SURFACE PRODUCTION

FACILITIES OPERATION
DAY I
 SAFETY FIRST

Fire Alarm

-Note location of Alarm points and Muster points

-Note Evacuation Routes

Fire Extinguishers

-Note their placement in each corridor

-What type are they and what fire can they be used on?
 COURSE CONTENT
DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3
 Overview of upstream  Produced Water
oil and gas operations  Oil treating treatment
 Fluid properties  Crude storage and 
 Phase Behavior Vapour recovery Water injection systems
 Process Configurations(e  Measurement of
.g PFD) crude oil  Relief and Flare systems
 Manifold and gathering  Transportation of
systems and flow line
crude oil
 Phase Separation
 Principle of operation
•

DAY 4 DAY 5
Over view of gas
Pigging processing
 Purpose  Asset development and
 Design life cycle
 Operations
 Course Review

 Close
 OVERVIEW OF UPSTREAM OIL AND GAS
INDUSTRY OPERATION
Exploration and production (also abbreviated
to E & P are referred to as the upstream
sector of the industry) is a sector focused
on finding ,producing and processing crude
oil and gas to the point of export from a
single production facility or gathering
aggregation from several fields. The E & P
sector generally delivers it production to
terminal or export facility.
Oil and gas terminals, pipelines, tank farms (multiple
tanks on a single site) and marine transportation sectors
are referred to as midstream sector of the industry.
They are concern with the followings:-

 Handling

 Storing

 Most importantly moving oil and gas from production

regions into petroleum markets
Segments of the oil supply chain progressing from Upstream to
Downstream
RESERVOIR FLUID
PROPERTIES
 Conversion of down hole volumes(volumetric rate) of oil, gas and
water to equivalent volumes at the surface is made so frequently
that it is convenient to use some conversion factors, which
accounts for the overall changes due to solubility and
compressibility.
The most important units used to measure the hydrocarbon
volumes are as follows:

CRUDE OIL
Crude oil 0API Gravity: API(American Petroleum Institute) gravity.
This is actually a measure of an oil density, and is related to specific
gravity by the following equation:
0 API Gravity = (141.5/γ0(Specific gravity)) – 131.5
Oil Formation Volume Factor: Formation volume factor is a
function of fluid composition and pressure/temperature difference
between the down hole and reference state.

Formation Vol. Factor (B) = Volume at down hole volume

condition/Volume at surface condition.

Gas formation Volume factor(Bg) = Volume at down hole (T & P)/Volume

at 60F and 14.7 psia.

Oil formation volume factor(Bo) = Volume at down hole (T& P)/Volume

at 60F and 14.7psia

Oil Viscosity:The viscosity is the measure of the resistance of a

liquid to flow, hence indicating the ‘‘pumpability’’ of oil. .
The viscosity of crude of crude decreases with an increase in
temperature and with an increase of dissolved gas.
S.I unit is Pascal- sec. and in field units,centipoise (cp) is used as an
oil viscosity.
NATURAL GAS:
Wet Gas: Natural gas that contains an appreciable natural
gasoline and water content as determined by standard test.

Sour Gas : Natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide.

Sweet Gas: Natural gas containing no hydrogen sulfide.

Gas Oil Ratio: This is the ratio of gas production to oil

production ,both measured at standard conditions (60f and 14.7
Psia). Unit is standard cubic feet/stock tank oil.

Gas Formation Volume Factor: Gas formation Volume

factor(Bg) = Volume at down hole (T & P)/Volume at 60F and
14.7 psia.

Gas Specific Gravity: g gas density/air density, at standard

conditions.
g = gas molecular mass/air molecular mass (28.97)
 HYDROCARBON PHASE BEHAVIOUR

Hydrocarbon reservoir fluids are a complex

mixture of hydrocarbon molecules, the
composition of which is dependent on the source
rock, degree of maturation etc. Phase changes
occur when this complex hydrocarbon fluid flows
from the (high temperature and pressure)
reservoir environment to the (cool, low pressure)
separator conditions.
Schematic phase diagram for an undersaturated oil
 PROCESS CONFIGURATIONS(PFD)
A simplified process Flow Diagram (PFD)of the typical Oil and Gas
production process

