SPE-182732-MS

Surface Jet Pump Pilot Test for Upstream Applications

Vilas. S. Koleshwar and H. H. Al-Khalifa, Saudi Aramco; S. Peeran, Caltec Ltd.

Copyright 2016, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition held in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 25–28
April 2016.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs) consist of two or three separation stages to separate oil, water and
associated gas. Oil flows to the stabilization plants and water to injection wells, while associated gas is
sent to gas plants for further processing. At Plant A, the high-pressure (HP) gas has adequate pressure to
freely flow to gas plants without compression. Gas from intermediate pressure (IP) and low-pressure (LP)
stages flows to a nearby stabilization facility, to be compressed along with gases released from the
stabilization plant and sent to the same gas plant where HP gases were directed to.
Utilizing a surface jet pump (SJP) at Plant A was found to be an energy saving and economically
attractive alternative as it enabled sending the IP gases directly to the gas plant without gas compression
by using HP gas as a motive fluid.
This paper will discuss in detail the design basis of this application and few challenges faced during
the test. Also, it will cover the wide range of operational envelope that the jet pump covered during the
test. The application was found to be successful and resulted in substantial savings in compression cost.
Advantages of using SJPs include using already available fluid energy within a process stream, no
moving parts, zero maintenance, zero power or fuel gas usage, small footprint and varying layout
configurations. SJPs are well suited to liquid ingestion and to changes in process conditions (without
greatly affecting performance). In this paper, other applications of the SJP are also briefly discussed.

Introduction
The objective of this field test is to confirm the feasibility of utilizing jet pump technology to transfer all
the intermediate pressure (IP) gases from the intermediate pressure production trap (IPPT) to the gas plant
bypassing the original routing to the stabilization plant and avoiding using a conventional power driven
gas compressor. This application will therefore not only save power consumption at the stabilization plant
but also avoid flaring of IP gases at Plant A when gas compressors at the stabilization plant are shutdown.
High-pressure (HP) gases from the high-pressure production trap (HPPT) are used as a motive gas for
the jet pump to drive IP gases to flow through the existing HP gas pipeline.
The jet pump technology is a compact static piece of equipment having no moving parts. It does not
consume fuel gas or electric power, therefore providing a significant savings on both capital and operating
expenses. A full-scale skid mounted jet pump was supplied by a vendor for 90 days of field trials, and was
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comprised of the surface jet pump (SJP) system with silencers. The jet pump skid was delivered to the site
in October 2014. Installation of the tie-in piping was completed in November 2014 and the system was
successfully commissioned in December 2014.
The jet pump operated satisfactorily and handled all the IP gas by boosting its pressure to the required
discharge pressure of the HP gas pipeline to flow it directly to the gas plant, where HPPT and IPPT
operation and control was significantly unaffected. Despite pressure fluctuations in the HP gas pipeline,
the jet pump system maintained the HPPT and IPPT pressures well. According to Operations records and
verification, the team declared that the jet pump trial was successful.
The success of the SJP test has opened new applications for this versatile tool that can potentially
reduce operating costs, enhance energy savings and boost production from declining oil fields. Examples
of such applications include: boosting production from oil and gas wells, compressor de-bottlenecking,
compressor replacement and flare gas recovery. Some of these applications are briefly described in
Appendix 1 of this paper.

Description of Facility
Plant A produces Arabian Extra Light (AXL) crude oil. The wild crude is introduced first to the HPPT,
through the production header, where gases are separated at 400 psig. The separated oil is diverted to the
IPPT where gas is separated at 250 psig. After that the oil is transferred to the low-pressure production
trap (LPPT) where gases are separated at 50 psig. The HPPT is a three-phase separator, where gas, oil and
water are separated, while the IPPT and LPPT are two-phase separators, where oil and liquid are
separated.
The gas from the HPPT flows to the gas plant while the gases from the IPPT and LPPT are combined
and sent to gas compressors, located at stabilization plants for compression and dispatching these gases
to gas plants along with other gases from stabilization plants. The IP and LP gases are depressurized to
atmosphere pressure before feeding to the gas compressors.

THEORY
The jet pump in a gas-gas application typically consists of a spool having a convergent motive gas nozzle,
suction gas chamber, constant area mixing section and divergent diffuser exit section as shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1—Jet pump spool.

