PETROLEUM PRODUCTION

ENGINEERING-I
THIRD YEAR SECOND TERM(11 Batch)

By

Engr. HABIB U ZAMAN MEMON

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Well Performance - Michael Golan
Well Completion - C. Max Stout
Well Production Practical Handbook - Henry
Cholet
Petroleum Production System - Michael J.
Economides
Basic Production Course - OGTI
Well Completion & Servicing - Denis Perrin

RESPONSIBILITIES OF
PRODUCTION ENGINEER
To look for ways to improve revenue generation by
increasing production & minimizing costs.
To ensure that wells are completed, produced &
operated in a safe, efficient, cost-effective manner
which maximizes their benefit to the company.
To evaluate well & field performance & to improve it
where possible with work over, stimulation, facility
improvements etc.
To plan future production methods & policies (e.g.
artificial lift, water disposal, injection control etc.)
To forecast performance over the next year in order
to predict revenues, identify problems & to plan work
programs.

To plan, program, supervise & analyze

completion, well test, work over & stimulation.
To forecast budget, staff & equipment
requirements.
To ensure that records are maintained by
updating the well files & by providing assistance
& technical support to the production
department.
To interface with the specialist staff (Reservoir,
Process, Geology, Mechanical etc.) & with the
Drilling Department.

WELL COMPLETION
After a well has been drilled, logged & tested to
the projected depth & the productive zones
evaluated, the well should be completed.
Tubing sizes & pressure ratings should be
chosen, taking into account requirement that
may develop during the life of the well.
Completion equipment & the methods employed
may be quite variable depending upon the type of
oil or gas produced.
Most commonly production rate in b/w 3000-5000
bbl/day require 3-1/2 or larger flow strings to
handle fluid volume.

For gas wells 3-1/2 & 4-1/2 tubing will handle

flow rates 25MMCFD.
The design of wells should minimize the effect of
corrosion & erosion on well equipments.

WELL COMPLETION METHODS

Open Hole Completion:-

1.

It is the most simplest completion method.

This method is also called barefoot completion.
The well needs only a Christmas tree so completion
costs are low.
This completion is used in thick, continuous, well
consolidated carbonate reservoirs.
The well should not produce water & sand.
Pressure & flow rates may be hard to control in open
holes.
Also artificial lift & well stimulation may cause
problems in the later stage of the well.

2. Perforated Completion:

The majority of wells (96% or more) are cased &

cemented through producing zone & then
perforated.
Casing prevents rock caving & provides protective
housing for completion tools.
Cements fills the annular space b/w the rock & the
casing, supports the casing & prevents its external
corrosion & stops fluid migration.

TYPES OF COMPLETION

Single Zone Completion: Normally,

single zone completions of oil and gas wells

allow relative simplicity in the completion design.
In this most basic completion, there is absence of
significant bottom hole pressure and temperatures.
Two types of designs exist to provide the options
necessary, both for the wellbore conditions and the
economic considerations of the well.

With Tubing Alone:-

1.
o

Single-zone completion with just a tubing & no

production packer are used when the only aim is to
have the right pipe diameter w.r.t the flow rate.
It means obtaining enough velocity to lift the heavy
parts of the effluent(water or condensate in a gas
well).
In this type, the well is then produced through both
the tubing & the annulus.

With Tubing & Packer:-

2.

Single zone completion with a tubing & a production

packer are most widely used because of:

o
o
o

the safety due to the packer.

its simplicity in comparison to other types of completion,
in terms of installation, maintenance & work over.

Multi-zone Completion: In

the past, the technique of producing several pay

zones together the same tubing was used.
It required only a minimum amount of equipment.
However, the subsequent reservoir & production
problems that were experienced have caused this
practice to become much less common.
There are two types of completion in Multi-zone
completion:

Parallel dual string completion with two tubing's, one for

each of the two levels & two packers to isolate the levels
from one another & protect the annulus.

Tubing-annulus completion with one single tubing & one

packer, which is located between the two levels that are to
be produced, with one level produced through the tubing &
the other through the tubing-casing annulus.

 Basically

this type of completion allows the

development of several pay zones with fewer wells, &
is therefore faster.
In contrast, maintenance & work over costs are
higher.
This technique is particularly advantageous in
offshore, where drilling itself & the space required for
a well site are very costly.