Wellhead

 Manifold

 Separators

 Metering and Storage

 Export
A typical flow station PFD
Overview
 Getting hydrocarbons up to the
surface is only the first step in
making usable products from the
fluid
 Depending on the nature of each
field, or even a particular well in a
field, the fluid produced could be
any combination of liquid
hydrocarbons, natural
gas,water,hydrogen sulfide gas
and carbondioxide gas.
 Fluids must be separated into
marketable components to sell
 Surface facilities are use for
the important task of testing
and monitoring individual wells
 Monitoring well and their
produced fluids is typically a
combined responsibility of
Reservoir, Production,
Facilities, and process engineer
,in conjunction with the
production operations
department
 As we noted, the composition of
produced fluids tends to vary
from field to field.
The surface facilities needed for
each field, then, will vary
 Surface facility design is also
influenced by:
-Production Rates
-Producing pressure and
temperature
-Characteristics of the
produced hydrocarbon
 In general , the more complex
the nature of the produced
fluids, the more complex the
surface facility design.
 One other important
factor that influences
surface facility design;
The nature of the fluids
usually change over time
 MANIFOLD , GATHERING SYSTEMS AND
FLOW LINES
Objectives
• At the end of this module the candidates will
have a basic understanding of:

 The flow control of wells

 The principles of flow through chokes

 Flowline characteristics

 Difference in pressure ratings of materials

 The function of a manifold in gathering stations

 Well flow control

A well flow is controlled by a choke(Bean)

Restrict flowrate to prevent sand production

Prevent coning of water and gas

Produced desired quantities for sale contract

Eliminate the effects of downstream pressure

 Choke sizes

Also referred as ‘bean size’ . Dimension in 1/64th of inch.

Example;
Bean 32 means ½” hole diameter.

Types of Chokes
Fixed Choke

 Adjustable Choke
Fixed Choke
ADJUSTABLE CHOKE
 COMPARISM BETWEEN CHOKE CHANGE
OPERATIONS

Adjustable Choke Fixed Choke

 Simple Operation  Difficult Operation

 No well interruption  Well Interruption

 Safe, No Loss of  Loss of containment possible

Containment /likely
Critical Flow
 Critical Flow

When in critical flow, upstream pressures are not influenced by

downstream pressure.

The Well is controlled by the choke

Critical flow approximation

Critical flow approximation rules:

Single Phase Gas flow:

P u > 1.9 Pd

Multiphase Gas- Liquid Flow :

Pu > 1.7 Pd
 MANIFOLD GATHERING SYSTEMS AND
FLOW LINES
Objectives
• At the end of this module the candidates will
have a basic understanding of:

 The flow control of wells

 The principles of flow through chokes

 Flowline characteristics

 Difference in pressure ratings of materials

 The function of a manifold in gathering stations

 GATHERING/MANIFOLD

Gathering well production is no trivial exercise, particularly

when tens or hundreds of production wells from multiple
sites are involved. Each well requires multiple connections
and potential flow paths to enable flow paths to enable
individual well testing,circulation and commingled
production streams.
Care must be taken to avoid commingling of certain crud oil
in field gathering system.
 Gathering

Flow lines from Well head to station

Split flows between separator

Direct gaslift gas to individual wells.

 Manifold

F
R
O
M

W
E
L
L
S
 Schematic Flow Diagram showing Production Facility
Configuration For a Large Oil and Gas Production Site
Steps in Oil and Gas Production Processing
Reasons:

Some crude oils of different types when mixed will

cause precipitation of asphaltenes and wax which is

undesirable within a plant or pipeline

Crude from different wells in the same field can

sometimes be very different, particularly if they are

produced from different reservoirs

 PHASE SEPARATION OF GAS,OIL AND WATER

OBJECTIVE
After successful completion of this section, the participant will
have improved knowledge of;

Principle of separation.

Separation process

Separation systems

Separator types

Separator instrumentation
 SEPARATION
Separators separate a
fluid mixture into its
separate parts(phases)
according to density.
Separators are
classified by:
Shape or position of the
vessel.
Number of
fluids(phases) to be
separated.
Two must common shapes
are:
 Horizontal
 Vertical

THREE PHASE HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR

VERTICAL SEPARATOR INTERNALS
FLOW PATERNS

The flow in vertical and horizontal separators is similar.

A mixture of fluids enters at the side or end of the vessel.

Lighter components exit from the top(gas)

Denser (heavier) components exits from the bottom(oil and water)

A three – phase Horizontal separator uses a weir 0r stilling pipe

to segregate the heavier components into two streams.

The weir acts as a barrier and holds the water phase behind.

The oil floats on the water and cascades over the weir.

