1

Petroleum
Production
System

Contents
1.1
Introduction
1/4
1.2
Reservoir
1/4
1.3
Well
1/5
1.4
Separator
1/8
1.5
Pump
1/9
1.6
Gas Compressor
1/10
1.7
Pipelines
1/11
1.8
Safety Control System
1/11
1.9
Unit Systems
1/17
Summary
1/17
References
1/17
Problems
1/17

1/4

PETROLEUM PRODUCTION ENGINEERING FUNDAMENTALS

1.1 Introduction
The role of a production engineer is to maximize oil and
gas production in a cost-effective manner. Familiarization
and understanding of oil and gas production systems are
essential to the engineers. This chapter provides graduating production engineers with some basic knowledge
about production systems. More engineering principles
are discussed in the later chapters.
As shown in Fig. 1.1, a complete oil or gas production
system consists of a reservoir, well, flowline, separators,
pumps, and transportation pipelines. The reservoir supplies wellbore with crude oil or gas. The well provides a
path for the production fluid to flow from bottom hole to
surface and offers a means to control the fluid production
rate. The flowline leads the produced fluid to separators.
The separators remove gas and water from the crude oil.
Pumps and compressors are used to transport oil and gas
through pipelines to sales points.
1.2 Reservoir
Hydrocarbon accumulations in geological traps can be
clas- sified as reservoir, field, and pool. A reservoir is a
porous and permeable underground formation containing
an indi- vidual bank of hydrocarbons confined by
impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized
by a single natural pressure system. A field is an area
that consists of one or more reservoirs all related to the
same structural feature. A
pool contains one or more reservoirs in isolated
structures. Depending on the initial reservoir condition in
the phase diagram (Fig. 1.2), hydrocarbon accumulations
are classified as oil, gas condensate, and gas reservoirs. An oil that
is at a pressure above its bubble-point pressure is called an
undersaturated oil because it can dissolve more gas at
the given temperature. An oil that is at its bubble-point
pressure is called a saturated oil because it can dissolve

PETROLEUM PRODUCTION SYSTEM

no more gas at the given temperature. Single (liquid)-phase

flow prevails in an undersaturated oil reservoir, whereas
two-phase (liquid oil and free gas) flow exists in a saturated oil reservoir.
Wells in the same reservoir can fall into categories of
oil, condensate, and gas wells depending on the producing
gasoil ratio (GOR). Gas wells are wells with producing
GOR being greater than 100,000 scf/stb; condensate wells
are those with producing GOR being less than 100,000
scf/stb but
greater than 5,000 scf/stb; and wells with producing
GOR
being less than 5,000 scf/stb are classified as oil
wells.
Oil reservoirs can be classified on the basis of boundary
type, which determines driving mechanism, and which are
as follows:
. Water-drive reservoir
. Gas-cap drive reservoir
. Dissolved-gas drive reservoir
In water-drive reservoirs, the oil zone is connected
by a continuous path to the surface groundwater system
(aqui- fer). The pressure caused by the column of water
to the surface forces the oil (and gas) to the top of the
reservoir against the impermeable barrier that restricts the
oil and gas (the trap boundary). This pressure will force the
oil and gas toward the wellbore. With the same oil
production, reservoir pressure will be maintained longer
(relative to other mech- anisms of drive) when there is an
active water drive. Edge- water drive reservoir is the most
preferable type of reservoir compared to bottom-water
drive. The reservoir pressure can remain at its initial value
above bubble-point pressure so that single-phase liquid
flow exists in the reservoir for maximum well productivity.
A steady-state flow condition can prevail in a edge-water
drive reservoir for a long time before water breakthrough
into the well. Bottom-water drive reservoir (Fig. 1.3) is
less preferable because of water-coning problems that can
affect oil production economics due to water treat- ment
and disposal issues.

Separator

Gas

Wellhead

Water

Oil

Wellbore

Pwf

Figure 1.1

Pe

Reservoir

A sketch of a petroleum production system.

1/4

Reservoir Pressure (psia)

Gas Reservoirs

4,000
Retrograde
Condensate
Reservoirs

3,500
pi, T

3,000

Critical
Point

2,500

pressure maintenance is usually preferred.

pwf, Twf
Cricondentherm

2,000 ptf, Ttf

1.3 Well

Point

1,500
1,000
500
0

solution in the oil (and water). The reservoir gas is actually

in a liquid form in a dissolved solution with the liquids (at
atmospheric conditions) from the reservoir. Compared to
the water- and gas-drive reservoirs, expansion of solution
(dissolved) gas in the oil provides a weak driving mechanism in a volumetric reservoir. In the regions where the
oil pressure drops to below the bubble-point pressure, gas
escapes from the oil and oilgas two-phase flow exists. To
improve oil recovery in the solution-gas reservoir, early

Oil and gas wells are drilled like an upside-down telescope.

