the reservoir goes from the retrograde region to a normal
vaporization region.
Wet-gas reservoir. A typical phase diagram of a wet gas is
shown in Figure 4.2d, where reservoir temperature is above the
cricondentherm of the hydrocarbon mixture. Because the
reservoir temperature exceeds the cricondentherm of the
hydrocarbon system, the reservoir fluid will always remain in
the vapor phase region as the reservoir is depleted isothermally,
along the vertical line A-B. As the produced gas flows to the
surface, however, the pressure and temperature of the gas will
decline. If the gas enters the two-phase region, a liquid phase
will condense out of the gas and be produced from the surface
separators.
This is caused by a sufficient decrease in the kinetic energy of
heavy molecules with temperature drop and their subsequent
change to liquid through the attractive forces between
molecules. Wet-gas reservoirs are characterized by the
following properties:
4. To read the tubing pressure gauge, the operator must open the
needle valve at the top of the Christmas tree. After reading
and recording the pressure, the operator may close the valve
again to protect the gauge.
30
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
1. Steel-Linked chain
2. Wire rope
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
3. Synthetic rope
Mooring systems using taut fibre ropes have been designed and
installed to reduce mooring line length, mean- and low-frequency
platform offsets, fairlead tension and thus the total mooring cost.
(Still a lot of R&D in progress)
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Mooring system design philosophy:
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Single Point Mooring (SPM):
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
In order to further reduce the environmental loading on the
mooring system from the surface vessel in extreme conditions, dis-
connectable turret mooring systems have also been developed.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Functional requirements for the mooring system:
1. Offset limitations
2. Lifetime before replacement
3. Install-ability
4. Positioning ability
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Comparison of typical MODU and FPS mooring requirements:
MODU Floating Production
Design for 50-yr return period event. Designed for 100 yr return period
Anchors may fail in larger events. events.
Risers disconnected in storms Risers remain connected in storm
Slack moorings in storm events to Moorings are usually not slacked
reduce line tensions because of risk to the risers, and lack
of marine operators on board
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Additional advantages include the
fact that there is reduced line
length and seabed footprint, as
depicted in the adjacent figure
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Important properties of synthetic lines to considered in design:
Stiffness
Hysteresis and heat build up
Fatigue
Other issues
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Stiffness:
Cases are known in which the rope has become so hot that the
polyester fibers have melted. This effect is of greater concern with
larger diameters or with certain lay types because dissipation of the
heat to the environment becomes more difficult.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Fatigue:
The main reason for this decreased fatigue life is local axial
compression. Although the rope as a whole is under tension, some
components may go into compression, resulting in buckling and
damage of the fibres.
Synthetic fibre lines used within taut moorings require the use of
anchors that are designed to allow uplift at the seabed.
30
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Loading Mechanism on Mooring System:
There are various loading mechanisms acting on a moored floating vessel as depicted in the
previous figure are:
For a specific weather condition, the excitation forces caused by current are usually
assumed temporally constant, with spatial variation depending on the current profile and
direction with depth.
Wind loading is often taken as constant, at least, in initial design calculations, though
gusting can produce slowly varying responses.
Wave forces result in time-varying vessel motions in the 6 rigid body degrees of freedom of
surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw.
Static design
Quasi Static Design
Dynamic Design
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. 30
December
2020
Mooring Hardware Components
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Chain, wire or rope or their combination:
Chain and wire make up the strength members for the mooring system.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Wire rope:
Wire rope consists of individual wires wound in a helical pattern
to form a “strand”.
The pitch of the helix determines the flexibility and axial stiffness
of the strand.
Stud-link chain and six-strand wire rope are the most common
mooring components for MODUS and other “temporary” moorings.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Multi-strand ropes are favored for temporary applications because of
their ease of handling.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Common “classes” of multi-strand rope include (Myers, 1969):
6x7 class: 7 wires per strand, usually used for standing rigging.
Poor flexibility and fatigue life, excellent abrasion resistance.
Minimum drum diameter/rope diameter (D/d) = 42.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Multi-strand wire ropes may contain either a fibre or a metallic core.
Fibre core (FC) ropes are not generally used for heavy duty marine
applications.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
Turrets:
The hull design in the turret region must reflect the fact that the amount of primary
steel is reduced here with an appropriate increase in the stress concentration.
Careful selection of turret position is important because of its influence on:
Vessel yaw
Rigid body oscillation in the horizontal 30
plane December
2020
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University.
Mooring System Analysis:
Lecture by
M. Aslam Abdullah
1. Exploration
2. Exploratory drilling
3. Development drilling
4. Production
6. Transportation
6. Energy economics.
7. Technological advent.
6. Pore pressure & temperature prediction. 12. Thermal shock (steep gradient, seasonal
change, fluid injection)
3. Drilling technologies.
4. Subsea technologies.
6. Hydrate formation.
2. Geology not cooperating (Like finding 100MMbl pockets when we used to find
500MMbl to 1bln barrel fields).
