Pilot Steam Generator Uses Solar Energy

Successfully for EOR Operations in Oman

T his paper presents performance,

results, and learnings from the
first solar enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR)
ating the potential for solar energy in
the region. The measure of solar radia-
tion used to quantify resources for CSP
ally in a wide variety of environmen-
tal conditions.
The mirrors are of a low-cost light-
project in the Middle East/North Africa is direct normal irradiance (DNI), the weight aluminum honeycomb construc-
region, including the motivation for amount of direct-beam (rays that come tion, and the structural design and low
solar EOR in Oman, a description of in a straight line from the sun) radiation aspect ratio of the greenhouse allows it
the enclosed-trough design used in received per unit area by a surface that is to withstand design wind loads at much
the Amal field, and operations and always held perpendicular (or normal) lower cost and material usage than con-
performance data. The key objective for to the direction of the sun at its current ventional CSP designs.
the pilot was to prove that the system position in the sky. Ambient windborne sand, dust, and
is able to be deployed practically and The deserts of Oman receive DNI humidity are substantial in many desert
economically at scale in the region. of greater than 2000 kW-hr/a in most oilfield environments. In many parts of
locations, with higher altitudes reach- the Middle East, overnight condensa-
ing greater than 2500 kW-hr/a (Fig. 1). tion occurs on dust-laden surfaces, re-
Introduction For reference, the Amal location re- sulting in mud that requires wet wash-
Thermal-EOR projects require a mas- ceives 2057 kW-hr/a. Because of Oman’s ing. The enclosed-trough glasshouse
sive long-term thermal energy supply to low latitude, solar irradiation does not structure is fitted with an automated
heat the reservoir. Concentrating solar show large seasonal variations. Pe- roof-washing system capable of cleaning
power (CSP) could provide this energy troleum Development Oman select- the entire roof surface each night while
at a low cost after the initial capital in- ed the Amal field in southern Oman the collectors are offline. The majority
vestment; hence, the two processes are (Fig. 2) as the site for the SSGP using the of wash water is returned in the gutter
well-matched, especially in locations enclosed-trough technology. system and can be recovered for reuse.
with high levels of solar radiation. Dust infiltration is minimized by posi-
The Sultanate of Oman, in common Technology tive pressure from an air-handling unit
with many other countries in the region, “Enclosed trough” represents a new (AHU), which provides filtered, dried
has large heavy-oil reserves, which are approach to the design and construc- air at slight overpressure within the
best produced with thermal-EOR meth- tion of concentrating solar collectors. structure in all conditions. This is de-
ods. Natural gas is traditionally used as The enclosed-trough system is protect- signed to cope with intense dust storms
the fuel for these projects. However, con- ed by a glass structure, an agricultur- of long duration. These measures have
cerns about future supply, carbon di- al greenhouse (Fig. 3). The SSGP plant proved effective in delivering consistent
oxide emissions, and future costs led has a solar field footprint of 17 280 m2 energy output in oilfield conditions. The
Petroleum Development Oman to inves- with a peak output of more than 7 MW small losses from roof-glass transmis-
tigate solar technology to power long- thermal. Lightweight parabolic mirrors sion and structural shading are more
term EOR plans. The result was the are hung within the glasshouse. The than compensated for by the soiling
solar-steam-generation pilot (SSGP) built glasshouse provides structural support control and wind protection afforded by
at the Amal West field in southern Oman. and isolates the solar collectors from this architecture.
wind and moisture, substantially reduc- Low system weight allows the en-
Potential ing the total cost of the solar-energy tire mirror system to be suspended from
One cannot spend time in the deserts of system. These greenhouses are similar the fixed-receiver system. This fixed re-
the Arabian Peninsula without appreci- to the design deployed at scale glob- ceiver eliminates all moving parts from
the high-pressure direct steam receiver
system. This enables the pressures nec-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
essary for oilfield steam generation at
of paper SPE 169745, “Construction, Operations, and Performance of the First low cost and eliminates safety risks and
Enclosed-Trough Solar-Steam-Generation Pilot for EOR Applications,” by Daniel maintenance requirements associated
Palmer, SPE, GlassPoint Solar Muscat, and John O’Donnell, GlassPoint Solar, with articulated high-pressure receiv-
prepared for the 2014 SPE EOR Conference at OGWA, Muscat, Oman, 31 March– ers. The direct-steam system eliminates
2 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. other costs and risks of traditional CSP

