Acknowledgments to the Third Edition
About the Book ............................................... xxi
Preface to the Third Edition ............................... xxiii
1 The Production Facility ....................................... 1
Introduction ................................................. 1
Making the Equipment Work ................................... 15
Facility Types .............................................. 18
2 Process Selection ............................................ 24
Introduction ................................................ 24
Controlling the Process ..................................... 24
Operation of a Control Valve ................................ 24
Pressure Control ............................................ 27
Level Control ............................................... 29
Temperature Control ......................................... 29
Flow Control ................................................ 29
Basic System Configuration .................................. 30
Wellhead and Manifold ....................................... 30
Separation .................................................. 30
Initial Separation Pressure ................................. 30
Stage Separation ............................................ 32
Selection of Stages ......................................... 34
Fields with Different Flowing Tubing Pressures .............. 34
Determining Separator Operating Pressures ................... 36
Two-Phase vs. Three-Phase Separators ........................ 37
Process Flowsheet ........................................... 37
Oil Treating and Storage .................................... 37
Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) ..................... 40
Pumps ....................................................... 44
Water Treating .............................................. 44
Compressors ................................................. 44
Gas Dehydration ............................................. 48
Well Testing ................................................ 50
Gas Lift .................................................... 53
Offshore Platform Considerations ............................ 56
Overview .................................................... 56
Modular Construction ........................................ 57
Equipment Arrangement ....................................... 57
3 Basic Principles ............................................ 61
Introduction ................................................ 61
Basic Oil-Field Chemistry ................................... 61
Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures ........................... 61
Atomic and Molecular Weights ................................ 62
Hydrocarbon Nomenclature .................................... 63
Paraffin Series: (CnH2n+2) .................................. 64
Paraffin Compounds .......................................... 64
Acids and Bases ............................................. 65
Fluid Analysis .............................................. 65
Physical Properties ......................................... 65
Molecular Weight and Apparent Molecular Weight .............. 68
Example 3-1: Molecular weight calculation ................ 69
Example 3-2: Determine the apparent molecular
weight of dry air, which is a gas
mixture consisting of nitrogen,
oxygen, and small amounts of Argon .......... 69
Gas Specific Gravity and Density ......................... 70
Example 3-3: Calculate the
specific gravity of a natural gas
with the following composition .............. 71
Nonideal Gas Equations of State ............................. 73
Reduced Properties .......................................... 80
Example 3-4: Calculate the pseudo-critical
temperature and pressure for the
following natural gas stream composition .... 81
Example 3-5: Calculate the volume of 1 lb mole of
the natural gas stream given in the
previous example at 120° F and
1500 psia ................................... 82
Example 3-6: A sour natural gas has the following
composition. Determine the
compressibility factor for the gas at
100° F and 1000 psia ........................ 88
Liquid Density and Specific Gravity ......................... 89
Viscosity ................................................... 92
Gas Viscosity ............................................... 93
Liquid Viscosity ............................................ 94
Oil-Water Mixture Viscosity ................................. 95
Phase Behavior .............................................. 97
System Components ........................................... 98
Single-Component Systems .................................... 99
Multicomponent Systems ..................................... 101
Lean Gas Systems ........................................... 103
Rich Gas Systems ........................................... 103
Retrograde Systems ......................................... 104
Application of Phase Envelopes ............................. 105
Black Oil Reservoir ........................................ 106
Phase Diagram Characteristics .............................. 106
Field Characteristics ...................................... 106
Laboratory Analysis ........................................ 107
Volatile Oil Reservoir ..................................... 107
Phase Diagram Characteristics .............................. 107
Field Characteristics ...................................... 108
Laboratory Analysis ........................................ 109
Retrograde Gas Reservoir ................................... 109
Phase Diagram Characteristics .............................. 109
Field Characteristics ...................................... 110
Laboratory Analysis ........................................ 110
Wet Gas Reservoir .......................................... 110
Phase Diagram Characteristics .............................. 110
Field Characteristics ...................................... 111