3. Cluster developments are expensive (five (100MMbl) fields do not equal one
(500MMbl) field).
4. Escalating rig rates were a leading indicator for the cost increases across the sector for
deepwater developments.
To solve the deepwater issues it requires blend of many technologies
like:
1. Reservoir geophysics 6. Time-lapse seismic
5. Multi-component seismology
Location Surveys for Offshore Drilling
The offshore environment has a much more significant influence on drilling operations than
the onshore environment. It is necessary to carry out a suite of location surveys before starting
drilling operations in order to obtain data such as weather forecast during drilling operations,
bathymetric map around the location, current profiles, properties of the sea bottom soil,
topography of the sea bottom, and shallow geological hazards.
Wind and current measurements for several months would be carried out at a proposed
location about one year ago before operations.
2. 30 years ago, a deepwater operation implies exploring water depths up to 500 feet.
4. Ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling now occurring in water depths over 5000 ft to 10,000
feet. i.e.,( 1524m to 3048m)
5. The challenges in ultra deep reserves are more complicated than exploring space.
Deep water refers to a depth greater than 1000ft (304.8m) and less than 5000ft (1524m).
Onshore
1. The scientific research well “SG-3” in Russia reached the depth of 12,263 m in 1988,
has had the depth record ever since.
2. The deepest exploration drilling for hydrocarbons was carried out to the depth of
9583 m in the United States of America in 1974.
Offshore
1. A hydrocarbon exploration well was drilled offshore Brazil in 2965 m of water in
2001.
2. A production well was completed with a subsea completion system offshore Brazil
in 1852 m of water in 1998.
The offshore technology is steadily in progress towards deeper and deeper seas to search and
produce subsea resources for the future welfare of the world.
1. Because of the location remote from infrastructure, offshore rigs also carry
on board a number of service systems such as cementing, geophysical logging,
and so on.
3. Accommodations and catering for crews working for 24 hours are required
on the rig.
All these factors make offshore rigs complex and sophisticated, and therefore
offshore drilling costs are higher than land drilling costs for similar depth wells.
Moveable rigs are often used for exploratory purposes because they are much cheaper
to use than permanent platforms.
Once large deposits of hydrocarbons have been found, a permanent platform is built to
allow their extraction.
2. Jack-Up Rigs.
Water depth less than 50 m and calm sea: Tender or Jack-up assisted platforms.
Water depth from 500 m to 3000 m: Drillships or Semisubmersible rigs with dynamic
positioning system.
Isolated area with icebergs: Drillships with dynamic positioning system.
Severe sea conditions: Semisubmersible rigs or new generation Drillships .
1. Drillships.
3. Spars
Positively buoyant structures which are tethered to the seabed and are heave-restrained are:
For drilling as well as production these units are modified for dual function. (Excluding TLP
and SPAR, because of limited motions these are suitable for surface-completed wells only)
Example for Drilling, production & Storage in 1 unit is FPDSO (Floating Production Drilling
Storage & Offloading) (vessel motions is the only hesitation for its development)
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
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University.
Largest Offshore
Structures
Example minimal
platform concepts
(LINX, MANTIS II and
TRIPOD) for
marginal field
4. Jack-ups:
The jack-up barges are typically three-legged structures having a deck supported on their
legs. The legs are made of tubular truss members. The deck is typically buoyant.
5. Subsea Templates:
Subsea technology covers a wide range of offshore activities. Examples are subsea Xmas
trees, manifolds, templates, flowlines and risers, control systems, well fluid boosters,
multiphase pumping and metering, water separation, water injection, remote and diverless
connections, guideline-free installations, seabed electrical power distribution systems,
interventions, etc.
6. Subsea Pipelines:
Subsea pipelines are used to transfer oil from the production platforms to storage facilities
or to the shore.
Submersible drilling rigs consist of upper and lower hulls connected by a network
of posts or beams. The drilling equipment and living quarters are installed on the
upper hull deck.
The lower hull has the buoyancy capacity to float and support the upper hull and
equipment. When water is pumped into the lower hull, the rig submerges and rests on
the seabed to provide a working place for the drilling.
Movement and drilling operations proceed as that of the jack-up rig. Most submerged rigs are
used only shallow waters of 8 to 10 meters.
Ship-shaped submersible rigs are also used, which are called swamp barges.
The tender anchored alongside the platform contains drilling equipment such as pumps and
tubular goods, and accommodation for personnel. A catwalk connects the platform and the
tender.
If weather conditions (wind, swell, and current) become too harsh, the drilling operations must
be shut down due to excessive motion of the tender.
