Operations

UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS

Hamid Emami-Meybodi

Universidad de Los Andes

June 2023
Outline 2

Unconventional Drilling

Completion and Fracturing

Water Management

Production Facilities
 3

Unconventional Drilling
Unconventional Drilling 4

Land Gridding
• Oil and gas development conforms to land grids
established by the Public Land Survey System
(PLSS), which divides nearly the entire United
States into 6 square mile blocks, referred to as
townships.

Example of PLSS Nomenclature: 14-2S-3W

• Townships are further divided
into 36 sections 1 square mile in
size. Each section is
approximately 640 acres.

• Historically, for vertical drilling,

sections were broken down into
smaller development units as
small as 40 acres.

• For horizontal drilling, the

developments are planned on
the section level and refer to
these units as DSU’s.
(USGS, 18-Jan-2018)
Unconventional Drilling 5

Drilling Spacing Unit (DSU)

Unconventional Drilling 6

Wellpad
• A well pad can comprise
an area about five acres in
size (2.5 football fields).

• Pad location: Often must

take whatever is available
in challenging areas. Multi-
well pads save on costs but
increase nudge length for
development wells.
Unconventional Drilling 7

Well Staggering and Spacing Parent well

First well drilled
in DSU to hold
• An example of one DSU with the lease. This is
referred to hold
multiple horizons consisting by production
of 4 well pads (bench), each (HBP).
bench has 3 laterals.
Child well

(Matador, 24-Feb-2018)
Unconventional Drilling 8

Well Profile Planning

• Drilling in an unconventional
formation is a manufacturing process.

• Well planning is largely driven by

surface and regulatory constraints
(e.g., permit for drilling, 2 weeks for private land; 6
months for federal land).

• No perforations are allowed beyond

red hard lines. Well is not permitted
to traverse out of section without an
easement.

• Geology and intended

Bottom Hole Assembly
(BHA) design are
secondary, but also
important factors when
developing a well.
(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 9

A Flowing Well: Subsurface Section

1. Well: Channel of communication between reservoir and
Conductor surface

2. Casing + Cementation + Perforation

 Conductor: The outermost casing string, about 40 –
Surface casing 500 ft deep (onshore), isolates very weak formations
from wellbore
 Surface casing: Provides fresh water protestation
and wellbore stability, about 300-5000 ft based on
regulations
Intermediate casing  Intermediate casing: Provides isolation of
different zones, based on technical reasons
 Production casing: For the production purpose
 Liner: For the production purpose, does not extend
Tubing
to the top of the wellbore

Production casing 3. Tubing: Protects the primary wellbore tubulars,

including casing and liner

Reservoir
(oil/gas/water)
 Unconventional Drilling 10

A Flowing Well: Surface Section Gauge

Cap
Adapter

Swab (Crown) Valve

Production
Kill Wing Valve Wing Valve
Choke
Flow Line
Flow
Wellhead

Cross
to SPF

Christmas Tree
Master Valve

Tubing Head Tubing hanger

Casing hanger (3rd casing head)

Casing Head Spool (2nd casing head)
Adapter (1st casing head)
subsurface
Unconventional Drilling 11

Schematic of a Horizontal Well

Casing and Tubing Strings

(ALL Consulting, 2008)

Unconventional Drilling 12

Sections of an Unconventional Well

Surface hole
• Vertical hole limited to 250 ft below treatable water.
• Typically easiest section of the well to drill. ROP often in excess of 500 ft/hr.
• Only section of the well where a “traditional” BHA may be utilized.

Vertical section and nudge

• Directional section necessary to align well on slot for DSU development.
• Currently the most difficult portion of the well to drill due to rapid geologic transitions
and interbedding.

Curve
• The curve is the deviation from vertical to horizontal and the shortest wellbore
segment in terms of length and drilling time but the most critically important.
• Failure to control tortuosity in a curve can hang up tools, hinder completions, &
damage artificial lift.
• Curves often deviate significantly from plan due to geological differences to model as
well as unexpected tool yields.

