Surface production facility

•
               Introduction
• A production facility separates the well stream into three components, typically called
“phases”—oil, gas, and water, and process these phases into some marketable product(s)
or dispose of them in an environmentally acceptable manner. In mechanical devices called
“separators” gas is flashed from the liquids and “free water” is separated from the oil.
These steps remove enough light hydrocarbons to produce a stable crude oil with the
volatility to meet sales criteria. Typical separators are used to separate gas from liquid or
water from oil. Separators can be either horizontal or vertical in configuration. The gas
that is separated must be compressed and treated for sales. Compression is typically done
by engine-driven reciprocating compressors. In large facilities or in booster service,
turbine-driven centrifugal compressors are used. Large integral reciprocating compressors
are also used. It is very difficult to classify production facilities by type, because they
differ due to production rates, fluid properties,
 heater treaters
type Surfac
e
production  skimmers
facility
separators
 What is heater treaters

• .Heater Treaters are used in the Oil and Gas industry to help facilitate
crude oil/water separation by speeding up emulsions separation through
applying heat. Heater Treaters can be thought of as low pressure, three-
phase separators equipped with fire tubes. They separate gas from the
incoming emulsion and separate the emulsion into a water phase and an
oil phase. Heater treaters can also function as a free-water knockout, a
heat exchanger, a filter, and a water wash tank.
 How a Heater Treater Works

• Untreated crude enters the degassing section via an inlet located at the top
of the vessel and dry, associated gases are vented into a gas collection line
containing a mist extractor. Produced water within the crude drops to the
bottom of the vessel and is tapped off from a separate outlet. The emulsion
passes into a heating section containing fire tubes that heat it indirectly
with heated water. This ‘washes’ the crude mixture, separating the free
water and solids.
 Vertical heater treater
Tyep
of heater Horizontal Heater Treate
treaters r
 Vertical heater treaters

• Vertical heater treaters are cylindrical vessels in an upright position. They

have a smaller crude treating volume than the horizontal type, making
them ideal for space-constrained applications. These vessels are better
suited for separating lighter crudes that require shorter retention periods.
Vertical heater treaters can treat emulsions having API gravity up to 27
and low water content.
 Horizontal Heater Treater

• The orientation of a horizontal heater treater is a cylindrical vessel lying

on its side. Horizontal heater treaters have the same basic operation as
vertical treaters but have a larger section for treating the crude.
• A key benefit of this orientation is that the vessel can handle higher
volumes of fluid and heavier crudes that require longer retention periods
for separation. Horizontal heater treaters can treat emulsions of any API
gravity with high water content.
 Design vertical & horizontal

• Heater treaters can be vertical or horizontal in design. Producers often

choose the style of the heater based on previous experience and the
preference of their operators. Horizontal heater treaters have a much larger
oil treating section and are used to treat heavier crudes where additional
settling time is required. Horizontal treaters offer more flexibility in sizing
that vertical vessels cannot. Vertical heater treaters have a smaller
footprint but a higher profile.
Both horizontal and vertical shape
 Advantages heater treaters

Treat .Efficiently treat large volumes of crude oil

Manage .Manage heavy and lighter grade crudes
Optimize .Optimize separation
Minimize Minimize BS&W (basic sediment & water)
Pressure .Pressure ratings from 50 PSI to 250 PSI
Control .Control liquids carryover
Optimize .Optimize the removal of impurities
Reduce and .Reduce and eliminate damaging paraffin & asphaltenes
eliminate
 Some of the problems which can be encountered that effects the operation of
heater treaters are:

Overloading Operating
Overloading of the vessel with well fluids does n Operating temperature too low does not provide
ot allow sufficient settling time for complete wate .for complete water removal
.r removal
 Water Skimmer
• HydroCarbon reservoirs always have water along with crude/gas. The
water(brine) brought to the surface from the hydrocarbon-bearing
reservoirs during the extraction of oil and gas can include formation water,
injection water, and any chemicals added downhole or during oil/water
separation processes is termed “Produced Water”. The produced water is
very high in salt content and also contains oil in dispersed form and
therefore needs to be treated before it is disposed 
 Types of Oil Skimmers

          oleophilic                         
  non-oleophilic 
 
   What are oleophilic skimmers?
• Oleophilic ("oil-attracting") skimmers use belts, disks, or continuous mop
chains of oleophilic materials to blot the oil from the water surface. The
oil is then squeezed out or scraped off into a recovery tank.
 Types of oleophilic skimmers
1. Belt
Belt oil skimmers are one of the most reliable and economical equipment for
removing liquid surface floating oil with low electric consumption without the need
for any consumable
I.  Drum
Drum skimmers operate by using one or more drums made from oleophilic
material. As the drums rotate oil adheres to the surface, separating it from the
water.
   What are non-oleophilic 
 skimmers?
• Non-oleophilic skimmers are distinguished by the component used to
collect the oil. A metal disc, belt or drum is used in applications where an
oleophilic material is inappropriate, such as in a hot alkaline aqueous parts
washer.
 Types of non-oleophilic 

