Project Report – Project Stage 1

On
“Surface Facilities (Surface Production Operations)”
Submitted
To
Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune
Professor A.P Kulkarni
By
“Group 17”
Aditya Singh (Roll number-411081)
Gauraw Singh (Roll number-411082)
Rahul Suryawanshi (Roll number-411083)
Altaf Tamboli (Roll number-411084)
Tejas Bansod (Roll number-411085)

Final Year Petroleum Engineering,

Department of Petroleum Engineering,
MAEER’s Maharashtra Institute of Technology,
124, Paud Road, Pune-411038
Problem Statement B-1
Section-A
Introduction to Surface Operations

Surface Operations (production facility) is to separate the well stream into three components,
typically called "phases" (oil, gas, and water), and process these phases into some marketable
product(s) or dispose of them in an environmentally acceptable manner. In mechanical devices
called "separators" gas is flashed from the liquids and "free water" is separated from the oil. These
steps remove enough light hydrocarbons to produce a stable crude oil with the volatility (vapor
pressure) to meet sales criteria. The gas that is separated must be compressed and treated for sales.
Usually, the separated gas is saturated with water vapor and must be dehydrated to an acceptable level
(normally less than 7 Ib/MMscf).
In some locations it may be necessary to remove the heavier hydrocarbons to lower the hydrocarbon
dew point. Contaminants such as H2S and CO2 may be present at levels higher than those acceptable
to the gas purchaser. If this is the case, then additional equipment will be necessary to "sweeten" the
gas. The oil and emulsion from the separators must be treated to remove water. Most oil contracts
specify a maximum percent of basic sediment and water (BS and W) that can be in the crude. This will
typically vary from 0.5% to 3% depending on location. Some refineries have a limit on salt content in
the crude, which may require several stages of dilution with fresh water and subsequent treating to
remove the water. Typical salt limits are 10 to 25 pounds of salt per thousand barrels.
Production facilities must also accommodate accurate measuring and sampling of the crude oil. This
can be done automatically with a Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) unit or by gauging in a
calibrated tank.
The water that is produced with crude oil can be disposed of overboard in most offshore areas, or
evaporated from pits in some locations onshore. Usually, it is injected into disposal wells or used for
waterflooding. In any case, water from the separators must be treated to remove small quantities of
produced oil. If the water is to be injected into a disposal well, facilities may be required to filter solid
particles from it.
Water treating can be done in horizontal or vertical skimmer vessels, which look very much like
separators. Water treating can also be done in one of the many proprietary designs discussed in this
text such as upflow or downflow CPIs. Any solids produced with the well stream must also be
separated, cleaned, and disposed of in a manner that does not violate environmental criteria. Facilities
may include sedimentation basins or tanks, hydrocyclones, filters, etc.
The facility must provide for well testing and measurement so that gas, oil, and water production can
be properly allocated to each well. This is necessary not only for accounting purposes but also to
perform reservoir studies as the field is depleted.
Basic surface production facilities for onshore, cold-weather, marsh areas and
deep-water fields
Surface Facilities can be defined as a set of systems and equipments to extract, process, and export oil &
gas in a safe, controlled, and efficient way which are located on the surface.
It is very difficult to classify production facilities by type, because they differ due to production
rates, fluid properties, sale and disposal requirements, location, and operator preference.

1. surface production facilities for onshore

Fig 1: An onshore lease facility showing vertical three-phase separator, a horizontal two-phase
separator, a vertical heater treater, and two storage tanks.

Fig 2: An onshore central facility with a large horizontal free water knockout, and a horizontal
heater treater.
 2. surface production facilities for cold-weather
In cold weather areas, individual pieces of equipment could be protected as shown in given figure

Fig 3 In cold weather areas it is sometimes necessary to insulate the vessels and pipe and house all
controls in a building attached to the vessel.

3. surface production facilities for marsh areas

In marsh areas the facilities can be installed on wood, concrete, or steel platforms or on steel or
concrete barges

Fig 4 In marsh and shallow water areas it is sometimes beneficial to build the facilities on a concrete
barge onshore and then sink the barge on location.
 4. surface production facilities for deep water fields

In deeper water it may be necessary to install all the facilities and the wells on the same platform

Fig 5 In deep waters this is not possible and the facilities can get somewhat crowded.
Typical oil facility block Diagram

Fig 6 Oil Facility block diagram

Section B
A)Explain Design procedure for sizing of two-phase horizontal separator
For sizing a horizontal separator it is necessary to choose a seam-to seam vessel length and a diameter.
This choice must satisfy the conditions for gas capacity that allow the liquid drops to fall from the gas
to the liquid volume as the gas traverses the effective length of the vessel. It must also
provide sufficient retention time to allow the liquid to reach equilibrium.
For a vessel 50% full of liquid, and separation of 100-micron liquid drops from the gas, the following
equations apply:

Gas Capacity:

d*Leff = 420*[TZQg/P]*[(ρg/ρl-ρg)*(Cd/dm)]^0.5 …(equation 1)

where d= vessel internal diameter, in.