TUBING DESIGN

Tubing Characteristics: The

tubing is made of seamless pipe which is usually

fitted with a coupling.
In addition to a traditional range listed in API
schedules, manufacturers propose pipe made from
improved steels or special steels.
Parameters defined by API are mainly: nominal dia,
nominal weight, grade of steel, type of connection &
length range.

 Nominal

Diameter & Geometrical Characteristics:-

Nominal Diameter: This is the OD of the pipe body, traditionally expressed in inches &
fractions of an inch. The following are standard ODs.

Internal Diameter & Thickness: The ID is a result of the nominal dia: & the thickness of
the pipe.
Drift Diameter: It is the foremost important parameter.
It is the minimum diameter that governs the range of
equipment that can be run through the tubing whether
for the wire line tools, perforators or logging tools.
Pipe Length: Because of the type of machining, each pipe naturally has
a specific length.
It is classified into two length ranges:

Range 1: from 20ft to 24ft

Range 2: from 28ft to 32ft

The length range for the site must be chosen with care.
It should be compatible with hoisting & storage capacity
of the mast of the rig used when the equipment is run in
during completion as well as later on during work over
operations.
For production string spacing out operations, there is
also a range of short pipes or pup joints.
API lists various lengths for these joints i-e: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
& 12 ft.

Nominal

Weight:-

In addition to the nominal diameter, pipe is characterized in

practice by its nominal weight.
This corresponds to the average weight of a length of a pipe,
connections included, & is expressed in lb/ft or the symbol #.

Pipe with different nominal weights can be found with the same nominal
diameter depending on the thickness.

 Grades

Of Steel & Metallurgical Characteristics:-

Manufacturers supply API standard grades of steel &

special steel for severe corrosion, particularly due to H2S &
CO2.
API Standard Steels & Grades For Tubing's:-

The following grades are included in API schedules: H40, J55,

C75, L80, N80, C90 & P105.
However, they are not all available in all nominal diameters &
weights.
Each letter is a characteristic of a chemical composition.
These all contains a maximum of 0.04% sulfur & 0.06%
phosphorus.
The number following the letter designates the minimum
body yield stress guaranteed by the manufacturer & is
expressed in thousands of psi: for example 80 corresponds to a
minimum body yield stress of 80000 psi.

Grades C75, L80 & C90 are termed as special corrosion & are specifically
designed for wells with low temperature & high H2S concentration.

Stainless Steel, Alloys & Special Pipe:-

When wells containing CO2 were put on stream, the oil

industry started using stainless steel.
22-25% chromium steel when the H S pressure is not too
2
high.
For even more severe duty, mainly high nickel content alloys
are used, associated with chromium & molybdenum.
These special steels can cost up to 25 times more than
standard steel.

 Connection,

Threads:-

There are two ways to screw pipe together:

By using coupling, the most common connection
By means of an integral joint, the most common type of connection
on smaller diameter pipe.
API Tapered Triangular Threaded Connection:

API proposes :
NU(Non-Upset) threads, with no increase in diameter at the end of
the pipe body.
EU(External Upset) threads, with an increased diameter on the
outside of the pipe body giving better tensile strength, as the cross
section at the base of the thread is larger.

API threads have 8-10 threads per inch.

They are triangular & rounded on top.
These are suitable for low pressure oil wells.

DOWN HOLE TOOLS OR

EQUIPMENTS

Mule Shoe:-

It is the guide shoe at the bottom of the well.

This tool guides the survey tool which then can be properly aligned
with the bent sub.

No-Go Nipple:-

A no-go nipple is a short tubular device which has a small shoulder

located within the internal bore of the nipple.
The purpose of this tool is to prevent wire line tools from falling out of
the end of tubing, if dropped.

Perforated Joint:

A perforated joint may be used in the completion string for the

purpose of providing bypass flow if bottom hole pressure &
temperature gauges are used for reservoir monitoring.

Landing Nipple:-

Landing nipples are used at various points in the completion string

depending on their functional requirement.
Common functions for landing nipple are:
Installation points for setting plugs for pressure testing, setting
hydraulic-set packers.
Installation point for SSSV.
Installation point for bottom hole pressure & temperature
gauges.