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • JUNE 2015 111


Direct Normal Irradiance
2 4 6 8 kWh/m 2/day
Fig. 1—Solar radiation (DNI) map of Oman showing average
annual DNI per day in KW-h/m2. The location of the SSGP is
marked with a “+.” Fig. 2—Location of the SSGP at the Amal field.
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112
Location of
Amal pilot
systems such as heat exchangers and
flammable heat-transfer oils.
A proprietary solar receiver tech-
nology is used, based on a standard
2-in. carbon-steel boiler tube similar
to those used in oilfield boilers. The re-
ceiver tube is polished and coated with
selective absorber coating that maxi-
mizes the absorption of solar radiation,
while minimizing the losses from the
emission of infrared radiation. Tubu-
lar glass shields minimize heat losses
from convection. The glasshouse struc-
ture carries the receivers and troughs.
The receivers are suspended from the
structure by steel rods. The troughs are
supported from the receiver tubes by
use of similar rods. These rods are held
in tension and can accommodate the
significant daily thermal expansion and
contraction of the receivers and troughs
while maintaining precision alignment
of the optical system.
Steam quality is controlled through
a separator and remixing system. Steam
is separated in a vessel, and the flow
of steam vapor and liquid is measured.
The two are then remixed at the target
steam quality. Excess liquid can be recy-
JPT • JUNE 2015
 1
5 is a combination of an optical model
Moist 2
3 tion and focusing of light onto the re-
Dirty
Air
6 4
Clean Dry Air
Fig. 3—Diagram of enclosed-trough
solar system. (1) Roof-washing
system; (2) glasshouse; (3) tubular
glass shields; (4) lightweight
parabolic mirrors; (5) steel rods
suspending receivers; (6) AHU.
cled to the insulated water supply tank
so that energy is not wasted. Generally,
a steam quality of 75% was the target
during operations.
The system is connected to the
Amal West main steam header and is de-
signed to deliver 50 t/d of steam on aver-
age for the year. This represents a small
percentage of the total steam capacity
of the field and, as such, does not lead to
significant pressure or rate variations in
the steam-distribution network. Future
systems can incorporate turn down of
fuel-fired once-through steam genera-
tors and steam-distribution networks
that will allow large fractions of solar
energy to be accommodated.
Results
Health, Safety, and Environmental
Performance. The project to date has
been executed without a lost-time inju-
ry in more than 270,000 man-hours of
construction and operations. This is a
result of eliminating risks through engi-
neering design and a high level of safety
focus at the site. For example, the mir-
rors can be installed without the use of
cranes and without working at height.
The main maintenance task, the clean-
ing of the roof, is completed nightly by
automated equipment, eliminating any
requirement for work at height.
System Performance. A model was
built to predict the ideal performance
JPT • JUNE 2015
of the system on the basis of incident
solar radiation (DNI) and the posi-
tion of the sun. This proprietary model
FULL STEAM AHEAD
that calculates ray paths and reflec-
ceiver and a thermal model that cal-
culates heat transfer and losses in the
steam system. In combination, these
two provide a model that translates in-
coming radiation (DNI) and the sun’s
position in the sky to the steam output of
the system.
Three performance tests were de-
signed to measure the performance of
the system. The first was to measure in-
stantaneous performance of the system
in full sun (Test A). The second was to
measure cumulative output vs. model
for the first year of operations (Test B)
on the basis of the following ramp up:
◗ Months 1–3 post-
commissioning—
80% of model output
◗ Months 4–5 post-
commissioning—
90% of model output
◗ Months 6–12 post-
commissioning—
95% of model output
The final test (Test C) was to
show that the system could be run au- The patented technology
tonomously for 3 days (i.e., with no to meet all requirements of
human interaction). thermal recovery methods :
Cumulative-Steam-Output PCM VulcainTM
Results All Metal Progressing Cavity
The goal of the test laid out at the start Pump System for Artificial Lift
of the operations was exceeded by 2%.
Close to 14,000 tons of steam was gen-
• Boosts temperature limits
erated during the first 12 months of op-
up to 350°c/660°f
erational days.
The solar-steam pilot operated • Ideally suited for thermal
with extremely high uptime, averaging EOR conditions (SAGD, CSS,
98.6% for the full year and more than Steam flood)
99.5% for the final 3-month period. The • Stays efficient with any
solar field uptime significantly exceed- water cut
ed expectations, although a number of • No work over before and
remedial actions were addressed. Most after steaming
of these could be addressed at night
when the plant was nonoperational and
cooled off. JPT