Dry Gas Reservoir .......................................... 112
Phase Diagram Characteristics .............................. 112
Information Required for Design ............................ 112
Flash Calculations ......................................... 113
Characterizing the Flow Stream ............................. 130
Molecular Weight of Gas .................................... 130
Gas Flow Rate .............................................. 130
Liquid Molecular Weight .................................... 132
Specific Gravity of Liquid ................................. 133
Liquid Flow Rate ........................................... 134
The Flow Stream ............................................ 135
Approximate Flash Calculations ............................. 136
Other Properties ........................................... 137
Exercises .................................................. 142
References ................................................. 149
4 Two-Phase Oil and Gas Separation ........................... 150
Introduction ............................................... 150
Phase Equilibrium .......................................... 151
Factors Affecting Separation ............................... 152
Functional Sections of a Gas-Liquid Separator .............. 152
Inlet Diverter Section ..................................... 154
Liquid Collection Section .................................. 154
Gravity Settling Section ................................... 154
Mist Extractor Section ..................................... 154
Equipment Description ...................................... 155
Horizontal Separators ...................................... 155
Vertical Separators ........................................ 156
Spherical Separators ....................................... 157
Centrifugal Separators ..................................... 159
Venturi Separators ......................................... 160
Double-Barrel Horizontal Separators ........................ 161
Horizontal Separator with a "Boot" or "Water Pot" .......... 162
Filter Separators .......................................... 163
Scrubbers .................................................. 164
Slug Catchers .............................................. 165
Selection Considerations ................................... 165
Vessel Internals ........................................... 169
Inlet Diverters ............................................ 169
Wave Breakers .............................................. 170
Defoaming Plates ........................................... 171
Vortex Breaker ............................................. 173
Stilling Well .............................................. 173
Sand Jets and Drains ....................................... 175
Mist Extractors ............................................ 176
Introduction ............................................... 176
Gravitational and Drag Forces Acting on a Droplet .......... 176
Impingement-Type ........................................... 177
Baffles .................................................... 178
Wire-Mesh .................................................. 181
Micro-Fiber ................................................ 186
Other Configurations ....................................... 187
Final Selection ............................................ 187
Potential Operating Problems ............................... 190
Foamy Crude ................................................ 190
Paraffin ................................................... 192
Sand ....................................................... 192
Liquid Carryover ........................................... 192
Gas Blowby ................................................. 193
Liquid Slugs ............................................... 194
Design Theory .............................................. 195
Settling ................................................... 195
Droplet Size ............................................... 203
Retention Time ............................................. 203
Liquid Re-entrainment ...................................... 204
Separator Design ........................................... 204
Horizontal Separators Sizing—Half Full ..................... 204
Gas Capacity Constraint .................................... 205
Liquid Capacity Constraint ............................... 209
Seam-to-Seam Length ........................................ 211
Slenderness Ratio .......................................... 212
Procedure for Sizing Horizontal Separators—Half Full ....... 212
Horizontal Separators Sizing Other Than Half Full .......... 213
Gas Capacity Constraint .................................... 214
Liquid Capacity Constraint ................................. 215
Vertical Separators' Sizing ................................ 219
Gas Capacity Constraint .................................... 219
Liquid Capacity Constraint ................................. 222
Seam-to-Seam Length ........................................ 224
Slenderness Ratio .......................................... 226
Procedure for Sizing Vertical Separators ................... 226
Examples ................................................... 226
Example 4-1: Sizing a Vertical Separator
(Field Units) .............................. 226
Example 4-2: Sizing a Vertical Separator
(SI Units) ................................. 229
Example 4-3: Sizing a Horizontal Separator
(Field Units) .............................. 232
Example 4-4: Sizing a Horizontal Separator
(SI Units) ................................. 233
Nomenclature ............................................... 234
Review Questions ........................................... 236
Exercises .................................................. 239
Bibliography ............................................... 243
5 Three-Phase Oil and Water Separation ....................... 244
Introduction ............................................... 244