The tender platforms are used in Gulf of Guinea and the Persian Gulf waters where good
weather conditions prevail, resulting in low downtime less than 2% of total operation time.
Typically designed to have their lowest modal frequency to be below the wave energy, as
opposed to the fixed structures, which have a first modal frequency greater than the
frequency of wave energy.
1. Articulated Platforms:
One of the earliest compliant structures that started in relatively shallow waters and slowly
moved into deep water.
“Articulated tower is an upright tower, which is hinged at its base with a cardan
joint and is free to oscillate about this joint due to the environment.”
The base below the universal joint on the seabed may be a gravity base or may be piled.
The tower is ballasted near the universal joint and has a large enough buoyancy tank at the
free surface to provide large restoring force (moment).
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 43
University.
2. Compliant Tower:
A compliant tower is similar to a traditional platform and extends from surface to the
sea bottom, and it is fairly transparent to waves.
Compliant tower is designed to flex with the forces of waves, wind and current. It uses less
steel than a conventional platform for the same water depth.
3. Guyed Tower:
A guyed tower is a slender structure made up of truss members, which rests on the
ocean floor and is held in place by a symmetric array of catenary guylines.
(III) Floating Structures
structures include
Spars, Semi-submersible MODUS and FPSs, Ship-shaped FPSOs
and Drillships.
Most floating production units are neutrally buoyant structures (which allows six-degrees
of freedom) which are intended to cost-effectively produce and export oil and gas.
1. FPSO:
The FPSO generally refers to ship-shaped structures with several different mooring
systems.
2. FPS
FPS refers to Floating Production systems which are finding application in marginal
and deepwater field development.
University.
Drillships
The Larger is a Drillship with Dual-Activity Drilling System (TSF Discoverer Enterprise), and the
Smaller is a Previous Generation Drillship (TSF Discoverer 534) Alongside with a Supply Boat
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 University. 50
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
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University.
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 52
University.
(III) Floating Structures
3. Semi-Submersible Platform:
Semi-submersibles are
multi-legged floating
structures with a large
deck. These legs are
interconnected at the
bottom underwater
with horizontal
buoyant members
called pontoons.
Semisubmersible Platform
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 53
University.
A computer graphic of a
semisubmersible installation.
Disadvantages of semisubmersibles:
1. Pipeline infrastructure or other means is required to export produced oil.
2. Only a limited number of (rigid) risers can be supported because of the bulk of the tensioning
systems required.
3. Considering that most semisubmersible production systems are converted from drilling rigs,
the topsides weight capacity of a converted semisubmersible is usually limited.
4. Building schedules for semisubmersibles are usually longer than those for shipshaped
offshore structures.
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 55
University.
Semisubmersible (As Drilling Rig)
Semi-submersibles are multi-legged floating structures with a large deck. These legs are
interconnected at the bottom underwater with horizontal buoyant members called pontoons.
Semisubmersibles have submerged pontoons (lower hulls) that are interconnected to the drilling
deck by vertical columns
The lower hulls provide improved stability for the vessel. Also, the open area between the
vertical columns of semisubmersibles provides a reduced area on which the environment can act.
In drilling operations, the lower hulls are submerged in the water about half-length of the column,
but do not rest on the seabed. When a semisubmersible moves to a new location, the lower hulls
float on the sea surface. Semisubmersible rigs are towed by boats, and some rigs have self-
propelled capacity.
On drilling site to keep the position, the anchors usually moor semisubmersibles, but the dynamic
positioning systems are used by new generation semisubmersibles.
Semisubmersible Drilling Rig (JDC Hakuryu 3) (Reproduced Courtesy of Japan Drilling Co.)
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
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University.
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT
25 July 2020 60
University.
Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers), which are self-buoyant, is easier.
Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers),
which are self-buoyant, is easier.
Types of Spars:
1. Classic spar
2. Truss spar
3. Cell spar
The structure is vertically restrained precluding motions vertically (heave) and rotationally
(pitch and roll). It is compliant in the horizontal direction permitting lateral motions (surge
and sway).
It borrows from the concept of the tension leg platform and provides a cost-effective
marginal field application.
Moses MiniTLP appears to be a miniaturized TLP as the deck structure is supported by four
columns and the columns are connected by pontoons.
Motion characteristics of Moses is similar to that of SeaStar and, unlike the standard TLPs,
miniTLPs need to dedicate a large percentage of their displacement (35 - 45%) for
pretension.
• CO2
• H2S
0.00013 0.13 0.008 0.18 Obvious and unpleasant odor generally perceptible at 0.13 ppm and
quite noticeable at 4.6 ppm. As the concentration increases, the
sense of smell fatigues and the gas can no longer be detected by
odor.
0.001 10. 0.63 14.41 Acceptable ceiling concentration permitted by Federal OSHA
standards.