Flow Couplings:-

Flow couplings are thick walled tubular.

These are made of high grade alloy steel usually supplied in 10, 15
& 20ft length.
The purpose of this component is that where ever turbulence
occurs, it prevents loss of tubing string integrity & mechanical
strength due to internal erosion directly above or below the
component.

Seal Bore Extension:-

It is a device installed below the packer & is used where a

longer seal assembly is needed.
The seal bore extension provide sufficient seal bore length
so that long seal assemblies may be used to accommodate
tubing movement.

Packer:

To protect the casing from well fluids.

Locator Seal Assembly:

This equipment has got only sealing elements & allows the
tubing to slide in the packer.

Sliding Sleeve Door:-

It allows communication b/w tubing & annulus.

It can also be used for the following purposes:
To circulate appropriate kill fluid into the well prior to the
work over.
As a production device in a multi zone completion.
As a contingency that plugging might occur in the upper
part of the tubing.

Sub-Surface Safety Valve:-

The purpose of SSSV is to shut off flow from the well in the
event of a potentially catastrophic situation.
These situations might be damage to wellhead, failure of
surface equipment, fire at the surface etc.
SCSSSV????
SSCSSSV????

Tubing Hanger:

It is a completion component, which sits inside the tubing

Head Spool & provides the following functions:
Suspends the tubing.
Provides a seal b/w the tubing & the tubing head spool.

Pup Joint:A

joint of pipe of non-standard length, to make up a

string of tubular to an exact required total length.

Cross Over: Cross

over act as an intermediary between two

dissimilar threads and are used to connect the two.

DIFFERENCES
Pup Joint

Crossover

Thread difference.

Dia: difference.

Same thread end.

Same grade material.

Same weight.

Length ranges from 1ft to 10ft.

Pin x Box only.

Material grade difference.

Weight difference.

Pin

Available in:

x Pin
Pin x Box
Box x Box

PACKERS
A packer is a sub-surface tool used to provide a
seal b/w the tubing & casing of a well to prevent
vertical movement of the fluids past this sealing
point.
Packers are used for the following reasons:

To

improve safety by providing a barrier to flow

through the annulus.
To keep well fluids & pressures away from the casing.
To separate multiple zones in the same wellbore.
To place kill fluids in the casing annulus.
To anchor the tubing.
ETC.

PACKER TYPES

A packer is basically selected by the setting

mechanism, the seal, the means of retrieval & the type
of tubing-packer connection.

Retrievable Packers:

This type of packer is run on the tubing.

These can be set and released many times on one trip.
In this type, tubing cannot be removed from the well without
pulling the packer.
Retrievable packers may be set mechanically or hydraulically.
This makes them suitable for repairing a series of casing leaks.
Retrievable packers are most commonly used in well intervention
activities.
Although some completion designs are more suited to retrievable
packers than permanent packers.

 Permanent

Packer:-

Permanent packer are independent of the tubing & may be run on

tubing or on wire line.
The tubing can be released from the packer & can be pulled, leaving
the packer set in the casing.
Tubing can be subsequently be run back & released in the packer.
This packer is sometimes called either a production packer or a
retainer-production packer.
Uses Of Permanent Packer:
Formation, Treating or swabbing differential pressures will be
high.
It is desirable to pull the tubing without unseating the packer.
High bottom hole temperature exist.

Tubing-Packer Connection: Rigid:-

The tubing is fixed onto the packer.

Semi-Free:- The tubing enters the packer which can
slide up & down.

PERFORATION
Perforation is the process of creating holes in the casing
that pass through the cement sheath and extend some depth
into the formation.
The formation penetration can range from essentially zero
to several inches, depending on the perforator used and the
mechanical and physical properties of the materials being
penetrated.
The holes may be dispersed in an angular pattern around
the interior of the wellbore; this dispersion is called
phasing.
The number of shots per linear foot can vary, typically
ranging from 1 to24 (or more if a zone is perforated several
times); this number is referred to as shot density.

PERFORATION GEOMETRY

PERFORATING GUNS
Casing gun
Expendable gun
High-shot density gun
Tubing Conveyed Perforation

Casing gun
Create holes in a casing string .
Casing guns are typically 3- to 5-in. in diameter
and carry up to four perforating charges per foot
Allow perforation through production casing
using larger diameter gun assembly.