Equipment Description ...................................... 246
Horizontal Separators ...................................... 246
Derivation of Equation (5-1) ............................... 250
Free-Water Knockout ........................................ 251
Flow Splitter .............................................. 252
Horizontal Three-Phase Separator with a Liquid "Boot" ...... 253
Vertical Separators ........................................ 255
Selection Considerations ................................... 258
Vessel Internals ........................................... 259
Coalescing Plates .......................................... 260
Turbulent Flow Coalescers .................................. 260
Potential Operating Problems ............................... 261
Emulsions .................................................. 261
Design Theory .............................................. 261
Gas Separation ............................................. 261
Oil-Water Settling ......................................... 262
Water Droplet Size in Oil .................................. 262
Oil Droplet Size in Water .................................. 262
Retention Time ............................................. 264
Separator Design ........................................... 265
Horizontal Separators Sizing—Half-Full ..................... 265
Gas Capacity Constraint 265 Retention Time Constraint ...... 266
Derivation of Equations (5-4a) and (5-4b) .................. 267
Settling Water Droplets from Oil Phase ..................... 270
Derivation of Equations (5-5a) and (5-5b) .................. 270
Derivation of Equation (5-7) ............................... 273
Separating Oil Droplets from Water Phase ................... 274
Seam-to-Seam Length ........................................ 274
Slenderness Ratio .......................................... 275
Procedure for Sizing Three-Phase Horizontal
Separators—Half-Full ....................................... 275
Horizontal Separators Sizing Other Than Half-Full
Gas Capacity Constraint ................................. 278
Retention Time Constraint .................................. 279
Settling Equation Constraint ............................... 283
Vertical Separators' Sizing ................................ 283
Gas Capacity Constraint .................................... 284
Settling Water Droplets from Oil Phase ..................... 284
Derivation of Equations (5-2la) and (5-2lb) ................ 285
Settling Oil from Water Phase .............................. 287
Retention Time Constraint .................................. 287
Derivation of Equations (5-24a) and (5-24b) ................ 288
Seam-to-Seam Length ........................................ 289
Slenderness Ratio .......................................... 290
Procedure for Sizing Three-Phase Vertical Separators
Examples ................................................... 294
Example 5-1: Sizing a vertical three-phase separator
(field units) .............................. 294
Example 5-2: Sizing a vertical three-phase
separator (SI units) ....................... 297
Example 5-3: Sizing a horizontal three-phase
separator (field units) .................... 299
Example 5-4: Sizing a horizontal three-phase
separator (SI units) ....................... 302
Nomenclature ............................................... 305
Review Questions ........................................... 308
Exercises .................................................. 310
6 Mechanical Design of Pressure Vessels ...................... 316
Introduction ............................................... 316
Design Considerations ...................................... 317
Design Temperature ......................................... 317
Design Pressure ............................................ 317
Maximum Allowable Stress Values ............................ 319
Determining Wall Thickness ................................. 320
Corrosion Allowance ........................................ 324
Inspection Procedures ...................................... 327
Estimating Vessel Weights .................................. 329
Specification and Design of Pressure Vessels ............... 331
Pressure Vessel Specifications ............................. 331
Shop Drawings .............................................. 331
Nozzles .................................................... 334
Vortex Breaker ............................................. 334
Manways .................................................... 339
Vessel Supports ............................................ 339
Ladder and Platform ........................................ 341
Pressure Relief Devices .................................... 342
Corrosion Protection ....................................... 342
Example 6-1: Determining the weight of an FWKO vessel
(field units) .............................. 342
Review Questions ........................................... 346
Exercises .................................................. 348
Reference .................................................. 350
7 Crude Oil Treating and Oil Desalting Systems
Introduction ............................................... 351
Equipment Description ...................................... 351
Free-Water Knockouts ....................................... 351
Gunbarrel Tanks with Internal and External Gas Boots ....... 352
Example 7.1: Determination of external water
leg height ................................. 354
Horizontal Flow Treaters ................................... 359
Heaters .................................................... 360
Indirect Fired Heaters ..................................... 361
Direct Fired Heaters ....................................... 362
Waste Heat Recovery ........................................ 363
Heater Sizing .............................................. 363
Heater-Treaters ............................................ 363
Vertical Heater-Treaters ................................... 363