• Weir
Weir skimmers function by allowing the oil floating on the surface of the
water to flow over a weir. There are two main types of weir skimmer, those
that require the weir height to be manually adjusted and those where the
weir height is automatic or self-adjusting. Whilst manually adjusted weir
skimmer types can have a lower initial cost, the requirement for regular
manual adjustment makes self-adjusting weir types more popular in most
applications. 
 Different Types of Oil Skimmers
• Weir Skimmers. Weir skimmers operate by taking the surface layer off the
water. 
•  Drum Skimmers. Elastec pioneered the oleophilic drum oil skimmer in
1990.
•  Brush Skimmers. 
• Belt Skimmers. 
• Grooved Disc Skimmers.
 How do oil skimmers work?
• Oleophilic ("oil-attracting") skimmers use belts, disks, or continuous
mop chains of oleophilic materials to blot the oil from the water
surface. The oil is then squeezed out or scraped off into a recovery
tank.
 Tube skimmers from Oil Skimmers, Inc., are designed to
quickly remove all types of floating waste oils, greases, and
:fats from water surfaces, resulting in
Improved product quality

Increased production efficiency

• Why Skim
? Improved water treatment process efficiency

Addressing environmental concerns

Skimmed oils that have value

 advantages of oil skimmers
An oil skimmer helps reduce that threat by removing the oil.
Skimming can prevent clogs in lines and sprays by removing tramp
oil from coolant. Tramp oil removal maximizes the effect and life
of the coolant and also increases the life of the tool.
 Produced water Treatment using SKIM
TANK
• : Gravity Separation Description and Operation: Designed to provide long
residence times. Their design can include a simple tank with water
inlet/outlet baffles and oil skimmer. In some designs, the well fluid first
flows into a degassing chamber. Liquids flow down into the tank, and exit
under a cone or spreader. In some designs, the oil and water compartments
are separated within the tank and the skimming is ensured by Interface
control
 SKIM TANK 
Skim tank internals are
selected by in-house
design models supported
by Computational Fluid
Dynamic (CFD) modeling to
optimise oil/water/gas
separation.
 Production Separator 
• is designed to separate feed inlet media to gaseous and liquid phases in oil
& gas production facilities. Production Separators are either 2-phase or
3-phase depending on the operation requirements and separability of
fluids. Production Separators are widely used in Early Production
Facilities to separate free gas from crude oil, and crude oil from water
(produced water)
 Production Separators two-phase
• A vessel that separates the well fluids into gas and total liquid. A two-
phase separator can be horizontal, vertical or spherical. The liquid (oil, 
emulsion) leaves the vessel at the bottom through a level-control or dump
valve. The gas leaves the vessel at the top, passing through a mist
 extractor to remove the small liquid droplets in the gas.
 Types of Separators

Gas/liquid two- Oil/gas/water three-

.phase separator .phase separator
 Separators two-phase
• A vessel that separates the well fluids into gas and total liquid. A two-
phase separator can be horizontal, vertical or spherical. The liquid (oil, 
emulsion) leaves the vessel at the bottom through a level-control or dump
valve. The gas leaves the vessel at the top, passing through a mist
 extractor to remove the small liquid droplets in the gas.
 Types of Separators
two-phase

horizontal vertical
separator separator
 horizontal separator 

• A vessel, with its cylindrical axes parallel to the

ground, that is used to separate oil, gas and water from
the produced stream. The horizontal separator can be a
two-phase or three-phase separator.
horizontal separator 
• Advantages
• Due to a large, lengthy and baffled gas-separation component, they have a
substantially higher gas/liquid interface.
• The horizontal separator is less expensive than the vertical separator.
• Disadvantages
• Level control is critical and must be maintained.
• More plan area is required to perform separation.
• Cleaning is difficult.
 vertical separator
• A vessel with its cylindrical axes perpendicular to the
ground that is used to separate oil, gas and water from
the production stream. The vessel can be a two-phase
 or three-phase separator
vertical separator
 Advantages vertical separator

• The potential for the liquid to re-vaporize into the gas phase is limited due
to the significant vertical distance between the liquid level and the gas
outlet.
• Have an adequate bottom-drain and clean-out system in place.
• There are fewer entrainment tendencies.
• Surge control is an added benefit.
 Disadvantages vertical separator

• Without ladders or access platforms, several equipment and safety devices

may be difficult to reach.
• In comparison to the horizontal separator, a larger diameter separator is
required for a comparable gas capacity.
  three-phase separator.
• The three phase separators can be horizontal or vertical and is used on a
well in order to separate water, oil, and gas from an inflow fluid. 
• This division facilitate continuous production with no need to interrupt
ongoing work to perform repairs or maintenance tasks on wells.
 Use from the three-phase separator
• A vessel that separates the well fluids into gas and two types of liquids: oil
and water. A three-phase separator can be horizontal, vertical or spherical.
This type of separator is commonly called a free-water knockout because its
main use is to remove any free water that can cause problems such as
corrosion and formation of hydrates or tight emulsions, which are difficult
to break. A free-water knockout is commonly called a three-phase separator
because it can separate gas, oil and free water. The liquids that are
discharged from the free-water knockout are further treated in vessels called
treaters. Free-water knockout is abbreviated as FWKO
 use from the two-phase separator 
• Two-phase separators are used to separate well fluids into the liquid and
gaseous fractions. A three-phase separator, on the other hand, separates
well fluids into the water, oil, and gaseous components
 Basic Design Principles
• A primary separation section – The primary separation section is situated at the
inlet to the vessel and is designed to separate the fluids from any entrained gas. 
• Secondary separation – The secondary separation section is designed to facilitate
the separation of the liquid constituents into light and heavy phases according to
their specific gravity. Typically oil comprises the light phase and water the heavy
phase. 
• Coalescing section – The coalescing section includes a vapour coalescer or mist
extractor to remove liquid droplets from the gas. A wire mesh eliminator is often
used for this purpose.
THE END

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