Lateral
• Trials currently underway to optimize targeting and BHA design to maximize lateral
ROP and tool life.
Unconventional Drilling 13

Wellbore Design: Monobore

• After placing a conductor pipe:

12 ¼” Surface Hole: 9 5/8” Surface Casing
8 ¾” Vertical/Curve/Lateral Hole: 5 ½” Production Casing

• Surface casing to protect surface and ground water.

• Open hole drilling from surface shoe to lateral section TD.
• Most-desired wellbore design.
• Cheapest and quickest to drill in benign geology.
• Simple design leads to consistent execution.

(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 14

Wellbore Design: Slimhole

• After placing a conductor pipe:

12 ¼” Surface Hole: 9 5/8” Surface Casing
8 ¾” Vertical/Curve Hole: 7” Intermediate Casing
6 1/8” Lateral Hole: 4 ½” Production Liner

• Intermediate set through the curve for stability or to

utilize cheap drilling fluids in lateral section.

• Primarily utilized in areas where Monobore well design

is feasible, but extremely costly due to mud losses.

(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 15

Wellbore Design: Deep Set

• After placing a conductor pipe:

17 ½” Surface Hole: 13 3/8” Surface Casing
12 ¼” Vertical Hole: 9 5/8” Intermediate Casing
8 ¾” Curve/Lateral Hole: 5 ½” Production Liner

• Large intermediate casing set above hazard gas-

bearing formations to protect formations uphole in the
event of a kick.

(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 16

Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA)

• BHA design is dependent on the section of the hole (vertical, curve,
lateral) to be drilled.

Bent Housing Motor (Conventional)

Rotary Steerable System (RSS)

(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 17

Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA): Bent Housing Motor

Sliding Rotating

• “Point the bit” method of steering a well.

• Directional work is done via sliding – stopping string
rotation while orienting bit in desired direction.
• Mature technology with experienced field support
among vendors and directional companies.
• Creates tortuous wellbore even when drilling straight.

• Pros
(Newfield, 2018)
– Can yield large doglegs when needed
– “Point the bit” design easily orientable

• Cons

– Shorter bit life

– Sliding time can be substantial and slow
Unconventional Drilling 18

Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA): Rotary Steerable System (RSS)

• RSS systems may be configured as “push the bit” or “point the bit” and are run
below a straight motor.

• Allow for continuous rotation of the drill string while drilling, maximizing ROP.

• By eliminating sliding, RSS improves ROP and allow for a less tortuous
wellbore. Smoother wellbore reduces torque and drag.

• Pros
– Eliminates sliding time
– Reduced wellbore tortuosity
– Increased bit life

• Cons
– High cost, therefore it is used for long laterals (>7000 ft)
– Must downlink (surface-to- downhole communications) to receive directional
commands. To achieve the downlink the operator uses flow-rate modulation to transmit
commands from the surface to the downhole tool.
– Tool reliability can be poor

(Newfield, 2018)
Unconventional Drilling 19

Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA): Bits

• Bit selection depends on geology and the section of the hole.

• Polycrystalline diamond
compact (PDC) bits are
commonly used to drill laterals
(water-based mud for vertical
and oil-based mud for lateral).

• Roller cone bits might be • Air hammer bit is used

used (with conventional BHA) for vertical part of
because they don’t create Marcellus wells
• 3-D cutters are now
any shearing as compared (Lateral section with
entering the market and
with PDC allowing better PDC and oil-based
are being trialed with
bending in directional drilling. mud).
promising results.
Unconventional Drilling 20

Drilling Pad Layout

2 Crown block
Courtesy of Adam Larson (Summer Int. 2015)
Image Provided by Natural Gas Intel (NGI)
Derrick

4
1 1. Trailers
2. (Triple) Rig
3. Doghouse
5 3 4. Drill Pipe
5. Gas Buster
6 6. Solids Control
7. Fluid Storage
8. Mud Additives
10
9. Air Compressors
10. Electrical Room
11 9 11. Mud Pumps
8
7
Unconventional Drilling 21

Drilling Rig Derrick and Monkey Board

Kelly Drive and Rotary Table

BOP
Utica Shale Gas in Potter County, PA (2016)
Unconventional Drilling 22

Drilling Rig

• Because no fluid is injected, the

annular returns are “dust.”

• Dust will be mixed with water to be

transportable.

Utica Shale Gas in Potter County, PA (2016)

Unconventional Drilling 23

Drilling Rig: A Giant Walking Robot!