Coalescing Media ........................................... 367
Horizontal Heater-Treaters ................................. 368
Electrostatic Heater-Treaters .............................. 377
Oil Dehydrators ............................................ 382
Heater-Treater Sizing ...................................... 383
Emulsion Treating Theory ................................... 383
Introduction ............................................... 383
Emulsions .................................................. 384
Differential Density ....................................... 385
Size of Water Droplets ..................................... 386
Viscosity .................................................. 386
Interfacial Tension ........................................ 386
Presence and Concentration of Emulsifying Agents ........... 387
Water Salinity ............................................. 387
Age of the Emulsion ........................................ 387
Agitation .................................................. 388
Emulsifying Agents ......................................... 388
DemuLsifiers ............................................... 392
Bottle Test ................................................ 393
Field Trial ................................................ 394
Field Optimization ......................................... 395
Changing the Demulsifier ................................... 395
Demulsifier Troubleshooting ................................ 395
Emulsion Treating Methods .................................. 396
General Considerations ..................................... 396
Chemical Addition .......................................... 397
Amount of Chemical ......................................... 397
Bottle Test Considerations ................................. 398
Water Drop-Out Rate ........................................ 398
Sludge ..................................................... 398
Interface .................................................. 398
Water Turbidity ............................................ 398
Oil Color .................................................. 399
Centrifuge Results ......................................... 399
Chemical Selection ......................................... 399
Settling Tank or "Gunbarrel" ............................... 399
Vertical Heater-Treater .................................... 399
Horizontal Heater-Treater .................................. 400
Settling Time .............................................. 400
Coalescence ................................................ 401
Viscosity .................................................. 402
Heat Effects ............................................... 403
Electrostatic Coalescers ................................... 410
Water Droplet Size and Retention Time ...................... 412
Treater Equipment Sizing ................................... 413
General Considerations ..................................... 413
Heat Input Required ........................................ 413
Derivation of Equations (7-5a) and (7-5b) .................. 414
Gravity Separation Considerations .......................... 415
Settling Equations ......................................... 416
Horizontal Vessels ......................................... 417
Derivation of Equations (7-8a) and (7-8b) .................. 417
Vertical Vessels ........................................... 418
Gun barrels ................................................ 419
Horizontal Flow Treaters ................................... 419
Derivation of Equations (7-10a) and (7-10b) and
(7-1 la) and (7-1 lb) ...................................... 421
Retention Time Equations ................................... 422
Horizontal Vessels ......................................... 422
Vertical Vessels ........................................... 422
Gun barrels ................................................ 423
Horizontal Flow Treaters ................................... 423
Derivation of Equations (7-12a) and (7-12b) ................ 424
Water Droplet Size ......................................... 425
Design Procedure ........................................... 428
General Design Procedure ................................... 428
Design Procedure for Vertical Heater-Treaters and
Gun barrels (Wash Tanks with Internal/External
Gas Boot) ............................................... 428
Design Procedure for Horizontal Heater-Treaters ............ 429
Design Procedure for Horizontal-Flow Treaters .............. 429
Examples ................................................... 432
Example 7-2: Sizing a horizontal treater
(field units) .............................. 432
Example 7-3: Sizing a horizontal treater (SI units) ..... 434
Example 7-4: Sizing a vertical treater (field units) .... 436
Example 7-5: Sizing a vertical treater (SI units) ....... 437
Practical Considerations ................................... 439
Gunbarrels with Internal/External Gas Boot ................. 439
Heater-Treaters ............................................ 440
Electrostatic Heater-Treaters .............................. 440
Oil Desalting Systems ...................................... 440
Introduction ............................................... 440
Equipment Description ...................................... 441
Desalters .................................................. 441
Mixing Equipment ........................................... 441
Globe Valves ............................................... 441
Spray Nozzles .............................................. 442
Static Mixers .............................................. 443
Process Description ........................................ 444
Single-Stage Desalting ..................................... 444
Two-Stage Desalting ........................................ 445
Nomenclature ............................................... 446
Review Questions ........................................... 447