The large-diameter borehole section is at the top of the
well. Each section is cased to the surface, or a liner is
placed in the well that laps over the last casing in the
well. Each casing or liner is cemented into the well (usually
up to at least where the cement overlaps the previous
cement job).

50

100 150 200 250 300 350

The last casing in the well is the production casing
Reservoir Temperature ( F)
(or production liner). Once the production casing has
been cemented into the well, the production tubing is run
Figure 1.2 A typical hydrocarbon phase diagram.
into the well. Usually a packer is used near the bottom of
the tubing to isolate the annulus between the outside of the
In a gas-cap drive reservoir, gas-cap drive is the drive tubing and the inside of the casing. Thus, the produced
mechanism where the gas in the reservoir has come out of fluids are forced to move out of the perforation into the
solution and rises to the top of the reservoir to form a gas bottom of the well and then into the inside of the tubing.
cap (Fig. 1.4). Thus, the oil below the gas cap can be Packers can be actuated by either mechanical or hydraulic
produced. If the gas in the gas cap is taken out of the mechanisms. The production tubing is often (particularly
reservoir early in the production process, the reservoir during initial well flow) provided with a bottom-hole
pressure will decrease rapidly. Sometimes an oil reservoir choke to control the initial well flow (i.e., to restrict overis subjected to both water and gas-cap drive.
production and loss of reservoir pressure).
A dissolved-gas drive reservoir (Fig. 1.5) is also called a
Figure 1.6 shows a typical flowing oil well, defined as a
solution-gas drive reservoir and volumetric reservoir. well producing solely because of the natural pressure of the
The oil reservoir has a fixed oil volume surrounded by no- reservoir. It is composed of casings, tubing, packers,
flow boundaries (faults or pinch-outs). Dissolved-gas drive down-hole chokes (optional), wellhead, Christmas tree,
is the drive mechanism where the reservoir gas is held in
and surface chokes.

Oil
WOC

Water

Figure 1.3

A sketch of a water-drive reservoir.

Gas Cap

Oil

Figure 1.4

A sketch of a gas-cap drive reservoir.

Most wells produce oil through tubing strings, mainly

because a tubing string provides good sealing performance
and allows the use of gas expansion to lift oil. The American Petroleum Institute (API) defines tubing size using
nominal diameter and weight (per foot). The nominal
diameter is based on the internal diameter of the tubing
body. The weight of tubing determines the tubing outer
diameter. Steel grades of tubing are designated H-40, J-55,
C-75, L-80, N-80, C-90, and P-105, where the digits represent the minimum yield strength in 1,000 psi. The minimum performance properties of tubing are given in
Chapter 9 and Appendix B.

The wellhead is defined as the surface equipment set

below the master valve. As we can see in Fig. 1.7, it
includes casing heads and a tubing head. The casing head
(lowermost) is threaded onto the surface casing. This can
also be a flanged or studded connection. A casing head
is a mechanical assembly used for hanging a casing string
(Fig. 1.8). Depending on casing programs in well drilling,
several casing heads can be installed during well construction. The casing head has a bowl that supports the casing
hanger. This casing hanger is threaded onto the top of the
production casing (or uses friction grips to hold the casing). As in the case of the production tubing, the production casing is landed in tension so that the casing hanger
actually supports the production casing (down to the
freeze point). In a similar manner, the intermediate casing(s) are supported by their respective casing hangers
(and bowls). All of these casing head arrangements are
supported by the surface casing, which is in compression
and cemented to the surface. A well completed with three
casing strings has two casing heads. The uppermost casing
head supports the production casing. The lowermost casing head sits on the surface casing (threaded to the top of
the surface casing).
Most flowing wells are produced through a string of
tubing run inside the production casing string. At the
surface, the tubing is supported by the tubing head (i.e.,
the tubing head is used for hanging tubing string on the
production casing head [Fig. 1.9]). The tubing head supports the tubing string at the surface (this tubing is landed
on the tubing head so that it is in tension all the way down
to the packer).
The equipment at the top of the producing wellhead is
called a Christmas tree (Fig. 1.10) and it is used to
control flow. The Christmas tree is installed above the
tubing head. An adaptor is a piece of equipment used to
join the two. The Christmas tree may have one flow
outlet (a tee) or two flow outlets (a cross). The master
valve is installed below the tee or cross. To replace a master
valve, the tubing must be plugged. A Christmas tree
consists of a main valve, wing valves, and a needle valve.
These valves are used for closing the well when needed. At
the top of the
tee structure (on the top of the Christmas tree), there is
a pressure gauge that indicates the pressure in the
tubing.