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Jet pump operation is based on Bernoulli’s principle, whereby increasing the velocity of a HP fluid or
motive fluid through a converging nozzle or ejector leads to a LP region, which entrains and compresses
the LP stream or suction fluid. The combined fluid (motive and suction) pass through diverging diffuser
section of the jet pump, where the velocity decreases and the pressure is regained to a level of intermediate
pressure (between HP and LP).
HP motive gas accelerates through a tapered convergent nozzle to increase its velocity inducing a
region of LP at the nozzle tip where HP gases expand. The LP region causes IP gases to be sucked into
the suction chamber and become entrained with the already expanded HP gases exits from the tapered
convergent nozzle. During the mixing process in the constant area section of the jet pump spool, HP gases
transfer the energy to IP gases, making the HP gases slow down and IP gases to accelerate, such that it
forms a homogenized mixture of HP and IP gases that enter the diffuser at higher velocity than the suction
chamber. As the gas mixture passes through a diverging diffuser, it is decelerated rapidly converting
kinetic energy to potential (pressure energy) and thereby compressing the gas mixture to the exit pressure
of the jet pump spool. The purpose of the jet pump is to transport and compress the IP gases from its
suction pressure to exit pressure. Figure 2 shows how the velocity and pressure change takes place along
the length of the jet pump spool.

Figure 2—Jet pump flow dynamics.

The process of energy balance takes place along the various jet pump parts. A conversion of pressure
into kinetic energy and then kinetic energy back to pressure occurs in the jet pump. Energy losses in the
jet pump occur due to expansion and compression steps, the momentum balance during the mixing of the
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HP and IP stream as well as friction losses. These losses are expected to increase as the entrainment ratio
(HP and IP flow ratio) increases.
It becomes quickly apparent that such an energy balance cannot be performed with currently available
process simulation models.
To increase the entrainment ratio (HP and IP flow ratio), sufficient reduction of the pressure at the
suction chamber is required to provide a sufficient driving force to accelerate the IP gas.
Currently available process simulation software does not provide the facility to estimate the value of
pressure required at the inlet of the constant area section of the jet pump.
The amount of ⬙boost⬙ to the IP gas pressure by the HP gas in a typical gas-gas jet pump depends on
a number of factors, which include:
● HP and IP pressure ratio
● HP and IP flow ratio
● Mol. weight of the HP and IP gas
● Discharge pressure
● HP and IP temperatures
Gas-gas surface jet pumps operate in sonic and supersonic range. When the HP and IP pressure ratio
is approximately above 1.8, noise levels can exceed 85 dBA. To reduce this noise, silencers (noise
attenuators) are installed. If the noise is emitted directly through the body of the jet pump, acoustic lagging
or cladding can be applied to the spool and pipe work.

DESIGN BASIS, TEST SET UP AND PROCEDURE

To provide the design data to the technology supplier, availability of the required HP and IP gases was
confirmed by production forecast and actual operating data. Tables 1 and 2 shows the HP and IP gas
properties and flow rates used in the design of jet pump.

Table 1—HP gas properties.

Operating Parameter Value

Pressure 405 psia

Temperature 190°F
MW 26
Sp. Heat Ratio 1.302
Flow Rate (MMscfd) 20

Table 2—IP gas properties.

Operating Parameter Value

Pressure 250 psia

Temperature 185°F
MW 27.6
Sp. Heat Ratio 1.265
Flow Rate (MMscfd) 5
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Conditions at the Discharge of Jet Pump

Table 3 shows the conditions at the discharge considered in the design of the jet pump.

Table 3—Jet pump discharge conditions.

Operating Parameter Value

Pressure 300 psia

Pressure Boost 50 psi
Flow Rate (MMscfd) 25

Based on the above process parameters, the mechanical design aspects of the jet pump are as shown
in Table 4.

Table 4 —Jet pump mechanical details.

Item Data

HP Connection 6⬙ 1500#
IP Connection 8⬙ 1500#
Discharge Connection 8⬙ 1500#
IP Silencer 8⬙ 1500#
Discharge Silence 10⬙ 1500#
Jet Pump Material LTCS NACE MR 0175 Compliant
Design Codes ANSI B31.3

The original jet pump design flow rates and pressures are summarized in Table 5.

Table 5—Original design parameters of the jet pump.

Streams HP IP Discharge

Flow Rate 20 MMscfd 5 MMscfd 25 MMscfd

Pressure 390.5 235.5 285.5

The jet pump nozzle assembly and the mixing tube and diffuser sections can be removed and replaced
with those with a new design parameter when the operating conditions change significantly during the
service life. Change out of the internal sections of the jet pump is a simple process and can be done within
a few hours.
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Figure 4 —Process schematics showing jet pump tie-ins with existing piping.

ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS

As stated in the previous section, plant operators encountered a much lower HP gas flow rate than
originally designed for and high IP gas flow rate in December 2014. This situation led to instances of
HPPT pressure decline. The PCV-3010-1A control valve fully closed to maintain HPPT pressure and all
HP gases were going through the jet pump. Subsequently, since the nozzle was too large for the gas rates,
the HPPT pressure continued to decline from 405 psig to 380 psig. Consequently, the pilot test was
stopped for a short period during these conditions.
The team consulted with the vendor and some quick calculations were conducted. It was recommended
to replace the nozzle of the jet pump with a smaller one that better fit the low HP gas rate. The vendor
quickly shipped the new nozzle to the site accordingly.