Exercises .................................................. 451
Reference .................................................. 456
8 Crude Stabilization ........................................ 457
Introduction ............................................... 457
Basic Principles ........................................... 458
Phase-Equilibrium Considerations ........................... 458
Flash Calculations ......................................... 460
Process Schemes ............................................ 460
Multi-Stage Separation ..................................... 460
Oil Heater-Treaters ........................................ 460
Liquid Hydrocarbon Stabilizer .............................. 461
Cold-Feed Stabilizer ....................................... 464
Stabilizer with Reflux ..................................... 466
Equipment Description ...................................... 467
Stabilizer Tower ........................................... 467
Trays and Packing .......................................... 469
Trays ...................................................... 469
Packing .................................................... 472
Trays or Packing ........................................... 474
Stabilizer Reboiler ........................................ 475
Stabilizer Cooler .......................................... 476
Stabilizer Reflux System ................................... 476
Stabilizer Feed Cooler ..................................... 477
Stabilizer-Heater .......................................... 477
Stabilizer Design .......................................... 477
Stabilizer As a Gas-Processing Plant ....................... 481
9 Produced Water Treating Systems ............................ 482
Introduction ............................................... 482
Disposal Standards ......................................... 483
Offshore Operations ........................................ 483
Onshore Operations ......................................... 484
Characteristics of Produced Water .......................... 484
Dissolved Solids 484 Precipitated Solids (Scales) .......... 485
Calcium Carbonate (СаСОэ) .................................. 485
Calcium Sulfate (CaS04) .................................... 485
Iron Sulfide (FeS2) ........................................ 486
Barium and Strontium Sulfate (BaS04 and SrS04) ............. 486
Scale Removal .............................................. 486
Controlling Scale Using Chemical Inhibitors ................ 487
Sand and Other Suspended Solids ............................ 487
Dissolved Gases ............................................ 488
Oil in Water Emulsions ..................................... 489
Dissolved Oil Concentrations ............................... 490
Dispersed Oil .............................................. 491
Toxicants .................................................. 494
Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials .................. 496
Bacteria ................................................... 497
System Description ......................................... 499
Theory ..................................................... 500
Gravity Separation ......................................... 501
Coalescence ................................................ 502
Dispersion ................................................. 503
Flotation .................................................. 504
Filtration ................................................. 507
Equipment Description and Sizing ........................... 508
Skim Tanks and Skim Vessels ................................ 508
Configurations ............................................. 509
Vertical ................................................... 509
Horizontal ................................................. 510
Pressure Versus Atmospheric Vessels ........................ 511
Retention Time 511 Performance Considerations .............. 512
Skimmer Sizing Equations ................................... 514
Horizontal Cylindrical Vessel: Half-Full ................... 514
Derivation of Equation (9-7) ............................... 514
Horizontal Rectangular Cross-Section Skimmer ............... 517
Derivation of Equation (9-12) .............................. 518
Derivation of Equation (9-13) .............................. 520
Vertical Cylindrical Skimmer ............................... 521
Derivation of Equation (9-15) .............................. 522
Derivation of Equation (9-17) .............................. 523
Coalescers ................................................. 524
Plate Coalescers ........................................... 524
Parallel Plate Interceptor (PPI) ........................... 526
Corrugated Plate Interceptor (CPI) ......................... 526
Cross-Flow Devices ......................................... 530
Performance Considerations ................................. 532
Selection Criteria ......................................... 534
Coalescer Sizing Equations ................................. 536
Derivation of Equation (9-18) .............................. 537
Derivation of Equation (9-19) .............................. 539
CPI Sizing ................................................. 540
Cross-Flow Device Sizing ................................... 541
Example 9-1: Determining the dispersed oil content
in the effluent water from a CPI plate separator ........... 542
Oil/Water/Sediment Coalescing Separators ................... 543
Oil/Water/Sediment Sizing .................................. 545
Performance Considerations ................................. 546
Skimmer/Coalescers ......................................... 546
Matrix Type ................................................ 547
Loose Media ................................................ 547
Performance Considerations ................................. 548
Precipitators/Coalescing Filters ........................... 549
Free-Flow Turbulent Coalescers ............................. 551