Oil and Gas

Reservoir
Figure 1.5

A sketch of a dissolved-gas drive reservoir.

in the line. The back-pressure (caused by the chokes or

other restrictions in the flowline) increases the bottomhole flowing pressure. Increasing the bottom-hole flowing
pressure decreases the pressure drop from the reservoir to
the wellbore (pressure drawdown). Thus, increasing the
back-pressure in the wellbore decreases the flow rate
Wellhead
from the reservoir.
In some wells, chokes are installed in the lower section
of tubing strings. This choke arrangement reduces wellhead pressure and enhances oil production rate as a result
of gas expansion in the tubing string. For gas wells, use of
Surface Casing
down-hole chokes minimizes the gas hydrate problem in
Intermediate Casing the well stream. A major disadvantage of using down-hole
Production Casing chokes is that replacing a choke is costly.
Cement
Certain procedures must be followed to open or close a
Annulus
well. Before opening, check all the surface equipment such
as safety valves, fittings, and so on. The burner of a line
heater must be lit before the well is opened. This is necesTubing
sary because the pressure drop across a choke cools the
Wellbore
fluid and may cause gas hydrates or paraffin to deposit
out. A gas burner keeps the involved fluid (usually water)
Bottom-hole Choke hot. Fluid from the well is carried through a coil of piping.
The choke is installed in the heater. Well fluid is heated
Packer
both before and after it flows through the choke. The
upstream heating helps melt any solids that may be present
Casing Perforation in the producing fluid. The downstream heating prevents
hydrates and paraffins from forming at the choke.
Oil Reservoir
Reservoir
Surface vessels should be open and clear before the well
is
allowed
to flow. All valves that are in the master valve
Figure 1.6 A sketch of a typical flowing oil well.
and other downstream valves are closed. Then follow the
following procedure to open a well:
The wing valves and their gauges allow access (for pressure
measurements and gas or liquid flow) to the annulus
spaces (Fig. 1.11).
Surface choke (i.e., a restriction in the flowline) is a
piece of equipment used to control the flow rate (Fig. 1.12).
In most flowing wells, the oil production rate is altered by
adjusting the choke size. The choke causes back-pressure

1. The operator barely opens the master valve (just a

crack), and escaping fluid makes a hissing sound.
When the fluid no longer hisses through the valve, the
pressure has been equalized, and then the master valve
is opened wide.
2. If there are no oil leaks, the operator cracks the next
downstream valve that is closed. Usually, this will be

Wing Valve

Tubing Pressure Gauge

Flow Fitting

Choke

Tubing Head
Master Valve
Casing Valve
Tubing
Casing Pressure Gauge

Production Casing
Uppermost Casing Head

Intermediate Casing

Lowermost Casing Head

Figure 1.7

Surface Casing

A sketch of a wellhead.

Casing Hanger

Bowl

Hanger
Bowl

Production
Casing

Tubing Head

Seal

Casing
Head
Surface
Casing

Figure 1.8

Tubing

A sketch of a casing head.

Figure 1.9

either the second (backup) master valve or a wing valve.

Again, when the hissing sound stops, the valve is
opened wide.
3. The operator opens the other downstream valves the
same way.
4. To read the tubing pressure gauge, the operator must
open the needle valve at the top of the Christmas tree.
After reading and recording the pressure, the operator
may close the valve again to protect the gauge.
The procedure for shutting-in a well is the opposite of
the procedure for opening a well. In shutting-in the well,
the master valve is closed last. Valves are closed rather
rapidly to avoid wearing of the valve (to prevent erosion).
At least two valves must be closed.

A sketch of a tubing head.

