Oil and Gas Production Measurement Applicator

Condensate Stabilization

CONDENSATE STABILIZATION
Flash Gas High Pressure
to Process Fuel Gas

Low Pressure
Fuel Gas
Compressor

Compressor

Condensate
Storage
Tank
Heat
Exchanger PD Meter
Flash Tank Flash Tank Flash Tank Condensate
P1 P2 P3 Stripper

Multi-Stage “Flash Vaporization”

High Pressure
Fuel Gas

Low Pressure
Fuel Gas

Condensate
Feed Drum

Heat
Exchange
Stabilizer

Reboiler

Cooler
Storage
Tank
Turbine Meter

Stabilization by Distillation
Overview
Most gas reservoirs contain some amount of liquid
hydrocarbons. These liquid hydrocarbons in gas are known
as Hydrocarbon Condensate. The condensate contains a large
percentage of lighter components that will turn to vapor
when the condensate is brought to atmospheric pressure.
The remaining condensate needs to be stabilized so it may
be stored in conventional tanks without going into vapors.
Stabilization is a process of removing the lighter components
from the liquid condensate phase. This process is done by
lowering the vapor pressure of the hydrocarbon liquid and
thus separating the lighter components that will end up in
the gas stream.
The two main methods for this process are Multi-Stage
Separation and Distillation. Multi-Stage uses a series of
sequential separators with heaters starting from high
pressure to low pressure. As the pressure decreases and the
temperature increases, the condensate vapors flash off to the
next stage separator.
The low pressure separator collects the stabilized condensate
that is now ready to move to storage tanks.
Distillation uses very specific temperature and pressure
calculations as well as a critical “stabilization tower” designed
to separate the lighter products as they vaporize and the
condensate separates out under lowering pressure.
Keeping an accurate account of the amount of condensate
flowing to the main stock tank is required. Crude oil is
transferred by API gravity. With the addition of the lighter
hydrocarbon condensate, the API gravity will increase and
subsequently the value of the crude oil in the storage tank
will also increase.
Since condensate is light and clean, most metering
technologies will handle the application. In all cases of
separation of component phases, the separator must be
efficient in the process or there may be gas carry under
which needs to be considered prior to meter selection.
Metering Technologies Review
Meter Selection Criteria Conventional Turbine Meters
Accuracy Advantages
• Repeatability (any given flow rate) • High accuracy
• Linearity (over the given flow range) • Wide flow range
• Stability (ability to reproduce repeatability and • Small in size and weight
linearity over time) • Low cost of ownership INVALCO
Turbine Meter
• Provability (ability to prove meter performance • Wide temperature and pressure range
and confidence level) Disadvantages
System Characteristics • Requires flow conditioning
• Crude oil wells • Requires back pressure control to prevent cavitation
• Dry gas wells • Difficulty with high viscosity liquids
• Condensate wells • Susceptibility to fouling or deposits
• Operating flow range • Sensitivity to changes in viscosity
• Temperature and pressure range (controls needed)
Product Characteristics Coriolis Meters
• Viscosity range Advantages
• API gravity range • Low maintenance – minimally affected
• Percent water range by abrasive and corrosive substances
• Paraffin • Not susceptible to damage by gas slugging
• Contaminants • Capability of registering near-zero flow rate
• Corrosiveness • Minimally affected by viscosity changes
• Deposits • Direct mass and density measurements
(providing indirect volume measurement)
Positive Displacement Meters • Flow conditioning is not normally required

Advantages Disadvantages
• High accuracy • Sensitivity to installation conditions, including
• Low pressure drop shock and vibration
• No flow conditioning • Accumulation of internal deposits can affect accuracy
• Ability to measure high viscosities • Sizes larger than six inches are not typically used for
• Can handle very low flows volumetric custody transfer applications
• Sometimes difficult to prove due to time lag of
Disadvantages
manufactured pulse output
• Application range limited by Smith Meter®
SC13 Series
• Meter requires periodic re-zeroing under pressure,
meter internal clearances
with no flow
• Susceptibility to damage by flow
• Needs back pressure control
surges or gas slugs
• High pressure drop
• Susceptibility to corrosion
and erosion

Proline® Promass F

Model F4

For more information visit www.fmctechnologies.com/measurementsolutions

www.fmctechnologies.com/measurementsolutions

© Copyright 2012, FMC Technologies Measurement Solutions, Inc. SB0A016A7 Issue/Rev. 0.0 (6/12)