0.005 50. 3.15 72.07 Acceptable maximum peak above the OSHA acceptable ceiling
concentrations permitted once for 10 minutes per eight-hour shift, if
no other measurable exposure occurs.
0.01 100. 6.30 144.14 Coughing, eye irritation, loss of sense of smell after 3 to 15 minutes.
Altered respiration, pain in eyes, and drowsiness after 15 to 30
minutes, followed by throat irritation after one hour. Prolonged
exposure results in a gradual increase in the severity of these
symptoms.
0.02 200. 12.59 288.06 Kills sense of smell rapidly, burns eyes and throat.
0.05 500. 31.49 720.49 Dizziness, loss of sense of reasoning and balance. Breathing
problems in a few minutes. Victims need prompt artificial
resuscitation.
0.07 700. 44.08 1008.55 Unconscious quickly. Breathing will stop and deaths will result if
not rescued promptly. Artificial resuscitation is needed.
0.10+ 1000+ 62.98 1440.98+ Unconsciousness at once. Permanent brain damage or death may
result unless rescued promptly and given artificial resuscitation.
*Based on 1 percent hydrogen sulfide = 629.77 gr/100 SCF at 14.696 psia and 59°F, or 101.325 kPa and 15°C.
Table 1
. Figure 1 and Figure 2
Figure 1
Continued
Figure 2
SEVERAL PROCESS
Numerous processes have been developed for acid gas
removal and gas sweetening based on a variety of
chemical and physical principles. These processes
(Table 2) can be categorized by the principles used in
the process to separate the acid gas from the other
natural gas components. The list, although not
complete, represents many of the common available
commercial processes. Table 3 shows the gases that
are removed by the different processes.
Table 4 illustrates the process capabilities of some of
the processors for gas treating.
Table 2: Acid Gas Removal Processes
Continued
Table 3: Gases Removed by Various Processes
Continued
Table 4: Process Capabilities for Gas Treating
SOLID BED PROCESSES
Figure 2
• The sour gas enters the system through an inlet
scrubber to remove any entrained water or
hydrocarbon liquids. Then the gas enters the bottom
of the amine absorber and flows countercurrent to the
amine solution. The absorber can be either a trayed or
packed tower with conventional packing usually used
for 500 mm (20 in) or smaller diameter towers, and
trays or structured packing for larger towers. The
sweetened gas then leaves the top of the tower. An
optional outlet scrubber may be included to recover
entrained amine from the sweet gas. Since the natural
gas leaving the top of the tower is saturated with
water, the gas will require dehydration before entering
a pipeline.
• The amine solution leaves the bottom of the absorber.
This solution containing the CO2 and H2S is referred to
as the rich amine. From the absorber, the rich amine
flows to the flash tank to remove most of the dissolved
hydrocarbon gases or entrained hydrocarbon
condensates. A small amount of the acid gases will
also flash to the vapor phase in this vessel. From the
flash tank the rich amine proceeds to the rich
amine/lean amine heat exchanger. This heat exchanger
recovers some of the sensible heat from the lean amine
stream to decrease the heat duty on the amine reboiler
and the solvent cooler. The preheated rich amine then
enters the amine stripping tower where heat from the
reboiler breaks the bonds between the amine and acid
gases. The acid gases are removed overhead and lean
amine is removed from the bottom of the stripper.
• The hot lean amine flows to the rich amine/lean
amine heat exchanger and then to additional coolers,
typically aerial coolers, to lower its temperature to
approximately 5.5°C (10°F) above the inlet gas
temperature. This reduces the amount of
hydrocarbons condensed in the amine solution when
the amine contacts the sour gas. Typically, a side
stream of approximately 3 percent of the amine flow
rate is taken off after the rich/lean amine heat
exchanger and is flowed through a charcoal filter to
clean the solution of contaminants. The cooled lean
amine is then pumped up to the absorber pressure and
enters the top of the absorber. As the amine solution
flows down the absorber it absorbs the acid gases.
The rich amine is then removed at the bottom of the
tower and the cycle is repeated.
• The most common amine processes are
monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine
(DEA). Both processes will remove CO2 and H2S
to pipeline specifications. Among the newer
processes, which have been developed is
methyldietha-nolamine (MDEA). It can be used for
selective removal of H2S in the presence of
CO2 and significantly reduces treating costs when
CO2 reduction is not necessary.
MONOETHANOLAMINE SYSTEMS (MEA)
• Monoethanolamine (MEA) is a primary amine, which has
had widespread use as a gas sweetening agent. This
process is well proven, can meet pipeline specifications,
and has more design/operating data available than any
other system. MEA is a stable compound and in the
absence of other chemicals suffers no degradation or
decomposition at temperatures up to its normal boiling
point.
