Subsea Separation:

A New Frontier for the Chemical

Engineer

Sunday Kanshio AMIChemE

Oil and Gas Engineering Centre,
Cranfield University
15th April 2015
Acknowledgement

• Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Abuja, Nigeria

• Prof Hoi Yeung- Oil and Gas Engineering Centre, Cranfield University

• IChemE Milton Keynes Committee

Presentation Outline

• Demand for Oil and Gas

• Subsea Field Development

• Subsea Separation Systems

• Academic Research and Findings

• Conclusion
Demand for Oil and Gas

“Oil is expected to remain the No. 1 energy source and demand will
increase by nearly 30 percent, driven by expanding needs for
transportation and chemicals”
ExxonMobil’s Outlook for Energy- A view to 2040; December 9, 2014

“Deepwater expenditure is expected to increase by 69%, compared to

the preceding five-year period, totalling $210 billion from 2015 to
2019”
Douglas-Westwood, London- March 9, 2015
 Subsea Production Systems

Features of subsea oil and gas field

• Low temperature
• Water depth-Hydrostatic pressure
• Long distance
• Remoteness
• Seabed topography
Challenges
• Flow assurance
• Environment regulations
• Maximising oil recovery

Where to go?
Chemical Engineering
Unit Operations
Subsea
Separation Courtesy: www.total.com
Subsea Separation

What is subsea separation all about?

Subsea
Separation

Gas-Liquid Oil-Water Sand

Separation Separation Removal

• Water re-injection
• Hydrate prevention • Topside debottlenecking • Erosion
• Slug flow mitigation • Corrosion

It’s more than phase

• Reduce backpressure on wells separation!
Subsea Separation Principles
-Gravity

HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR
• Preferred for Oil-water separation
• As Subsea Slug Catcher

Texaco developed Highlander using Subsea

Slug Catcher

• Required for slug flow mitigation

.• Water depth: 128 m
• 13 km from existing platform
• Low energy reservoir and low GOR
• 35 million bbl of recoverable oil
• Marginal field tieback to Tartan platform
 Subsea Separation- Techniques
-Gravity

HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR

Good for Oil-water separation in shallow water

Field application: Tordis field operated by
Statoil

Tordis Subsea Separation, Boosting and

Injection Project

• Water depth : 200 m

• Mature field
• 25 m tieback distance to Gullfaks C Platform
• Water production: 70-80%
• Sand production: 500 kg/day
• Bulk water separation
• Multiphase boosting
• Water and sand injection into dedicated well
Subsea Separation- Techniques
-Gravity

VERTICAL SEPARATOR
• Preferred for gas-liquid separation
• Easy sand removal
• Provides adequate suction head

Example: Pazflor, Angola block 17 operated

by Total

• First tested at Cranfield University

• Installed in 600 m-1200 m water depth
• Heavy oil –Miocene reservoirs
• Low reservoir pressure
• Gas flow freely through 6-in flowline
• Liquid boosted by Hybrid pump (18% GVF)
Pazflor, Angola Courtesy of Total/FMC
 Subsea Separation- Techniques
-Caisson separation system

Caisson separator system was

used to develop Perdido and BC-
10 field. Shell as operator
Perdido
• Tieback to Spar
• Heavy oil
• Low reservoir pressure
• Water depth : 2499 m
• Gas flow free to host facility
• ESP as boosting system
BC-10
• Tieback to FPSO
• Heavy oil
• Low reservoir pressure
• Water depth : 1499- 2000 m
• Gas flow free to host facility
• ESP as boosting system
Source: FMC
Compact Separation Systems

-Centrifugal force
Technology inspired by nature…

Light
Outlet

Heavy
Outlet

Inlet Source : CALTEC

Cyclonic separator utilizes the inertia of the incoming

stream to generate high g-force to accomplish:
⁻ Coalescence
⁻ Phase separation
 Compact Separation Systems

-Integrated systems

CALTEC integrated two

compact separators
HI-SEP
Research by Cranfield
University and CALTEC shows
that this system can mitigate
severe slugging in a way that
does not reduce production rate
unlike topside choking. I-SEP

Marlim field operated by Petrobras was

developed by integrated compact separation
concept.
• Marginal field in 900 m water depth
• Heavy oil
• Oil and gas comingled and flow to FPSO
• Water re-injected into reservoir Source: FMC
Design and Operational Challenges

-Can the Chemical Engineer help?

Compact separation is the future of subsea separation but there are

so many uncertainties concerning design and operation
• Fundamental understanding of multiphase flow dynamics inside
compact separators- Flow regimes, liquid holdup, phase distribution…
• Narrow operating envelope of compact separators
• Effect of upstream flow dynamics on separator performance
• Knowing when the separator is performing poorly
• Oil-water emulsion separation…Oil-in water measurement
• Discharging produced water and sand at seabed
• Predicting the performance of the separators over the field life
My PhD
• Design is compact
rules for to help withseparators
subsea the above challenges!
 Academic Work
-Approach to Problem
• Prototype Gas-Liquid Pipe Cyclonic (GLPC)
separator fabricated, installed and tested.
• Installed multiphase flow measurement sensors

Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS)

Tangential inlet ERT sensor

Trial GLPC Rig Standard GLPC Rig
Results

ERT ERT

WMS
WMS

Phase distribution prior to Phase distribution during

Liquid Carryover Liquid Carryover
 Results and Findings

Findings
• ERT, WMS and pressure
transducers gave good
information on what is
going on inside the
separator

• Air-core has influence on

phase separation

• Mist, churn and annular

flow regime can coexist in
the gas discharge section
of the separator under
certain operating condition Prior to liquid During liquid
of the separator carryover carryover
Conclusion

• Subsea separators does more than phase separation ; they solves flow
assurance issues, extends the life of field, and enhances assets
integrity

• Phase separation using compact separators is the future of subsea

separation

• Chemical engineers should embrace subsea separation by bringing

their understanding of unit operations to enhance the design of compact
separators
Thanks for listening
k.sunday@cranfield.ac.uk
sunday_kanshio@yahoo.com
07442978727