Expendable gun
A perforating gun assembly that disintegrates upon
firing, creating finer debris.
It is used where wellbore restrictions allow only
limited access, as in through-tubing applications.
It is relatively light and simple in design with phased
expendable guns.

Expendable gun

High-shot density gun

A perforating gun have more than four shots per foot.
Improves the phasing, or distribution of perforations,
around the wellbore.
Enables improved distribution of the perforations
around the circumference of the casing or liner.

High-shot density gun

TUBING CONVEYED PERFORATION

Tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) technique enable perforating

very long intervals in one run.
Some TCP strings have exceeded 8,000 ft [2,440 m] in length.
In highly deviated and horizontal wells TCP is the only means of
accessing to the perforating depth.
TCP also facilitates running large guns and using high
underbalanced.
When TCP is deployed in conjunction with drill stem test (DST)
tools, well fluids can be easily controlled.
Without having to kill the well, TCP strings can be retrieved
(shoot and pull).

PERFORATION METHODS

Bullet Perforation: In

the bullet-perforating method, propellant-driven bullets are

shot through casing and cement into the formation.
A steel carrier, called a gun, is used to convey the bullet
penetrators downhole.
Firing is accomplished by sending an electrical signal down a
wireline to ignite the propellant.
The burning propellant accelerates a bullet through a short
barrel (2-in. or shorter) to velocities up to 3300 ft/sec.
This velocity is sufficient for the hard, armor-piercing bullet to
penetrate casing, cement sheath, and formation.
However, bullet-penetration performance decreases
substantially in high-strength formations and when very highstrength casing is used.

 Currently, bullet

perforators are used infrequently, because

bullets plug the end of the flow channel, but they still have
applications in soft & brittle formations.

High Pressure Water Jets: This

method involves the use of high-pressure water jets or

sand-laden slurries to abrade a hole into the casing, cement,
and formation.
The slurry is pumped down the tubing and turned at the
bottom by a deflector and nozzle arrangement that allows the
fluid stream to impinge directly on the casing.
A major advantage of this method is that very clean tunnels
can be created with little or no formation damage.
The major drawback, however, is that the process is slow and
expensive, and the holes must be created one at a time.
Thus the process is impractical for long intervals.

Jet Perforation: This

method involves the use of high explosives and metallined shaped charges.
Jet perforating is by far the most widely used technique to
create perforations in wellbores & over 95% of all perforating
operations are performed with shaped-charge jet perforators.
Jet perforators can be conveyed downhole by a variety of
means: slickline, electric line, coiled tubing etc.
Explosive Train
Jet-perforating systems comprise different explosive components that
are linked to form an "explosive train.
Following figure shows a perforating gun and the explosive train
inside it.

The explosive elements of the train are:

I.
an initiator, or detonator, that is used to start the
explosive process.
II.
a detonating cord that is used to transmit detonation
along the longitudinal axis of the gun.
III. shaped charges that perforate the casing and penetrate
the cement sheath and formation.

Initiators: Initiators currently used with perforating systems are of

two general types, electric and percussion.
For wireline conveyed systems, the most common mode of
initiation is an electrical detonator, more generally
referred to as an electroexplosive device, or EED.
Percussion devices function by having an appropriately
contoured firing pin strike a relatively sensitive part of
the initiator.
The pinching and shearing of explosive inside the
initiator generates a flash that reacts with primary and
secondary explosives to achieve detonation.
Detonating Cord: Detonating cord is used to transmit detonation along the
axis of the perforating gun, sequentially initiating each
charge as the detonation wave passes by.

It is simply a core of secondary explosive that is enclosed

by a protective sheath.
The sheath can be a single-component material such as
lead or aluminum, or it can be composed of layered
materials such as an extruded plastic jacket over a woven
fabric braid.
Shaped Charges: The shaped charge, or jet perforator, is the explosive
component that actually creates the perforation.
The shaped charge is a simple device, containing as few
as three components, as shown in figure:

SAND CONTROL METHODS

Introduction: Sand

production and control remain critical challenges in

reservoir management and production operations.
Sand results in high removal costs, equipment erosion, and
significant maintenance expenditure.
Seventy percent of the world oil and gas reserves are
contained in sandstone reservoirs where sand production is
likely to become a problem at some point during the life of the
field.
Porous reservoir sands can hold large volumes of
hydrocarbons & Permeable sands allow oil and gas to flow out
of reservoirs easily but sometimes some highly porous and
permeable sands are poorly cemented together.
As a result, when the hydrocarbons begin to flow, the
reservoir rock releases sand grains into the well bore and
production stream.