• MEA reacts with CO2 and H2S as follows:
• These reactions are reversible by changing the
system temperature. The reactions with CO2 and
H2S shown above are reversed in the stripping
column by heating the rich MEA to approximately
118°C at 69 kPa (245°F at 10 psig). The acid gases
evolve into the vapor and are removed from the still
overhead. Thus the MEA is regenerated.
• A disadvantage of MEA is that it also reacts
with carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon
disulfide (CS2) to form heat stable salts, which
cannot be regenerated at normal stripping
column temperatures. At temperatures above
118°C (245°F) a side reaction with CO2 exists
which produces oxazolidone-2, a heat stable
salt, which consumes MEA from the process.
• The normal regeneration temperature in the still
will not regenerate heat stable salts or
oxazolidone-2. Therefore, a reclaimer is often
included to remove these contaminants. A
sidestream of from 1 percent to 3 percent of the
MEA circulation is drawn from the bottom of the
stripping column. This stream is then heated to
boil the water and MEA overhead while the heat
stable salts and oxazolidone-2 are retained in the
reclaimer. The reclaimer is periodically shut in
and the collected contaminants are cleaned out.
When the contaminants are removed from the
system, any MEA bonded to them is also lost.
• MEA is usually circulated in a solution of 15 percent
to 20 percent MEA by weight in water. From
operating experience it has been found that the
solution loading should not be greater than 0.3 to 0.4
moles of acid gas per mole of MEA. Both the solution
strength and the solution loading are limited to avoid
excessive corrosion. The solution concentration and
loading is largely determined by the H2S/CO2 ratio.
The greater the ratio (i.e., the higher the concentration
of H2S relative to CO2), the higher the allowable
loading and amine concentration. This is due to the
reaction of H2S and iron (Fe) to form iron sulfide
(Fe2S3 and FeS), which forms a protective barrier
on the steel surface. This barrier can be stripped away
by high fluid velocities and may lead to increased
corrosion on the exposed steel.
• The acid gases in the rich amine are
corrosive, but the above concentration
limits may hold corrosion to acceptable
levels. The corrosion commonly shows up
on areas of carbon steel that have been
stressed, such as heat affected zones near
welds, in areas of high acid gas
concentration, or at a hot gas and liquid
interface. Therefore, stress relieving all
equipment after manufacturing is
necessary to reduce corrosion, and special
metallurgy is usually used in specific areas
such as the still overhead or the reboiler
tubes.
• MEA systems foam rather easily resulting in excessive
amine carryover from the absorber. Foaming can be
caused by a number of foreign materials such as
condensed hydrocarbons, degradation products, solids
such as carbon or iron sulfide, excess corrosion
inhibitor, valve grease, etc. One of the more effective
methods of foam control is to use a coalescing filter
separator at the gas inlet to the MEA contactor. This
removes many of the contaminants before they enter the
system. Hydrocarbon liquids are usually removed in the
flash tank. Degradation products are removed in a
reclaimer as described above.
• MEA storage tanks and surge vessels must have an
inert blanket gas system to prevent the oxidation of
MEA. Sweet natural gas or nitrogen can be used as
the blanket gas.
• MEA has the lowest boiling point and the highest
vapor pressure of the amines. This results in MEA
losses of 16 to 48 kg/MMm3 (1 to 3 lbs/MMSCF)
of inlet gas.
• In summation, MEA systems can effectively treat
sour gas to pipeline specifications. However, care
in the design and material selection of MEA
systems is required to minimize equipment
corrosion.
Diethanolamine Systems (DEA)
Figure 4
• The gas to be treated enters the bottom of the
absorber and flows countercurrent to the potassium
carbonate. The sweet gas then exits the top of the
absorber. The absorber is typically operated at 110°C
(230°F). Therefore, a gas/gas exchanger may be
included to cool the sweet gas, recover sensible heat,
and decrease the system's utility heat requirements.
• The rich potassium carbonate solution from the
bottom of the absorber flows to a flash drum
where much of the acid gas is removed. The
solution then proceeds to the stripping column,
which operates at approximately 118°C (245°F)
and near atmospheric pressure. The low pressure,
combined with a small amount of heat input,
strips the remaining acid gases. The lean
potassium carbonate from the stripper is pumped
back to the absorber. The lean solution may or
may not be cooled slightly before entering the
absorber. The heat of reaction from the
absorption of the acid gases causes a slight
temperature rise in the absorber.
• The solution concentration for a potassium carbonate
system is limited by both the solubility of potassium
carbonate in the lean stream and the solubility of the
potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) in the rich stream. The
reaction with CO2 produces two moles of KHCO3 per
mole of potassium carbonate reacted. For this reason
the KHCO3 in the rich stream normally limits the lean
solution potassium carbonate concentration to 20 to 35
percent by weight.