Autodriller works Totco provides real-time drilling

based on the instrumentation, visualization
optimized setpoints solutions, and data communication
determined by the to support a variety of back-office
driller. information management offerings.

(Exxon, 2018)
 24

Completion and Fracturing

Completion and Fracturing 25

Completion Time and Money

Time completing Money spent completing

(Newfield, 2018)
Completion and Fracturing 26

Wellbore Construction: Trajectories

• Wellbore trajectory is vital. No

such thing as straight hole.

• About 50% of time during fracture

stimulation is spent on isolating
(wireline) and 10% on drillout.

• Combined loads happen

 Casing installation
 Triaxial forces while pumping
 Fatigue cycles
 Erosions
 Wireline intervention
 Drillout methods
 Debris (sand) accumulation
 Energy fades
 Liquid slugs and traps

(Newfield, 2018)
Completion and Fracturing 27

Wellbore Construction: Isolation

• Annular isolation
 Cement
 Openhole packers
• Horizontal section 7,000 to 15,000 feet below ground.
• Multiple fractures created in the horizontal section.
• Groundwater in the upper 50 to 2000 feet protected by
casing and cement.

- Oil & water swellable

- Mechanical hydraulic

(Newfield, 2018)
Completion and Fracturing 28

Wellbore Construction: Isolation

• Internal isolation with plugs

 Composite
 Dissolvable
 Inserts

W. Aaron Burton
Unconventional Oil and Gas Training
Completion and Fracturing 29

Wellbore Construction: Isolation

• Internal Isolation using coil
• Internal isolation with ball and sleeve tubing activated

W. Aaron Burton, Unconventional Oil and Gas Training

Completion and Fracturing 30

Fracture Design: Perforation

• Objectives
 Connect to frac/reservoir
 Distribute material and production optimally

• Perforation designs and uneven distribution

 Annular isolation, friction, proppant transport, fluid
dynamics, stress shadowing, geomechanics, mineralogy

• What is limited entry?

 Limiting perfs, area, placement

(Newfield, 2018)

• How do we do it?
 Bernoulli equation
 Injectivity tests
 Too few perfs means more pressure

~ 20” – 30”
Completion and Fracturing 31

Fracture Design: Cluster Spacing

• Industry trend for cluster count is increasing while for stage
length is decreasing, i.e., cluster spacing is decreasing.

• Spacing depends on matrix permeability and geomechanics.

 Completion and Fracturing 32

Fracture Design: Additives

ADDITIVE TYPE DESCRIPTION OF PURPOSE EXAMPLES OF CHEMICALS

“Props” open fractures and allows gas / fluids to flow more freely to the well bore. Sand [Sintered bauxite; zirconium oxide;
Proppant
ceramic beads]
Cleans up perforation intervals of cement and drilling mud prior to fracturing fluid Hydrochloric acid (HCl, 3% to 28%) or
Acid
injection, and provides accessible path to formation. muriatic acid
Reduces the viscosity of the fluid in order to release proppant into fractures and Peroxydisulfates
Breaker
enhance the recovery of the fracturing fluid.
Inhibits growth of organisms that could produce gases (particularly hydrogen sulfide) Gluteraldehyde;
Bactericide /
that could contaminate methane gas. Also prevents the growth of bacteria which can 2-Bromo-2-nitro-1,2-propanediol
Biocide
reduce the ability of the fluid to carry proppant into the fractures.
Buffer / pH Adjusts and controls the pH of the fluid in order to maximize the effectiveness of Sodium or potassium carbonate; acetic acid
Adjusting Agent other additives such as crosslinkers.
Clay Stabilizer / Prevents swelling and migration of formation clays which could block pore spaces Salts (e.g., tetramethyl ammonium chloride)
Control thereby reducing permeability. [Potassium chloride]
Reduces rust formation on steel tubing, well casings, tools, and tanks (used only in Methanol; ammonium bisulfate for Oxygen
Corrosion Inhibitor
fracturing fluids that contain acid). Scavengers
The fluid viscosity is increased using phosphate esters combined with metals. The Potassium hydroxide; borate salts
Crosslinker metals are referred to as crosslinking agents. The increased fracturing fluid viscosity
allows the fluid to carry more proppant into the fractures.
Allows fracture fluids to be injected at optimum rates and pressures by minimizing Sodium acrylate-acrylamide copolymer;
Friction Reducer
friction. polyacrylamide (PAM); petroleum distillates
Increases fracturing fluid viscosity, allowing the fluid to carry more proppant into the Guar gum; petroleum distillate
Gelling Agent
fractures.
Prevents the precipitation of carbonates and sulfates (calcium carbonate, calcium Ammonium chloride; ethylene glycol;
Iron Control
sulfate, barium sulfate) which could plug off the formation. polyacrylate
Additive which is soluble in oil, water & acid-based treatment fluids which is used to Various aromatic hydrocarbons
Solvent
control the wettability of contact surfaces or to prevent or break emulsions.
Surfactant Reduces fracturing fluid surface tension thereby aiding fluid recovery. Methanol; isopropanol; ethoxylated alcohol
Completion and Fracturing 33