 It

is normally associated with shallow, geologically

young formations that have little or no natural
cementation to hold the individual sand grains
together.
As a result, when well bore pressure is lower than the
reservoir pressure, drag forces are applied which
carry the formation sands as fluid is produced.
Following figure shows the sand either plugs the well
or is produced.

 Produced

sand has no economic value. On the other

hand, formation sand not only plugs wells but also
can erode equipment and settle in surface vessels.

Causes Of Sand Production: While

considering the problem of Sand production,

first of all we must differentiate between Sand and
Fines production.

Fines migration (Clay minerals, quartz, mica, carbonate etc)

result from drag forces and incompatible completion fluids.
If fines are being produced, they should not be stopped by
screening techniques so as to avoid permeability
impairment.
And Sand migration is a result of mechanical and chemical
effects and can be eliminated with several techniques.

 Sand

production higher than 0.1% (volumetric) can

usually be considered excessive, but depending on
conditions, the practical limit could be much lower or
higher.
Following are the main causes of Sand production.
Fluid Flow: The major forces that tend to cause Sand production
usually result from fluid flow, which is proportional to
pressure drop between the well bore and reservoir.
Geographic and Geologic Factors: As Sand production is a worldwide problem but it most
common in tertiary age sand reservoirs because these
reservoirs are geologically young and are usually located
at relatively shallow depths.

Natural Consolidation: Opposing the fluid forces are the forces (restraining
forces) that act to hold sand grains in place.
These forces arise form intergranular bonds (natural
consolidation), intergranular friction, gravity forces and
capillary forces.
Out of these forces, the intergranular bond is the most
important factor in preventing Sand production.

Problems Caused By Sand Production:-

Several operational problems can arise if a well produces

Sand.
All are troublesome and costly, but the degree of severity
varies widely.

Surface Equipment: The problem arises from produced sand become more
severe when the entrained sand is carried at velocities
sufficient to erode surface equipment, such as valves and
chokes, allowing repeated replacement of these
equipment's.
The worst complication of the sand production is the
erosion of surface equipment allowing high pressure gas
and/or oil to escape. This situation causes severe safety and
pollution hazard.
Tubular Damage: As sand is produced, the sudden fall of overlying casing
bearing formations can subject the entire casing string to
abnormal loads.
Such loads can lead to severe buckling when restriction
provided by the surrounding sand is lost during sand
production.

Productivity Loss: Productivity is lost when a sand bridge forms in the

production equipment's.
This condition occurs when the fluid velocity is
insufficient to suspend the produced sand completely and
flow it from the well.
In settling out of the produced fluids, Sand can then fill
the production tubing and block the flow.

Need For Sand Control:-

The decision of whether or not to install sand control is

normally governed by cost factors combined with risk
experience in a given area.
Economics: Sand production in reservoir wells creates a number of
problems, some of which are costly and others that might
cause safety issues.
Excessive sand production can lead to significant reduction
of hydrocarbon production performance as well as damaging
bottom-hole assemblies and production equipment.
Furthermore it could lead to the well being shut-off for sand
to be circulated.

According to the report, overall sand management

expenditures, including sand control tools, screens and
pumping, are estimated at US $2 billion.
Spending is forecasted to nearly double in the next 4 years.
Sand Disposal: Another reason for limiting production is to avoid or
minimize costly problems of handling and disposal,
particularly offshore, where produced solids must be
removed from fluid-handling facilities on platforms.

When To Install:

Experience indicates sand control should be installed before

the reservoir rock is seriously disturbed by sand removal and
it becomes more difficult to control further sand flow as the
volume of produced sand increases.

Selecting Type Of Control:

Thus, it is not surprising that initial and controlled installations

have proved to be far more successful than remedial treatments.
Sand control methods may be classified as Mechanical bridging
installations such as gravel packs, slotted-liners etc or
consolidation by injection of chemicals into the formation to
provide in-situ, grain to grain cementation.