• Potassium carbonate works best on gas streams with
a CO2 partial pressure of 207 to 620 kPa (30 to 90
psi). When CO2 is not present, H2S removal will be
limited because the regeneration of the potassium
carbonate requires an excess of KHCO3. The
presence of CO2 in the gas provides a surplus of
KHCO3 in the rich stream. Note that pipeline quality
gas often requires secondary treating using an amine
or similar system to reduce H2S level to 4 ppm.
• The entire system is operated at high
temperatures to increase the solubility of
carbonates. Therefore, the designer must be
careful to avoid dead spots in the system where
the solution could cool and precipitate solids. If
solids do precipitate, the system may suffer from
plugging, erosion, or foaming.
• The hot potassium carbonate solutions are
corrosive. All carbon steel must be stress
relieved to limit corrosion. A variety of corrosion
inhibitors, such as fatty amines or potassium
dichromate, are available to decrease corrosion
rates.
PROPRIETARY CARBONATE SYSTEMS
Figure 5
• The sour gas contacts the solvent using
countercurrent flow in the absorber. Rich
solvent from the absorber bottom is flashed in
stages to near atmospheric pressure. This
causes the acid gas partial pressures to
decrease, and the acid gases evolve to the vapor
phase and are removed. The regenerated
solvent is then pumped back to the absorber.
• The example in Figure 5 (Typical flow schematic of a
physical solvent process) is a simple one where
flashing is sufficient to regenerate the solvent. Some
solvents require a stripping column just prior to the
circulation pump. Some systems require temperatures
below ambient, thus refrigeration using power turbines
replaces the pressure reducing valves. These turbines
recover some of the power from the high pressure rich
solvent and thus decrease the utility power
requirements for refrigeration and circulation
• The majority of the physical solvent processes are
proprietary and are licensed by the company that
developed the process. Four typical processes are
discussed below.
FLUOR SOLVENT PROCESS
Figure 8
Figure 9 (Example SulFerox®System) illustrates
the process design for the SulFerox® process.
Figure 9
• The SulFerox® process uses the patented pipeline
contactor with co-current flow to minimize sulfur
plugging. The system has a high turndown
capability.
• These units are relatively small per unit of acid gas treated.
The technology of these processes has many potential
applications such as:
Treatment of sour produced or recycled CO2
Remote, single well streams
Tail Gas treatment
Offshore installations
• Although suitable for several applications, these processes
have disadvantages, which must be considered prior to
selecting this type of process for a specific gas treating
application. Because CO2 is not removed and only partial
removal of mercaptans is achieved, gas streams containing
these components in excess of pipeline specifications will
require additional treatment. Gas streams above 49°C
(120°F) can cause excessive chelated-iron degradation,
resulting in costly make-up rates. Certain components in
gas streams, such as HCN, can "poison" the solution,
rendering it non-regenerable, while other components,
such as NH3, can raise the pH of the solution, resulting in
the precipitation of iron. The licensors should be contacted
to determine what incompatibilities between the solution
and gas components may exist.
DISTILLATION PROCESS
• For feeds with small acid gas loadings, one of the batch
processes should be considered for removal of H2S. The
most common are: iron sponge, Sulfa-Treat, and Sulfa-
Check.
INTRODUCTION
(Refrigeration)
(Distillation)
• Operating pressure, P
• Operating temperature, T
• System composition or concentration, x and y
In Summary
Cascade Refrigeration
• Cascade refrigeration refers to two refrigeration circuits thermally
connected by a cascade condenser, which is the condenser of the low-
temperature circuit and the evaporator of the high-temperature circuit.
• A cascade system utilizes one refrigerant to condense the other primary
refrigerant, which is operating at the desired evaporator temperature.
This approach is usually used for temperature levels below −90◦F, when
light hydrocarbon gases or other low boiling gases and vapors are being
cooled.
Mixed Refrigerants
• The evaporation process takes place over a temperature range rather than
at a constant temperature as with pure component refrigerants. The mixed
refrigerant is blended so that its evaporation curve matches the cooling
curve for the process fluid.
In this process, the nonideal behavior of the inlet gas causes the
gas temperature to fall with the pressure reduction, as shown by
line ABC’ in Figure2. The temperature change depends primarily
on the pressure drop.
Lecture by,
M.Aslam Abdullah
VIT University, Vellore.
FIGURE 1 Schematic of conventional turboexpander process with no recycle to
demethanizer. Note that the one heat exchanger represents a network of exchangers.
(Adapted from Engineering Data Book, 2004e.)
FIGURE 2 Cold-residue recycle process for maximizing ethane recovery.
Three basic methods are used for removal of nitrogen
from natural gas:
Cryogenic distillation
Adsorption
Membrane separation
TABLE 1 : Comparison of Nitrogen Removal Processes
FIGURE 3 NRU by use of two-column cryogenic distillation. Valves are J-
T valves.