The weir acts as an interface (between oil and water) level control.
3 PHASE SEPARATOR INTERNALS
 ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE OF DIFFERENT
SEPARATORS
The table below shows a comparative performance of these different types
 Separator Design

• The engineering principle underpinning

droplets settling in fluids is Stoke's law,
which can be expressed by the equation:
• Vs = 2 r2g(rp- rf)
• 9 h
In the above equation:
Vs is the particles settling velocity(m/s)
Movement direction for Vs is vertically
downwards if Pp >Pf upwards if Pp < Pf
r is the stokes radius of the particle (m)
g is the standard gravity of the particles(m/s2)
Pp is the density of the particles (kg/m3)
Pf is the density of the fluid (Kg/m3)
H is the fluid viscosity (pa/s)

The relationship is used in the design of

separation vessels.
The vessel:
Size
Pressure
Temperature
Will depend upon the :
Volume
Quality
Pressure
Temperature of the well fluid as well as the
Density
Viscosity
Flow rate
Particle size.
Separator Construction:
Separators are made of steel , and built according to rigid
engineering specifications.

All seams are welded.

The separator may be lined against corrosion.

Internals are bolted for ease inspection and repair.

Separators corrode(rust) especially across oil/water interface.

Internals such as weirs also rust and can be the cause of water
contamination in oil and level control problems.
Principles of separation:
The fluid must not be soluble into each other.

There must be a difference in density between the fluids.

The greater the difference in density, the easier fluids will

separate
The Separation Process:

The separation of oil ,gas and water is largely achieved by;

A. Physical Separation
B. Flash Separation

A . Physical Separation
 Velocity Changes

 Settling due to different densities over’ residence time.

 Coalescence

 Centrifugal forces

 Impingement

B. Flash Separation

 Acts by reducing pressure on crude mixture

 Increase Temperature

 Enlarge the volume available to encourage gas out of solution.

The effect of these process can be optimized when:

 The separator makes use of as many processes as possible

 The separator has been sized to accommodate the maximum

expected fluids.

 Residence time in vessel is sufficient for efficient separation to

take place

Efficient separation of fluids takes place in series of stages inside

each separator.

A. Inlet Separation

 Bulk of gas/oil separation

 Diverter plate forces change of direction

B. Secondary Separation(Quieting Sections)

Flow is slowed

Flow is straightened

Coalescing

Chemical Injection

Residence Time

Residence time is the time the reservoir fluids takes to pass

through a separator.

It usually takes between 2 and 4 minutes time for crude oil to pass
through a separator.
SEPARATION AND STABILIZATION PFD
Separation Trains

 The number of crude oil separation

trains and the number of stages
(separators of decreasing
pressure/temperature)varies with
each installation.
 The principle of a two-stage process
apply equally to a four stage process.
The Ideal Separator
An ideal separator reduces the pressure
of the reservoir fluids to near
atmospheric pressure at the
discharge of the separator.
In practice, this is rarely possible
because crude mixture would foam
uncontrollable(like a champagne
bottle opening) and the best
approach is to use multiple stages,
which reduce the pressure gradually –
in stages
Separation Systems

Separators are located downstream of the wellhead Xmas tree, choke

and manifolds.

They provide the following services;

Clean up completion

Test individual wells

Production separation

Production Separators

The main difference between three phase and two phase separation is
the weir plate which separated liquids, and the additional
instrumentation needed to control an additional interface.
 Reservoir to Process
Train
Stabilization

Stabilization at first stage

Pressure and Temperature

Stabilization at second stage

Pressure and Temperature

Stabilization at third stage

Pressure and Temperature.

Stabilization means no more

separation of gas/oil phases at
that pressure and temperature
SEPARATION PRESSURE
CONTROL
 SEPARATOR INSTRUMENTATION

Within operational requirements

all separators are fitted with:

 Pressure Indicator and Control

 Temperature Indication
 Pressure Safety Valve(s)
 Manual Blowdown Line
 Gas Outlet Line
 Gas Outlet Flow Meter
 Level Indication and Control
 Oil Outlet Line
 Drains
 Separator Instrumentation
All separators are fitted with the following protection facilities:

High Level Shutdown (Level Switch Hi Hi, LSHH)

High Level Alarm(LSH)
Low Level Alarm(LSL)
Low Level Shutdown (LSLL)
High Pressure Shutdown (Pressure Switch Hi Hi, PSHH)
High Pressure Alarm(PSH)
Low Pressure Alarm(PSL)
Low Pressure Shutdown(PSLL)
Automatic Isolation Valves on all inlets and outlets(ESDVs)

Where the crude is cooled prior to the final stage separator the
following instruments are also used:

High Temperature Shutdown(TSHH)

High Temperature Alarm(TSH)

Pressure Control
Gas (used as means of
pressure control) from the
separators can go to either
or both two routes;
To flare during start-up and
upsets
To the compressor assigned
to the separator stage
Level Control
Liquids under level control
follows the path regardless
of the condition of the gas
compression.
Level control is accomplished
by use of a level sensor, and
a transmitter acting on one
or more control valves
END OF SESSION !