1.4 Separator
The fluids produced from oil wells are normally complex
mixtures of hundreds of different compounds. A typical
oil well stream is a high-velocity, turbulent, constantly
expanding mixture of gases and hydrocarbon liquids, intimately mixed with water vapor, free water, and sometimes solids. The well stream should be processed as soon
as possible after bringing them to the surface. Separators
are used for the purpose.
Three types of separators are generally available from
manufacturers: horizontal, vertical, and spherical separators. Horizontal separators are further classified into

Gauge Valve
Top Connection
Swabbing Valve
Flow Fitting

Choke

Wing Valve

Wing Valve

Choke

Master Valve
Tubing Head Adaptor
Figure 1.10

A sketch of a Christmas tree.

Handwheel
Wellhead Choke
Packing

Gate

Port

Figure 1.11 A sketch of a surface valve.

two categories: single tube and double tube. Each type of
separator has specific advantages and limitations. Selection of separator type is based on several factors including
characteristics of production steam to be treated, floor
space availability at the facility site, transportation, and
cost.
Horizontal separators (Fig. 1.13) are usually the first
choice because of their low costs. Horizontal separators
are almost widely used for high-GOR well streams, foaming well streams, or liquid-from-liquid separation. They
have much greater gasliquid interface because of a
large, long, baffled gas-separation section. Horizontal separators are easier to skid-mount and service and require
less piping for field connections. Individual separators can
be stacked easily into stage-separation assemblies to minimize space requirements. In horizontal separators, gas
flows horizontally while liquid droplets fall toward the
liquid surface. The moisture gas flows in the baffle surface
and forms a liquid film that is drained away to the liquid
section of the separator. The baffles need to be longer than
the distance of liquid trajectory travel. The liquid-level
control placement is more critical in a horizontal separator
than in a vertical separator because of limited surge space.
Vertical separators are often used to treat low to intermediate GOR well streams and streams with relatively
large slugs of liquid. They handle greater slugs of liquid
without carryover to the gas outlet, and the action of the
liquid-level control is not as critical. Vertical separators
occupy less floor space, which is important for facility sites

Figure 1.13

Figure 1.12

A sketch of a wellhead choke.

such as those on offshore platforms where space is limited.

Because of the large vertical distance between the liquid
level and the gas outlet, the chance for liquid to re-vaporize into the gas phase is limited. However, because of the
natural upward flow of gas in a vertical separator against
the falling droplets of liquid, adequate separator diameter
is required. Vertical separators are more costly to fabricate
and ship in skid-mounted assemblies.
Spherical separators offer an inexpensive and compact
means of separation arrangement. Because of their compact configurations, these types of separators have a very
limited surge space and liquid-settling section. Also, the
placement and action of the liquid-level control in this type
of separator is more critical.
Chapter 10 provides more details on separators and
dehydrators.
1.5 Pump
After separation, oil is transported through pipelines to
the sales points. Reciprocating piston pumps are used to
provide mechanical energy required for the transportation.
There are two types of piston strokes, the single-action

Conventional horizontal separator. (Courtesy Petroleum Extension Services.)

Discharge

P2

P2

Piston

Discharge

Piston Rod

dL

dr
Ls

P1

P1

Suction

Suction

Figure 1.14 Double-action piston pump.

piston stroke and the double-action piston stroke. The As shown in Fig. 1.15, reciprocating compressors have more
double-action stroke is used for duplex (two pistons) moving parts and, therefore, lower mechanical efficiencies
pumps. The single-action stroke is used for pumps with than rotary compressors. Each cylinder assembly of a recipthree pistons or greater (e.g., triplex pump). Figure 1.14 rocating compressor consists of a piston, cylinder, cylinder
shows how a duplex pump works. More information heads, suction and discharge valves, and other parts necesabout pumps is presented in Chapter 11.
sary to convert rotary motion to reciprocation motion.
A reciprocating compressor is designed for a certain range
of compression ratios through the selection of proper piston
displacement and clearance volume within the cylinder.
1.6 Gas Compressor
This clearance volume can be either fixed or variable,
Compressors are used for providing gas pressure required depending on the extent of the operation range and the
to transport gas with pipelines and to lift oil in gas-lift percent of load variation desired. A typical reciprocating
operations. The compressors used in todays natural gas compressor can deliver a volumetric gas flow rate up to
production industry fall into two distinct types: reciprocat- 30,000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) at a discharge pressure
ing and rotary compressors. Reciprocating compressors are up to 10,000 psig.
most commonly used in the natural gas industry. They are
Rotary compressors are divided into two classes: the
built for practically all pressures and volumetric capacities.
centrifugal compressor and the rotary blower. A centrifuSuction
Valve