FIGURE 4 Simple pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system.
FIGURE 5 Separating N2 from natural gas by use of membranes.
FIGURE 6 Schematic of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system.
NATURAL GAS: OFFSHORE PRODUCTION & HANDLING
Lecture by
M. Aslam Abdullah
1. Exploration
2. Exploratory drilling
3. Development drilling
4. Production
6. Transportation
6. Energy economics.
7. Technological advent.
6. Pore pressure & temperature prediction. 12. Thermal shock (steep gradient, seasonal
change, fluid injection)
3. Drilling technologies.
4. Subsea technologies.
6. Hydrate formation.
2. Geology not cooperating (Like finding 100MMbl pockets when we used to find
500MMbl to 1bln barrel fields).
3. Cluster developments are expensive (five (100MMbl) fields do not equal one
(500MMbl) field).
4. Escalating rig rates were a leading indicator for the cost increases across the sector for
deepwater developments.
To solve the deepwater issues it requires blend of many technologies
like:
1. Reservoir geophysics 6. Time-lapse seismic
5. Multi-component seismology
Location Surveys for Offshore Drilling
The offshore environment has a much more significant influence on drilling operations than
the onshore environment. It is necessary to carry out a suite of location surveys before starting
drilling operations in order to obtain data such as weather forecast during drilling operations,
bathymetric map around the location, current profiles, properties of the sea bottom soil,
topography of the sea bottom, and shallow geological hazards.
Wind and current measurements for several months would be carried out at a proposed
location about one year ago before operations.
2. 30 years ago, a deepwater operation implies exploring water depths up to 500 feet.
4. Ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling now occurring in water depths over 5000 ft to 10,000
feet. i.e.,( 1524m to 3048m)
5. The challenges in ultra deep reserves are more complicated than exploring space.
Deep water refers to a depth greater than 1000ft (304.8m) and less than 5000ft (1524m).
Onshore
1. The scientific research well “SG-3” in Russia reached the depth of 12,263 m in 1988,
has had the depth record ever since.
2. The deepest exploration drilling for hydrocarbons was carried out to the depth of
9583 m in the United States of America in 1974.
Offshore
1. A hydrocarbon exploration well was drilled offshore Brazil in 2965 m of water in
2001.
2. A production well was completed with a subsea completion system offshore Brazil
in 1852 m of water in 1998.
The offshore technology is steadily in progress towards deeper and deeper seas to search and
produce subsea resources for the future welfare of the world.
1. Because of the location remote from infrastructure, offshore rigs also carry
on board a number of service systems such as cementing, geophysical logging,
and so on.
3. Accommodations and catering for crews working for 24 hours are required
on the rig.
All these factors make offshore rigs complex and sophisticated, and therefore
offshore drilling costs are higher than land drilling costs for similar depth wells.
Moveable rigs are often used for exploratory purposes because they are much cheaper
to use than permanent platforms.
Once large deposits of hydrocarbons have been found, a permanent platform is built to
allow their extraction.
2. Jack-Up Rigs.
Water depth less than 50 m and calm sea: Tender or Jack-up assisted platforms.
Water depth from 500 m to 3000 m: Drillships or Semisubmersible rigs with dynamic
positioning system.
Isolated area with icebergs: Drillships with dynamic positioning system.
Severe sea conditions: Semisubmersible rigs or new generation Drillships .
1. Drillships.
3. Spars
Positively buoyant structures which are tethered to the seabed and are heave-restrained are:
For drilling as well as production these units are modified for dual function. (Excluding TLP
and SPAR, because of limited motions these are suitable for surface-completed wells only)
Example for Drilling, production & Storage in 1 unit is FPDSO (Floating Production Drilling
Storage & Offloading) (vessel motions is the only hesitation for its development)
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Largest Offshore
Structures
Example minimal
platform concepts
(LINX, MANTIS II and
TRIPOD) for
marginal field
4. Jack-ups:
The jack-up barges are typically three-legged structures having a deck supported on their
legs. The legs are made of tubular truss members. The deck is typically buoyant.
5. Subsea Templates:
Subsea technology covers a wide range of offshore activities. Examples are subsea Xmas
trees, manifolds, templates, flowlines and risers, control systems, well fluid boosters,
multiphase pumping and metering, water separation, water injection, remote and diverless
connections, guideline-free installations, seabed electrical power distribution systems,
interventions, etc.
6. Subsea Pipelines:
Subsea pipelines are used to transfer oil from the production platforms to storage facilities
or to the shore.
Submersible drilling rigs consist of upper and lower hulls connected by a network
of posts or beams. The drilling equipment and living quarters are installed on the
upper hull deck.
The lower hull has the buoyancy capacity to float and support the upper hull and
equipment. When water is pumped into the lower hull, the rig submerges and rests on
the seabed to provide a working place for the drilling.