Fracture Design: Proppants

• Different types: Sand, Resin coated, Ceramic
 Sand is > 80% market.
 Trend towards local sand driven primarily by
cost and performance.
• Different mesh size:
 100 mesh & 40/70 > 80%
 Deeper transport before settling
 Ability to ‘turn corners’ in complex fracturing
 Conductivity still infinite compared to matrix permeability
Completion and Fracturing 34

Fracture Design: Fluids

• Regionally diverse
• Thin fluids dominate
 Slick water (SW) = 32% of total wells in 2016
 Cross Linked (XL)/SW hybrid = 33%
 Linear Gel (LG)/SW hybrid = 20%
 XL = 11%
• Trend away from crosslinked fluids
 High cost
 More formation damage
 Low efficiency at high temperature
• Industry trend towards less complex fluids
• Less chemicals per frac stage
• Key additives include
 Acid to help breakdown
 Friction reducer
 Biocide
 Breaker
 Clay stabilizer
 Scale inhibitor
Completion and Fracturing 35

Fracture Design: Modeling

Fracture modeling workflow

 Completion and Fracturing 36

Fracture Design: Modeling

• Fracture simulators: All fracture models must be calibrated

 Microsiesmic, Tracers, Fiber optic, RTA results, Frac hits

(Newfield, 2018)
Completion and Fracturing 37

Fracture Execution: Plug and Perf Example

0. Toe-DFIT is conducted the drilling crew after drilling and cementing of

production casing (mini frac test).

1. Injecting acid (HCL) for clean up (cements in toe-sub) and the creating (by
the completion crew) the first fracturing stage (one cluster) by injecting
water and proppant to burst toe-sub, which is located at the toe.

2. Sending wireline BHA to perforate (e.g., 8 perforation sets) a part of the well
(e.g., 200 ft) for the second fracturing stage from toe.

3. Taking wireline BHA out, but the plug remains in place, and then injecting
acid to clean perforation holes.

4. Injecting water/gel and proppant to create the second stage of fractures

(e.g., 8 clusters)

5. Repeat 2 to 4 until getting to the heel.

6. Drillouts and hole cleaning

Completion and Fracturing 38

Fracture Execution: Wireline BHA for Perforation

Wireline truck

Wire cross section

Completion and Fracturing 39

Fracture Execution: Frac Plug and Setting Tool

Completion and Fracturing 40

Fracture Execution: Perf Guns and Casing Collar Locator (CCL)

Completion and Fracturing 41

Fracture Execution: Drillouts

(Newfield, 2018)
Completion and Fracturing 42

Fracture Execution: Drillouts Methods

Advantages of Coil Tubing vs WOR Disadvantages of Coil Tubing vs WOR

• Reduced Drill-out times • Higher day rate can lead to higher cost
• Eliminate the snubbing unit • 2 3/8” Coil - lower tensile strength and
• Eliminate the kill plugs increased buckling vs 2-7/8” Tubing (Limited
• Reduced HSE exposure reach into well and limited over-pull)
Completion and Fracturing 43

Fracture Evaluation: Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test (DFIT)

• Small fracking job without
proppant, before a main fracture
stimulation treatment. DFIT Procedure

• Toe-DFIT has minimal impact to

operations and has low cost.
• Estimate key items
 Fracture closure pressure
 Reservoir pore pressure

• SPE 93419 (Soliman et al, 2005)

• SPE 107877 (Barree et al, 2007)
• SPE 140136 ( Mohamed et al, 2011)
• SPE 160169 (Bachman et al, 2012)

(After PetroWiki, 2016)

Completion and Fracturing 44

Fracture Evaluation: DFIT (Cement Test)

• Logging truck checks the quality of

cement job and later DFIT, and after
that hydraulic fracking will be started.