Factors to Be Considered In Sand Control Selection:

Initial sand control cost

Expected reliability
Effects on productivity
Completion repair cost
Formation sand quality
Level of reservoir pressure depletion
History of sand production if available

WORK OVER OPERATION

Work over operation may be decided for a number

of reasons.
Equipment

Failure:-

At the Well Head: It involves mainly:

Leaks at the lower master valve, tubing hanger or tie-down

screws.
A damaged back pressure valve seat.
Problem at the SCSSSV control line outlet: leak or failure.

In the Subsurface Safety Valve System: The following cases may occur.
A SCSSSV is faulty or stuck.
The control line is leak or fails.

In the Pipe: Whether in the tubing or casing, the problems are

leaks(Corrosion), Collapse, Burst or Broken pipe.
The tubing can also get partly or totally plugged up by
deposits that cannot be removed by conventional wire line
jobs.
In the Down Hole Equipment: It can happen particularly in the following:

Leakage in the equipment has sealing elements(packer,

locator seal assembly, slip joint, circulating sleeve etc).

 Modification

in Production Condition:-

In order to get sufficient velocity to carry up the heavy

phases(condensate, water) after a drop in flow rate, it may
be advantageous to reduce the tubing diameter by changing
the tubing. Otherwise, if the heavy phase is left to build up
in the tubing, it may exert too much back pressure on the
pay zone.
When the wells flowing capacity becomes insufficient, an
artificial lift process needs to be implemented or any
existing process has to be modified.

 Restoration

OR Modification of the Pay Zone-Bore

Hole Connection:

This type of operation may be performed in order to:

Stimulate(acid job or fracturing) a zone that is producing
less than expected.
Implement or restore sand control.
Bring a new zone on stream.
Try to limit unwanted fluid inflow(water/gas from oil
reservoir or water from gas reservoir) by remedial
cementing, by isolating perforations or abandoning a
zone.
Restore cementing to avoid communication b/w formation
layers.

 Change

In The Purpose Of The Well:-

When the condition in a field have evolved, particularly

when water/oil, oil/gas or water/gas contacts(or transition
zones) have progressed, a production well may be turned
into an injection well.

Fishing:-

When measurement, maintenance or work over operations

are carried out, FISH may accidently be left in the well.
The problem is then to attempt to retrieve them.

SWABBING A WELL
After the well has been killed by placing heavy liquids down
the wellbore, the well needs to begin flowing again, it may
be necessary to swab the well.
Swabbing is accomplished by placing a rubber
plunge(cup) down the well bore.
The swab is then pulled back up towards the top of
the well bore, taking with it the liquids that were
previously placed to kill the well.
As the swab moves up the well the pressure below it
is reduced and liquids are sucked out behind it.
The swabbing procedure may only take a few days,
but the well will not be actively producing during
this time.

Production Optimization
Using NODAL Analysis
O Fluid properties change with the location-

dependent pressure and temperature in

the oil and gas production system.
O To simulate the fluid flow in the system,
it is necessary to break the system into
Nodes.
O This system analysis for determination of
fluid production rate and pressure at a
specified node is called Nodal Analysis
in petroleum engineering.

O Nodal analysis is performed on the

principle of pressure continuity, that is,

there is only one unique pressure value
at a given node regardless of whether
the pressure is evaluated from the
performance of upstream equipment or
downstream equipment.
O The performance curve (pressurerate
relation) of upstream equipment is
called Inflow Performance Curve.

O The performance curve of downstream

equipment is called Outflow

Performance curve.
O The intersection of the two performance
curves defines the operating point, that
is, operating flow rate and pressure, at
the specified node.
O Nodal analysis is usually conducted
using the bottom-hole or wellhead as the
solution node.

PRODUCTION FACILITIES DESIGN

To open & shut-in the well flow to regulate its

volume & flow line pressure.
Wellhead/Christmas
Choke

Regulators

wells).

Tree

for control of flow line pressure (gas

To direct production by individual flow lines to

central facility.
Line

Pipe
Fittings
Valves

To direct flow through manifolds such that flow

volume, GOR, water production & other
parameters are recorded.
Separators
Chemical

injectors
Emulsion treaters
Desalters

To store & transport/ship liquid hydrocarbons.