Movement and drilling operations proceed as that of the jack-up rig. Most submerged rigs are
used only shallow waters of 8 to 10 meters.
Ship-shaped submersible rigs are also used, which are called swamp barges.
The tender anchored alongside the platform contains drilling equipment such as pumps and
tubular goods, and accommodation for personnel. A catwalk connects the platform and the
tender.
If weather conditions (wind, swell, and current) become too harsh, the drilling operations must
be shut down due to excessive motion of the tender.
The tender platforms are used in Gulf of Guinea and the Persian Gulf waters where good
weather conditions prevail, resulting in low downtime less than 2% of total operation time.
Typically designed to have their lowest modal frequency to be below the wave energy, as
opposed to the fixed structures, which have a first modal frequency greater than the
frequency of wave energy.
1. Articulated Platforms:
One of the earliest compliant structures that started in relatively shallow waters and slowly
moved into deep water.
“Articulated tower is an upright tower, which is hinged at its base with a cardan
joint and is free to oscillate about this joint due to the environment.”
The base below the universal joint on the seabed may be a gravity base or may be piled.
The tower is ballasted near the universal joint and has a large enough buoyancy tank at the
free surface to provide large restoring force (moment).
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2. Compliant Tower:
A compliant tower is similar to a traditional platform and extends from surface to the
sea bottom, and it is fairly transparent to waves.
Compliant tower is designed to flex with the forces of waves, wind and current. It uses less
steel than a conventional platform for the same water depth.
3. Guyed Tower:
A guyed tower is a slender structure made up of truss members, which rests on the
ocean floor and is held in place by a symmetric array of catenary guylines.
(III) Floating Structures
structures include
Spars, Semi-submersible MODUS and FPSs, Ship-shaped FPSOs
and Drillships.
Most floating production units are neutrally buoyant structures (which allows six-degrees
of freedom) which are intended to cost-effectively produce and export oil and gas.
1. FPSO:
The FPSO generally refers to ship-shaped structures with several different mooring
systems.
2. FPS
FPS refers to Floating Production systems which are finding application in marginal
and deepwater field development.
University.
Drillships
The Larger is a Drillship with Dual-Activity Drilling System (TSF Discoverer Enterprise), and the
Smaller is a Previous Generation Drillship (TSF Discoverer 534) Alongside with a Supply Boat
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(III) Floating Structures
3. Semi-Submersible Platform:
Semi-submersibles are
multi-legged floating
structures with a large
deck. These legs are
interconnected at the
bottom underwater
with horizontal
buoyant members
called pontoons.
Semisubmersible Platform
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A computer graphic of a
semisubmersible installation.
Disadvantages of semisubmersibles:
1. Pipeline infrastructure or other means is required to export produced oil.
2. Only a limited number of (rigid) risers can be supported because of the bulk of the tensioning
systems required.
3. Considering that most semisubmersible production systems are converted from drilling rigs,
the topsides weight capacity of a converted semisubmersible is usually limited.
4. Building schedules for semisubmersibles are usually longer than those for shipshaped
offshore structures.
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Semisubmersible (As Drilling Rig)
Semi-submersibles are multi-legged floating structures with a large deck. These legs are
interconnected at the bottom underwater with horizontal buoyant members called pontoons.
Semisubmersibles have submerged pontoons (lower hulls) that are interconnected to the drilling
deck by vertical columns
The lower hulls provide improved stability for the vessel. Also, the open area between the
vertical columns of semisubmersibles provides a reduced area on which the environment can act.
In drilling operations, the lower hulls are submerged in the water about half-length of the column,
but do not rest on the seabed. When a semisubmersible moves to a new location, the lower hulls
float on the sea surface. Semisubmersible rigs are towed by boats, and some rigs have self-
propelled capacity.
On drilling site to keep the position, the anchors usually moor semisubmersibles, but the dynamic
positioning systems are used by new generation semisubmersibles.
Semisubmersible Drilling Rig (JDC Hakuryu 3) (Reproduced Courtesy of Japan Drilling Co.)
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Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers), which are self-buoyant, is easier.
Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers),
which are self-buoyant, is easier.
Types of Spars:
1. Classic spar
2. Truss spar
3. Cell spar
The structure is vertically restrained precluding motions vertically (heave) and rotationally
(pitch and roll). It is compliant in the horizontal direction permitting lateral motions (surge
and sway).
It borrows from the concept of the tension leg platform and provides a cost-effective
marginal field application.
Moses MiniTLP appears to be a miniaturized TLP as the deck structure is supported by four
columns and the columns are connected by pontoons.
Motion characteristics of Moses is similar to that of SeaStar and, unlike the standard TLPs,
miniTLPs need to dedicate a large percentage of their displacement (35 - 45%) for
pretension.