• Acoustic sonic and ultrasonic cement

evaluation tools measure the bond
between the casing and the cement
placed in the wellbore annulus between
the casing and wellbore.
Completion and Fracturing 45

Fracture Evaluation: Tracers

• Radioactive tracers
 Identify height in vertical wells
 Identify cluster placement in horizontal wells
 Tracers can be altered during drillout operations
 Limited timeline for effectiveness

• Chemical tracers (Resman, 2016)

 Identify inter-well communication

 Identify hydrocarbon production allocated by stage
 Heel-to-toe production ratio
 Clean up efficiency
 Formation water identification
 Can be oil soluble or water soluble

(Restrack, 2016)
Completion and Fracturing 46

Fracture Evaluation: Microseismic

• Identify small shear failures associated with

hydraulic fracturing. Based on wave
propagation and source characterization

• Used to constrain fracture geometry

• Advanced interpretation to identify fracture

properties

Treatment well
(Calvez et al., 2016)

Monitoring well
(Zhang et al., 2016)
 Completion and Fracturing 47

Fracture Evaluation: Fiber Optic

• Measures strain on fiber optic wire

• Identify cluster efficiency, impact of

different completion types

• Can be used as real-time

production log for single phase flow Fiber optic cable cutaway

Fiber optic measurements

(Molennar et al., 2012)

Completion and Fracturing 48

Completion Pad Layout

Completion and Fracturing 49

Fracturing Fluid/Solid Movement

Completion and Fracturing 50

Fracturing Water Tanks

• Horizontal
 500 bbl, 8’ tall
 More volume
 Strap stick to measure volume

• Vertical
 400 bbl, 16’ tall
 More hydrostatic
 Less space taken
 Has float to measure volume
Completion and Fracturing 51

Sand Storage

• Sand Boxes – 45,000 lb

• Sand Silos
Dance Floor

• Sand Chiefs — 270,000 lb

Completion and Fracturing 52

Chemical Storage

• Tankers: Friction reducer,

clay stabilizer, X-linker, buffer
• Totes: Biocide, surfactant,
corrosion inhibitor
Completion and Fracturing 53

Hydration Unit
• This unit mixes the water and chemical additives to make the frac fluid.
• Usually the blending process takes a few minutes for the water to gel to the
right consistency.
Completion and Fracturing 54

Blender
• Fluids mixed with
 Sand from hopper via augers
 Liquid additives (e.g., FR, clay
stabilizer, surfactant)
 Dry adds from buckets (e.g., breaker)

• Boost pump
 Gives 60-100 psi to pumps
 Prevent cavitation
• Flow meter at suction and discharge
Completion and Fracturing 55

Frac Pumps: Muscle of Fracturing Operation!

• Engine: Diesel
• Transmission: Gears control throttle (rpm) → rate (bpm)
• Power end: Rotational energy of crank shaft → pony rods → plungers
• Fluid end
 Packing
 Seal between plunger and fluid end cylinder
 Keep sand away → prevent damage
 Allow plunger to slide through
 Valves and seats
 Plunger out → Suction valve open
 Plunger in → Discharge valve open
 Pressure rating: 15,000 psi
 Max torque → Max force → Max Pressure
 Prevent damage to shafts and gears
Completion and Fracturing 56

Missile
• The missile is comprised of a low-pressure side and a high pressure side, and is the
manifold through which the frac fluid flows to the pressurization trucks (frac pumps),
and into the wellbore to frac the rock.
Missile

e.g., 10,000 ft lateral, 50 stages, 8 clusters per stage, 25 ft cluster spacing, 16 frac pumps to
inject 80 bbl/min of sand and fluids, 10,000 bbl SW + 500,000 lb sand per stage
Completion and Fracturing 57

Frac Stack (Frac Tree) and Valves

• Frac stack or frac tree is a Christmas tree installed specifically for the fracturing
process. A frac stack typically consists of upper and lower master valves, flow cross,
wing valves, goat head, and swab valve. Frac stacks generally have larger bores and
higher pressure ratings than production Christmas tree to accommodate the high flow
rates and pressures necessary for hydraulic fracturing.