Storage

tanks
Pump stations
Oil transportation pipeline
Loading stations for bowsers

Well site Facilities

Gathering Facilities
Central Production Facilities

Oil

Production Facility

Separator
De-salter
Crude Stabilizer

Separator
Header
Knockout vessel
Gas dehydration plant
Gas compression plant
Oil transfer pumps
Oil, gas & water metering devices
Flare stacks
Storage tanks

Gas

Production Facility

Slug catcher
Separator or knockout vessel
Gas dehydration plant
Gas sweetening plant
Gas compression plant
Gas metering devices
Flare stacks

SEPARATORS

Horizontal
High

oil.

GOR or large amount of gas is in solution with

Vertical

Lower

GOR ranges.

Spherical
High

pressure at low volumes.

Mostly used as test separator for small wells.
Available in dia: from 24 to 60 & working pressure
upto 6000psi.

SEPARATOR INTERNAL DEVICES

Deflector Plate:
Deflector

plate is used in gas-liquid separators in

front of the inlet nozzle on the vessel.
As the inlet stream strikes it, the liquid falls to the
bottom & the gas flows around the plate.

Mist Pads:
Mist

pads are most frequently used in gas liquid

separators remove the mist from gas.

Straighting Vanes:
They

are used in gas-liquid vessels.

They are used when hydrate or paraffin prevents the
use of mist pads.

Filter Elements:
Filters

gas.

are used to remove solid particles & mist from

Weirs:
A

weir is to divide one compartment of the separator

from another & provide a spill over passage for fluids.

Centrifugal Devices:
They

impart a swirling action to the inlet stream that

concentrates the liquid phase on the outer wall of the
device.

Horizontal Baffles:
Used

to prevent waves in the liquid phase.

Located near the liquid level in the vessel.

Vortex Breaker:
Used

in all separators on the liquid draw-off nozzle to

prevent vortex from forming, which would allow some
gas to flow out the liquid line.

Water Jets:

TREATING OILFIELD EMULSIONS

Introduction:
An

emulsion is a combination of two immiscible

liquids that do not mix under normal conditions.
Under following Three conditions Stable emulsion is
formed.

The liquids must be immiscible.

There must be sufficient agitation to disperse one liquid as
droplets in the other.
There must be an emulsifying agent present.

Basic Principles Of Treating:

Treating

may include one or more of the following:

Allowing settling time & draining separated water.

Applying Heat

Applying Chemicals
Applying Electricity

Applications

of Heat In Treating:

Heat alone does not cause an emulsion to break down,

except in rare instances.
Usually the application of heat is an auxiliary process to
speed up separation.
Two types of emulsion heaters are there.
Direct Heaters:
In a direct heater, the emulsion comes in direct contact
with the firebox.
Direct heaters are used to heat non-corrosive emulsion
that are under comparatively low pressure.
These, when operated under proper conditions, are the
most efficient type of heater.

The efficiency of a heater is determined by figuring out

how much gas the heater burned to heat up how many
barrels of emulsion to the desired temperature.
Four types:

Tubular Heaters
Fluid Jacket Heaters
Internal Firebox Heaters
Jug-Type Heaters

Indirect Heaters

Principles

Of Chemical Treating:

In order for a chemical to work as an emulsion breaker in a

water-oil emulsion, it must be able deactivate the
emulsifying agent that surrounds the dispersed water
droplets.

Chemicals used to break water in oil emulsions are added in

small amounts at some point in the treating system.
Such chemicals must be soluble in oil & surface active.
Some chemicals are:
EO/PO Block Copolymer
Hexyl amine
Pentyl amine
Ethylene glycol
Sodium di decyl sulfate

Electrostatic

Treaters:

Electrostatic treaters, often called as Chemelectric or

Electrochemical treaters.
These are similar to horizontal heater treaters except that
high-voltage, alternating current, electric grids are added.

In this method, as the heated emulsion rises through the

electric field, the water droplets are given an electric charge
where the charged droplets move rapidly, colliding each
other with enough force to coalesce into larger & larger
drops until they settle out.
The clean oil continues to rise to the top of the vessel, where
it is collected & removed to the storage tanks.