Figure 5—Test case.

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Figure 6 —Test case.

After the nozzle was replaced with a smaller one that was designed for the new conditions, the jet pump
performed very well in boosting the all IP gas pressure and overcame the pipeline pressure. Jet pump
operations remained stable despite the variation of the IP and HP flows and the pipeline pressure. The
HPPT and IPPT pressures were very stable and within original design frames. With changes in production
rates, the HP and IP gases increased to the higher design limits of the jet pump and sometimes exceeded
the design parameters by up to 40% IP flow. Yet the jet pump system was able to handle this increase and
maintained boosting the IP gas pressure as required to overcome the pipeline pressure. The jet pump is
proven to be a self-regulating device as it responded automatically to changes in the HP or IP conditions.

Figure 7—SJP performance curve.

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Silencers installed on the IP gas inlet and discharge or outlet abated the noise level satisfactorily.
Because of the fact that but there were no instances of high noise noticed by the plant operators, no noise
measurements were taken during the trial.
CONCLUSIONS
The success of the jet pump pilot is confirmed by the fact that:
● The jet pump technology trial has been successfully completed. It has been demonstrated that the
jet pump technology is a techno-commercially feasible option to be deployed at Plant A for saving
gas compression costs and avoiding environmental impact.
● Plant A operators found it easy to start up, operate, maintain and shutdown.
● Plant A operators could successfully manage boosting of all the IP gas to send it to the gas plant
without a motor driven compressor, and thereby reduce the load on the gas compressors at the
stabilization plants.
● The jet pump handled various operating scenarios successfully.
● Plant A operators could avoid flaring of IP gases in the event when gas compressors at the
stabilization plant is shutdown.
● Noise levels were within the industrial limits.
● The jet pump performance matched the performance curve submitted by the vendor.
● The SJPs process applications provide the following benefits:
● Utilises energy otherwise wasted
● No moving parts, low weight, minimal footprint, portable, no maintenance
● Minimal instrumentation and control
● Easy and quick to install
● Short payback period
● Surface mounted
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APPENDIX 1
OTHER POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF SURFACE JET PUMP

A1) Using an SJP to lower the operating pressure of a production separator

Figure 8 shows two examples of how the SJP can be utilized to reduce the operating pressure of a
production separator (in a processing plant or GOSP) and thereby boost the production from LP declining
oil well. This solution reduces the back pressure on LP (oil) well/s feeding the separator and thereby
increase production from these wells. This is a good solution to increase or maintain production potential
from mature oil fields using HP gas (from either HP gas well or HP gas compressor), when there is no
HP oil well available to act as the motive force for the SJP.

Figure 8 —Using an SJP to Lower Separator Pressure

When HP Oil well is available in the vicinity of declining LP well, the arrangement shown in Figure
9 can be used for boosting the production.

Figure 9 —Using an SJP to boost production from an LP oil well

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The function of I-SEP is to separate gas and liquid phases of flow from the HP oil well. The separated
liquid phase is fed to the HP inlet of the SJP. The separated gas phase bypasses the SJP and is combined
with the fluids from the outlet of the SJP via a commingling spool.
The globe valve on the gas outlet line of I-SEP is mainly for tuning purposes, and also enables the
pressure of the separated HP gas phase to drop to the pressure of the downstream commingling spool and
the outlet line of the SJP.
A2) Using an SJP to debottleneck compressors
Figure 10 shows two applications in one diagram. First is an example of how an SJP can be used to
debottleneck a compressor, and second is an example of how an atmospheric compressor can be
eliminated by the use of an SJP.

Figure 10 —Using an SJP to debottleneck or replace compressors

In the first example the SJP processes the excess gas, which the 1st stage compressor cannot handle
(beyond the capacity of the compressor) and compresses it to the suction of the second stage.
In the second example the SJP processes all the gas from the atmospheric crude holding/storage tanks,
and compresses it to the suction of the 1st stage compressor.
It can accomplish one or both these tasks by using a small percentage of the 3rd stage compressor
discharge gas, to act as the motive force for the SJP. This gas may also be available from gas being
re-cycled through the anti-surge line.
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A3) Using SJPs for Flare Gas Recovery

Figure 11 shows the flow diagram for a conventional Flare Gas Recovery system (FGR) using
centifugal compressors. Liquid ring compresor systems (together with separators and heat exchangers) are
also used for FGR.

Figure 11—Conventional Flare Gas Recovery Using Compressors

Figure 12 shows the flow diagram for a Flare Gas Recovery system using SJPs.

Figure 12—Flare Gas Recovery Using SJPs

Comparing these systems, it is obvious that the conventional FGR will have the following challenges:
● Heavy, large footprint, complex control
● High CAPEX, OPEX, and maintenance
● Fuel gas and power consumption
● Limited turndown for flare gas flows
● Difficult to cope with wide ranging compositions and fluctuating inlet pressures