Performance Considerations ................................. 555
Flotation Units ............................................ 555
Dissolved Gas Units ........................................ 556
Dispersed Gas Units ........................................ 559
Hydraulic Induced Units .................................... 562
Mechanical Induced Units ................................... 563
Other Configurations ....................................... 565
Sizing Dispersed Gas Units ................................. 566
Performance Considerations ................................. 568
Hydrocyclones .............................................. 573
General Considerations ..................................... 573
Operating Principles ....................................... 573
Static Hydrocyclones ....................................... 575
Dynamic Hydrocyclones ...................................... 578
Selection Criteria and Application Guidelines .............. 578
Sizing and Design .......................................... 580
Disposal Piles ............................................. 580
Disposal Pile Sizing ....................................... 582
Derivation of Equation (9-26) .............................. 583
Derivation of Equation (9-27) .............................. 585
Skim Piles 585 Skim Pile Sizing ............................ 588
Derivation of Equation (9-28) .............................. 588
Drain Systems .............................................. 589
Information Required for Design ............................ 590
Effluent Quality ........................................... 590
Influent Water Quality ..................................... 591
Produced Water ............................................. 591
Soluble Oil ................................................ 592
Deck Drainage .............................................. 592
Equipment Selection Procedure .............................. 592
Equipment Specification .................................... 594
Skim Tank .................................................. 594
SP Pack System ............................................. 595
CPI Separator .............................................. 595
Cross-Flow Devices ......................................... 595
Flotation Cell ............................................. 595
Disposal Pile .............................................. 595
Example 9-2: Design the produced water treating system
for the data given ...................................... 595
Nomenclature ............................................... 606
Review Questions ........................................... 607
References ................................................. 609
10 Water Injection Systems .................................... 610
Introduction ............................................... 610
Solids Removal Theory ...................................... 612
Removal of Suspended Solids from Water ..................... 612
Gravity Settling ........................................... 612
Flotation Units ............................................ 615
Filtration ................................................. 615
Inertial Impaction ......................................... 615
Diffusional Interception ................................... 616
Direct Interception ........................................ 617
Filter Types ............................................... 618
Nonfixed-Pore Structure Media .............................. 618
Fixed-Pore Structure Media ................................. 619
Surface Media .............................................. 620
Summary of Filter Types .................................... 620
Removal Ratings ............................................ 621
Nominal Rating ............................................. 621
Absolute Rating ............................................ 622
Beta (β) Rating System ..................................... 623
Choosing the Proper Filter ................................. 624
Nature of Fluid ............................................ 624
Flow Rate .................................................. 625
Temperature ................................................ 625
Pressure Drop .............................................. 625
Surface Area ............................................... 627
Void Volume ................................................ 628
Degree of Filtration ....................................... 629
Prefiltration .............................................. 629
Coagulants and Flocculation ................................ 630
Measuring Water Compatibility .............................. 631
Solids Removal Equipment Description ....................... 632
Gravity Settling Tanks ..................................... 636
Horizontal Cylindrical Gravity Settlers .................... 639
Horizontal Rectangular Cross-Sectional Gravity Settlers .... 641
Vertical Cylindrical Gravity Settlers ...................... 643
Plate Coalescers ........................................... 644
Hydrocyclones .............................................. 644
Centrifuges ................................................ 648
Flotation Units ............................................ 648
Disposable Cartridge Filters ............................... 649
Backwashable Cartridge Filters ............................. 651
Granular Media Filters ..................................... 652
Diatomaceous Earth Filters ................................. 660
Chemical Scavenging Equipment .............................. 663
Nomenclature ............................................... 665
Appendix A: Definition of Key Water Treating Terms ......... 667
Appendix B: Water Sampling Techniques ...................... 672
Appendix C: Oil Concentration Analysis Techniques .......... 676
Glossary of Terms .......................................... 682
Index ...................................................... 701
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