Piston

Cylinder
Head

Piston
Rod

Crosshead
Connecting Rod

Wrist
Pin
Crankshaft

Cylinder
Discharge
Valve

Figure 1.15

Elements of a typical reciprocating compressor. (Courtesy Petroleum Extension Services.)

gal compressor consists of a housing with flow passages, a

rotating shaft on which the impeller is mounted, bearings,
and seals to prevent gas from escaping along the shaft.
Centrifugal compressors have few moving parts because
only the impeller and shaft rotate. Thus, its efficiency is
high and lubrication oil consumption and maintenance
costs are low. Cooling water is normally unnecessary because of lower compression ratio and less friction loss.
Compression rates of centrifugal compressors are lower
because of the absence of positive displacement. Centrifugal compressors compress gas using centrifugal force. In
this type of compressor, work is done on the gas by an
impeller. Gas is then discharged at a high velocity into a
diffuser where the velocity is reduced and its kinetic energy
is converted to static pressure. Unlike reciprocating compressors, all this is done without confinement and physical
squeezing. Centrifugal compressors with relatively unrestricted passages and continuous flow are inherently highcapacity, low-pressure ratio machines that adapt easily to
series arrangements within a station. In this way, each
compressor is required to develop only part of the station
compression ratio. Typically, the volume is more than
100,000 cfm and discharge pressure is up to 100 psig.
More information about different types of compressors is
provided in Chapter 11.
1.7 Pipelines
The first pipeline was built in the United States in 1859
to transport crude oil (Wolbert, 1952). Through the one
and half century of pipeline operating practice, the petroleum industry has proven that pipelines are by far the

Expansion
Tie-in
Spoolpiece

most economical means of large-scale overland transportation for crude oil, natural gas, and their products, clearly
superior to rail and truck transportation over competing
routes, given large quantities to be moved on a regular
basis. Transporting petroleum fluids with pipelines is
a continuous and reliable operation. Pipelines have
demonstrated an ability to adapt to a wide variety of
environments including remote areas and hostile environments. With very minor exceptions, largely due to local
peculiarities, most refineries are served by one or more
pipelines, because of their superior flexibility to the
alternatives.
Figure 1.16 shows applications of pipelines in offshore
operations. It indicates flowlines transporting oil and/or
gas from satellite subsea wells to subsea manifolds, flowlines transporting oil and/or gas from subsea manifolds to
production facility platforms, infield flowlines transporting oil and/or gas from between production facility platforms, and export pipelines transporting oil and/or gas
from production facility platforms to shore.
The pipelines are sized to handle the expected pressure
and fluid flow. To ensure desired flow rate of product,
pipeline size varies significantly from project to project. To
contain the pressures, wall thicknesses of the pipelines
3
1
range from 8 inch to 1 2 inch. More information
about pipelines is provided in Chapter 11.
1.8 Safety Control System
The purpose of safety systems is to protect personnel, the
environment, and the facility. The major objective of the
safety system is to prevent the release of hydrocarbons

Existing
Line
Pipeline
Crossing

Infield
Flowline

Riser

Satellite
Subsea
Wells

Tie-in
Export Pipeline

Subsea Manifold

Flowlines
(several can be
bundled)
Flowlines
Figure 1.16

Uses of offshore pipelines. (Guo et al., 2005.)

To Shore

from the process and to minimize the adverse effects of

such releases if they occur. This can be achieved by the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.

C.

Preventing undesirable events

Shutting-in the process
Recovering released fluids
Preventing ignition

The modes of safety system operation include

D.

1. Automatic monitoring by sensors

2. Automatic protective action
3. Emergency shutdown
Protection concepts and safety analysis are based on undesirable events, which include
A. Overpressure caused by
1. Increased input flow due to upstream flow-control
device failure
2. Decreased output flow due to blockage
3. Heating of closed system
B. Leak caused by
1. Corrosion
2. Erosion
Flow Safety
Valve

E.

F.

3. Mechanical failure due to temperature change,

overpressure and underpressure, and external impact force
Liquid overflow caused by
1. Increased input flow due to upstream flow-control
device failure
2. Decreased output flow due to blockage in the liquid
discharge
Gas blow-by caused by
1. Increased input flow due to upstream flow-control
device failure
2. Decreased output flow due to blockage in the gas
discharge
Underpressure caused by
1. Outlet flow-control device (e.g., choke) failure
2. Inlet blockage
3. Cooling of closed system
Excess temperature caused by
1. Overfueling of burner
2. External fire
3. Spark emission

Figure 1.17 presents some symbols used in safety system

design. Some API-recommended safety devices are shown
in Figs. 1.18 through 1.22.