(Newfield, 2018)
 58

Water Management
Water Management 59

Importance of Water for Unconventional Reservoirs

• Water is the base fluid and biggest component of any hydraulic fracturing operation.

• Water volumes required for typical completions range from 100,000 to 500,000
barrels per well.

• Water must be stored near the completion operation in sufficient quantities to finish a
job at the desired pump rate.

• Water must be stored in a manner that is economically and environmentally sound.

(Newfield, 2018)
Water Management 60

Water Source

Subsurface aquifers using water wells Municipal water

Ground water from naturally occurring Lakes

or man made ponds
Water Management 61

Water Transportation

Water pumps

Truck

(Newfield, 2018)
Water Management 62

Water Storage

(Newfield, 2018)
Water Management 63

Water Recycle Facility

(Newfield, 2018)
Water Management 64

Water Recycle Facility

(Newfield, 2018)
Water Management 65

Water Recycle Facility

Truck offloads

Tanks
Water Management 66

Water Recycle Facility

• Desander is used to remove

solid particles.

• Skim tanks are used to

separate oil from water.

• Storage tanks are used to

store separated oil, which
will be transported by
truck for sale.
Water Management 67

Water Recycle Facility

• Divert pit: Water comes from skim tanks and mixes with air. Added bacteria consume
H2S and added chemical react with the some of the water impurities.
Water Management 68

Water Recycle Facility

• Treatment pit: More time is given for water treatment.
 69

Production Facilities
 Production Facilities 70

SPF Purpose, Primary Task, and Paths

Sale
out-of-spec in-spec
Natural Gas Path Injection
Flare

Bulk
Wellhead

well stream out-of-spec in-spec

Gravity Oil Path Sale
fluids
Separation

out-of-spec in-spec Injection

Water Path
Disposal

Sand (solid) Path Disposal

Reservoir
 Production Facilities 71

SPF Processes, Specifications, and Equipment

𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐎𝟐𝟐 , 𝐒𝐒, 𝐇𝐇𝟐𝟐 𝐒𝐒 sale
Dehydration NGL Extraction Non-HC Extraction NG Sale
𝑻𝑻𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝,𝒘𝒘 ≤ 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑°𝐅𝐅 𝑻𝑻𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝,𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏°𝐅𝐅 • Heat ≥950 btu/scf Meter
• 𝑯𝑯𝟐𝟐 𝐒𝐒, 𝐒𝐒, 𝐂𝐂𝑶𝑶𝟐𝟐 cont. run
@𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩 @𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩 • 𝐓𝐓 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏°𝐅𝐅
out-
• 𝐏𝐏 ≥ 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕 𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩 Re-injection
of- Glycol Tower J-T Skid
spec
gas
Compression
NGL Stabilization NGL
Compressor
Stabilizer sale
Trucks
Dehydration
Stabilization
Bulk Gravity

Storage
Wellhead

Separation

BS&W Content ≤ Oil sale

𝑷𝑷𝒃𝒃 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩𝐩 Stock Tanks
out- 0.5-1% vol.
of- Separators LACT
Heater Treater
spec
oil Pipeline

out- Offshore: HC Content ≤ 29 mg/l

of-
spec
water
Water Treatment, HC Content
Inland: Zero Discharge
Production Facilities 72

