Dr.

Pavel Spirov
Petroleum
engineering

Separation processes
Lecture 1
Dr. Pavel Spirov
Petroleum engineering

Outline of the course 1,2

Theoretical

Practical

Oil and gas processing

Oil and gas separators
Emulsion treating
Water treating facilities in oil and gas operations
Gas treating and processing
Pumps
Compressors
Piping and Pipelines
Safety systems
Oil storage

Aspen HYSYS
In practical: Working in groups

Lecture 1

Introduction to
course

Lecture 1

Literature and requirements:

HYSYS tutorial
Oil and gas production handbook
Petroleum Engineering Handbook Vol.
3
Chemical engineering thermodynamics
PVT : Ali Danesh

For exercises:
- PC
- Installed Excel
- Internet
connection

Lecture 1

Oil and gas processing

Oil or gas wells produce a mixture of hydrocarbon gas, condensate, or oil; water with
dissolved minerals, usually including a large amount of salt; other gases, including nitrogen,
carbon dioxide (CO2), and possibly hydrogen sulfide (H2S); and solids, including sand from
the
reservoir, dirt, scale, and corrosion products from the tubing or the hydrocarbons (gas or
liquid) to be sold, they must be separated from the water and
solids, measured, sold, and transported by pipeline, truck, rail, or ocean tanker to the user.
Gas
is usually restricted to pipeline transportation but can also be shipped in pressure vessels on
ships, trucks, or railroad cars as compressed natural gas or converted to a liquid and sent as
a
liquefied natural gas (LNG). This chapter discusses the field processing required before oil
and
gas can be sold.

Lecture 1

Oil and gas processing

The goal is to produce oil that meets the purchasers
specifications that define the maximum allowable
water, salt, or other impurities. Similarly, the gas must
be processed to meet
purchasers water vapor and hydrocarbon dewpoint
specifications to limit condensation during
transportation.

Lecture 1

Oil and gas processing

The equipment between the wells and the pipeline, or other transportation system,
is called an oilfield facility. An oilfield facility is different from a refinery or chemical
plant in a number of ways. The process is simpler in a facility, consisting of phase
separation, temperature changes, and pressure changes, but no chemical reactions
to make new molecules
In a refinery, the feed-stream flow rate and composition are defined before the
equipment is designed. For a facility, the composition is usually estimated based on
drillstem tests of exploration wells or from existing wells in similar fields. The design
flow rates are estimated from well logs and reservoir simulations. Even if the
estimates are good, the composition, flow rates (gas, oil, and water), pressures, and
temperatures change over the life of the field as wells mature and new
wells are drilled.

Lecture 1

Oil and gas processing

Facilities have a design rate that is a best-guess
maximum flow based on the number of wells,
production profiles, and total oil or gas that can be
produced from the reservoir. The actual production rates
for a facility increase as the wells are completed up to
the
design rate.

Lecture 1

Lecture 1

Definitions and terms

Crude oil is a liquid hydrocarbon produced from a reservoir.
Condensate is liquid hydrocarbon that condenses from the
gas as pressure and temperatures decrease when the gas is
produced from the reservoir up the tubing and out the
wellhead choke.
Condensate is usually lighter in color and lower in
molecular weight and viscosity than crude oil; however, a
light
crude oil could have properties similar to a condensate.

Lecture 1

Definitions and terms

Hydrocarbons are composed of many different
components or molecules of carbon and hydrogen
atoms. Starting with the lightest molecular weight, they
are methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8),
butane (C4H10), pentane (C5H12), hexane (C6H14),
and so on.
As the ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms increases, the
molecules become heavier and have a
greater tendency to exist as a liquid rather than a gas

Lecture 1

Definitions and terms

A process simulation is a calculation, usually done with a computer
program that predicts
how the components that make up the well fluids react to changes in
pressure and temperature
as they are processed through the facility. This is not a chemical reaction,
but rather a simple
phase change as liquids flash to vapor or vapors condense into liquid. As
the pressure is reduced or the temperature is increased, the lighter
molecules, such as methane and ethane, tend
to boil off into the vapor phase, taking some of the midrange
components with them. The remainder of the midrange and most of the
heavier molecules stabilize as liquid.