Leff= effective length of the vessel where separation occurs, ft
T = operating temperature, °R
Qg= gas flow rate, MMscfd
P= operating pressure, psia
Z= gas compressibility
CD= drag coefficient
dm= liquid drop to be separated, micron
pg= density of gas, lb/ft3
p! = density of liquid, lb/ft3
Liquid Capacity:

d^2Leff = (tr*Ql/0.7) …(equation 2)

where tr = desired retention time for the liquid, min

Ql = liquid flow rate, bopd
Seam-to-Seam Length and Slenderness Ratio:
The seam-to-seam length of the vessel should be determined from the geometry once an effective
length has been determined. Allowance must be made for the inlet diverter and mist extractor.

Lss=Leff+d/12 …(equation 3) For gas constraint

Lss=4/3*Leff …(equation 4) For liquid constraint

allow for various choices of diameter and length. It can be shown that the smaller the diameter the
less the vessel will weigh and thus the lower its cost. There is a point, however, where decreasing the
diameter increases the possibility that high velocity in the gas flow will create waves and re-entrain
liquids at the gas-liquid interface. Experience has shown that if the gas capacity governs and the
length divided by the diameter (slenderness ratio) is greater than 4 or 5, re-entrainment could become
a problem. Most common separators are designed for slenderness ratios of 3 to 4.
B) Calculate densities of liquid phase (ρl) and gas phase (ρg) in lb/f3.
Formula for density of liquid phase:

1)Density liquid =62.4*(141.5/(131.5+API)) (equation 5)…

Applying given data in above formula we get;

Density of Liquid 51.48455 Answer

Formula for density of Gas phase:

2)Density of Gas =2.7*(S*P/(T*Z)) (equation 6)…

Applying given data in above formula we get;

Density of Gas 4.875704 Answer

C)Calculate the values of product (Leff d) based on gas capacity constraint.

Using Equation 1 from design of Horizontal Separator Using gas constraint we get;

Leff*d = 31.8441229 Answer

D)Calculate the values of product (Leff d^2) based on liquid capacity

constraint if residence time is 3 min.
Using Equation 2 from design of Horizontal Separator using liquid constraint we
get;

Leff*d^2 7714.28571 Answer

E) Calculate values of effective length (Leff) from gas capacity and liquid
capacity constraints for different values of vessel inside diameters (d) 16, 20, 24,
30, 36, 42, 48 inch.

Leff*d(gas Constraint) 31.8441

Leff*d^2(liquid
Constraint) 7714.2857

Leff Using Gas D^2 Values for Liquid Leff using Liquid
D values(inch) constraint cst Constraint

16 1.99025625 256 30.13392852

20 1.592205 400 19.28571425

24 1.3268375 576 13.39285712

30 1.06147 900 8.571428556

36 0.884558333 1296 5.952380941

42 0.758192857 1764 4.373177834

48 0.66341875 2304 3.34821428

F) Calculate seam-to-seam length of vessel (Lss) for diferent values of Lef
based on gas capacity and liquid capacity constraints. Also calculate the
slenderness ratio (SR) based on larger of the values of Lss .

d Leff (gas Lss (gas Leff(Liquid Lss(liquid Slenderness

values constraint) capacity) d^2 values Contraint) Capacity) Ratio(Liquid)

16 1.99025625 9.99025625 256 30.13392852 40.17857135 30.13392852

20 1.592205 11.592205 400 19.28571425 25.71428567 15.4285714

24 1.3268375 13.3268375 576 13.39285712 17.85714282 8.928571412

30 1.06147 16.06147 900 8.571428556 11.42857141 4.571428563

36 0.884558333 18.88455833 1296 5.952380941 7.936507922 2.645502641

42 0.758192857 21.75819286 1764 4.373177834 5.830903779 1.665972508

48 0.66341875 24.66341875 2304 3.34821428 4.464285706 1.116071427

G) Select the suitable combination of ‘Lss’ and ‘d’ for which the S.R. lies
between 3 to 5.
Lss (gas capacity) = 16.06147, Lss(Liquid Capacity) = 11.4285 and diameter = 30 inch
H) Calculations Result

Leff(from
d Leff(from gas Lss(from gas liquid Lss(from liquid Slenderness
(inch) constraint) constraint) constraint) constraint) Ratio(S.R)

16 1.99025625 9.99025625 30.13392852 40.17857135 30.13392852

20 1.592205 11.592205 19.28571425 25.71428567 15.4285714

24 1.3268375 13.3268375 13.39285712 17.85714282 8.928571412

30 1.06147 16.06147 8.571428556 11.42857141 4.571428563

36 0.884558333 18.88455833 5.952380941 7.936507922 2.645502641

42 0.758192857 21.75819286 4.373177834 5.830903779 1.665972508

48 0.66341875 24.66341875 3.34821428 4.464285706 1.116071427

Conclusion:
Based on the criteria that S.R. should lie between 3 to 5, the suitable dimensions of
separator are as follows:

S.R. No Design Parameter Value

1 Seam-to seam length (Lss) 11.42

2 Internal diameter of vessel (d) 30