(www.chk.com)
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 73

Wellhead

Surface Equipment
 Production Facilities for Gas Wells 74

Wellhead
(A) Hammer Union: Installed for well intervention. With this
piece in place the well is able to be shut in and rigged up
for coiled tubing, slickline, e-line, or workover intervention. A C
(B) Crown Valve: Operated when shutting in the well for
intervention.
(C) Emergency Shut-Down (ESD) Valve/Wing Valves:
Automated valve which works through means of an B
internal float (pneumatically), a LEL meter, or pressure
switches. The valve is set to remain open during normal
conditions. As long as the well is flowing at normal
conditions, the valve will remain open. If any of the
previously mentioned parameters fall outside of their norm,
the valve closes and the well will be shut in.
(D) Upper Master Valve: Primary master valve used when
shutting in the well.
(E) Lower Master Valve: Secondary master valve used
D
when shutting in the well.
(F) Tubing Hanger: This is the portion of the wellhead in
which the tubing hanger sits. The set screws on the
outside of the wellhead are used to hold the hanger in
place. The tubing is threaded into the tubing hanger and E
properly spaced out so the tubing is hanging at the correct
weight. G H
(G) Intermediate Casing/Production Casing Annular F
Access: This gauge monitors pressure on the annulus
between the intermediate casing and the production
casing. Any increase in pressure on this gauge would be
indicative of poor cement integrity
(H) Production Casing/Tubing Annular Valve: This valve
gives access to the annulus between the production casing
and the tubing.
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 75

Sand Separator
• A sand separator is located downstream from the wellhead to remove solids.

Courtesy: Anthony Constantine, Summer Internship 2013

Production Facilities for Gas Wells 76

Gas Production Unit (GPU)

• Gas Production Unit (GPU), connected into

the well head, works as a heater+separator
to separate gas and liquid (brine) from each
other for high pressure wells.
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 77

Storage Tanks and Trucks

• Storage tanks
contain
produced brine.

• Tank trucks will carry

produced brine to
disposal sites.
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 78

Glycol Dehydration Unit

• Glycol Dehydration Unit

eliminates water vapor from
natural gas (Gas scrubber,
Contractor, Separator, Reboiler).
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 79

Gas Scrubber

• Another gas scrubber after the dehydration unit.

• A pipe manifold and

valve assembly and
PIG station
(launching and

receiving chamber )
right before gas
leaving the well pad.
Production Facilities for Gas Wells 80

Gas Meter/Regulator Station

• Meter/regulator station
interconnects production facility
to major natural gas pipelines,
and meters the flow and
adjusts the pressure of natural
gas received from or delivered
to those systems.

• Another gas scrubber and pig

station.
Production Facilities for Oil Wells 81

Schematic of Oil Facilities

Single Well Design

Commingled Design
Production Facilities for Oil Wells 82

Wellhead Sand Separator

Courtesy of Adam Larson (Summer Int. 2015)

Production Facilities for Oil Wells 83

Horizontal 3-Phase Separator and Vertical Heater Treater

• 3-phase separators separates oil, gas, and water from incoming fluids.
• Heater treaters are used for emulsified oil to separate water droplets from oil.
Production Facilities for Oil Wells 84

Vapor (Gas) Recovery/Combustion

• Using a vapor recovery tower (VRT) along with a vapor recovery unit VRU, a
facility can increase production of natural gas and decrease air emissions.

• VRTs are tall, vertical 2P separators used to recover flash gas

emissions that would be generated in a crude oil storage tank.

• VRUs are used to remove or recover vapors

from storage tanks for either storage or send
them to flare. They have compressor units VRT
that increase pressures up to 350 psi.

• Combustors are used to flare

off excess gas, on location
based on safety/emissions
standards. VRU

Combustor Oil Tank (Hy-Bon, 2018)

(Flare)
Production Facilities for Oil Wells 85

Vapor Recovery Tower Vapor Recovery Unit

Whirlwind (2018) Hughes Meter and Supply (2018)

Production Facilities for Oil Wells 86

Combustor and Flares

(Newfield, 2018)

Low-P Flare High-P Flare Low-P Combustor (high efficiency)

Production Facilities for Oil Wells 87

Tank Battery and Oil Tanker Truck

• Polyethelene sheets
and/or Polyurea spray
to prevent any spills.

(Newfield, 2018)

(Energy Landscapes, 2018)

Production Facilities for Oil Wells 88

Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) Unit

(Powerserviceinc, 2018)

 Measures the net volume

and quality (API and BS&W
content) of liquid
hydrocarbons.

 Provides for the automatic

measurement, sampling,
and transfer of oil from the
lease location into a
pipeline.

(Emerson, 2018)