Lecture 1

Conventional oils make up 30%, heavy oils 15%, extra heavy oils
25% and tar sands 30%.
Light oil
Conventional
oil

Medium oil

Oil with API gravity

greater than 25.
Oil with API gravity
greater than 20API but
less than or equal to
25API.

30%
30%

25%

Unconventiona
l oil

Heavy oil

Extra heavy
oil

Oil with API gravity

between 10API and
20API inclusive and a
viscosity greater than
100 cP.

Oil whose API gravity is

less than 12 and
whose
viscosity
is
commonly greater than
10,000 cP.

15%

conventional oil
extra heavy oil

heavy oil
tar sand

Lecture 1

14

Function of a Facility
Main Process - The main function of an oil facility is to
separate the oil, gas, water, and solids; treat the oil to meet
sales specifications
Secondary Process. - In addition to processing the oil and
gas for sale, the produced water and solids must be treated for
disposal.
Auxiliary Systems - In addition to the process systems,
auxiliary process heating and cooling may be required.
Lecture 1

Example Oil Facility

Separation

Lecture 1

Pressure
[bar]
Slug catcher
P1 =25
High
pressure P2 =15
separator (HP)
Low
pressure P3 = 5
separator(LP)

Temperatu
re [C]
T1 = 40
T2 = 40
T3 = 40
Lecture 1

Separation

Lecture 1

Oil Treating.
No separation is
perfect, there is always
some water left in the
oil. Water content can
range from less than
1% water to more than
20% water in the oil by
volume. The lower the
API gravity , the less
efficient the separation.

Lecture 1

Produced-Water Treating.
As mentioned
previously, separation
is not perfect, and the
amount of oil left in the
water from a separator
is normally between
100 and 2,000 ppm by
mass. This oil must be
removed to acceptable
levels before the water
can be disposed of.
Lecture 1

Gas facility

Lecture 1

Gas treating
Heating.
Gas wells are often high pressure
This pressure must be reduced to the appropriate
pipeline pressure at the point at which the gas flows
through a
wellhead choke.
When gas pressure is reduced, the gas cools, liquids
can condense, and hydrates can form.

Lecture 1

 Hydrates are crystalline solids

made up of hydrocarbon and water
molecules
and form in the presence of
hydrocarbon gas and liquid water at
temperatures significantly
higher than the freezing point of
water. These hydrates can plug the
choke and flowline, so highpressure
gas wells usually require a line
heater that contains the flowline
and choke inside a
hot water bath to keep the well
from freezing.
Hydrate formation can be
inhibited by injecting a solvent,
such as methanol, into the flowline.
Lecture 1

Gas treating
Separation. The separator
provides a place for any liquid
to settle out from the gas. The
separator pressure is set
higher than the pipeline
pressure so that the gas can
go through the
required cooling, treating,
dehydration, and gas
processingeach with some
pressure drop
and arrive at the required
pipeline pressure.

Lecture 1

Gas treating
Gas Treating.
Natural gas may have a number of impurities, such as H2S and CO2,
which are referred to as acid gases.
Natural gas containing H2S is called a sour gas; if the gas contains no H2S, or if the H2S has
been removed, it is sweet gas. The process of removing the H2S, and possibly CO2, is
referred to as sweetening. H 2S gas is highly toxic.
CO2 forms a strong acid that is highly corrosive in the presence of water. Combined, they are
corrosive; if the corrosion results in a leak, they can be deadly.
A common way to remove H2S and CO2 from natural gas is with an amine system, which uses a
contact tower with trays or structured packing to pass the sour gas through the amine liquid,
absorbing the H2S and some of the CO2.

Lecture 1

Process Control

Lecture 1