Burner Safety
Low

Pressure Safety
High & Low

BSL

PSHL

Pressure Safety
Element

FSV

Flow Safety
High

Flow Safety
Low

FSH

FSL

PSE

Pressure Safety Valve

PSV

Level Safety
High

Level Safety
Low

Temperature
Safety High

LSH

LSL

TSH

Flow Safety
High & Low

Level Safety
High & Low

Temperature
Safety
High & Low

FSHL

LSHL

TSHL

PSV

Temperature
Safety Low

TSL

Temperature
Safety Element
TSE

Figure 1.17

Safety device symbols.

Underwater Safety Valve

USV

Pressure
Safety High

Pressure
Safety Low

PSH

PSL

USV

Blow Down Valve

BDV

Surface Safety Valve

BDV

Shut Down Valve

SSV

SDV

SSV

Figure 1.17

SDV

(Continued)

TSE
SSV
<10
(3M)

PSHL

FSV

Outlet

MAWP > SITP

Option 1

PSL

TSE
SSV

<10
(3M)

PSHL

FSV
Outlet

MAWP > SITP

Option 2

Figure 1.18

Safety system designs for surface wellhead flowlines.

TSE

PSL

SSV

>10
(3M)

PSL

FSV
PSHL
Outlet

MAWP > SITP

Option 3
PSV

PSL

TSE
SSV

>10
(3M)

FSV

PSHL

Outlet

MAWP > SITP

MAWP < SITP

Option 4
TSE

PSHL

FSV

SSV

Outlet

MAWP > SITP

Option 5
Figure 1.18

(Continued)

USV

FSV

PSHL

Option 1

Outlet
MAWP > SITP
PSL

USV

SDV

Denotes Platform Limits

PSHL

FSV
Outlet

Option 2
MAWP > SITP

Figure 1.19

Safety system designs for underwater wellhead flowlines.

PSV

FSV
PSHL

Gas Makeup System

Gas Outlet
TSE

Inlet
Pressure
vessel
LSH
FSV
LSL

Figure 1.20

Oil Outlet

Safety system design for pressure vessel.

PSV

TSE
SDV
From Storage
Component

Pump

PSHL
FSV

Discharge
Figure 1.21

Safety system design for pipeline pumps.

PSV

TSE

Suction

Pump
PSHL
FSV

Discharge
Figure 1.22

Safety system design for other pumps.

1.9 Unit Systems

This book uses U.S. oil field units in the text. However, the
computer spreadsheet programs associated with this book
were developed in both U.S. oil field units and S.I. units.
Conversion factors between these two unit systems are
presented in Appendix A.

Summary
This chapter provided a brief introduction to the componentsin the petroleum production system. Working principles, especially flow performances, of the components
are described in later chapters.

References
American Petroleum Institute. Bulletin on Performance
Properties of Casing, Tubing, and Drill Pipe, 20th
edition. Washington, DC: American Petroleum Institute. API Bulletin 5C2, May 31, 1987.
American Petroleum Institute. Recommended Practice
for Analysis, Design, Installation, and Testing of
Basic Surface Safety Systems for Offshore Production
Platforms, 20th edition. Washington, DC: American
Petroleum Institute. API Bulletin 14C, May 31, 1987.

guo, b. and ghalambor a., Natural Gas Engineering

Handbook. Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 2005.
guo, b., song, s., chacko, j., and ghalambor a., Offshore
Pipelines. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005.
sivalls, c.r. Fundamentals of Oil and Gas Separation.
Proceedings of the Gas Conditioning Conference,
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 1977.
wolbert, g.s., American Pipelines, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman (1952), p. 5.

Problems
1.1 Explain why a water-drive oil reservoir is usually an
unsaturated oil reservoir.
1.2 What are the benefits and disadvantages of using
down-hole chokes over wellhead chokes?
1.3 What is the role of an oil production engineer?
1.4 Is the tubing nominal diameter closer to tubing
outside diameter or tubing inside diameter?
1.5 What do the digits in the tubing specification represent?
1.6 What is a wellhead choke used for?
1.7 What are the separators and pumps used for in the oil
production operations?
1.8 Name three applications of pipelines.
1.9 What is the temperature safety element used for?