: Introduction to Offshore Petroleum Production System

Yutaek Seo

Period

Contents

1 Week

General introduction, outline, goals, and definition

2 Week

Type of reservoir fluids

: Dry gas / Wet gas / Gas condensate / Volatile oil / Black oil
PVT laboratory testing
: Constant mass expansion / Differential vaporization / Compositional analysis /
: Oil densities and viscosity / SARA, Asphaltenes, WAT

3 Week

Fluid sampling and characterization

: Bottom hole samples / Drill stem test samples / Case studies

4-5 Week

Thermodynamics and phase behavior

: Ideal gas / Peng-Robinson (PR) / Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK)
: Peneloux liquid density correction / Mixtures / Properties calculated from EoS

6 Week

Subsea Field Development

: Field configuration / Artificial rift / Well layout

7 Week
8 Week
9 Week
10 Week
11 Week
12 Week
13 Week
14 Week
15 Week
16 Week

Well components
: Christmas tree / surface wellhead
Subsea manifolds/PLEM and subsea connections
: Components / design / installation
Umbilical / risers / flowlines
: Design criteria/ analysis
Flow regime
: Horizontal and vertical flow / Stratified flow / Annular flow / Dispersed bubble flow / Slug flow
Flowline pressure drop
: Frictional losses / Elevation losses / Acceleration losses / Errors in P calculation / Pipe wall roughness
Liquid hold up
: Cause / Prediction / Field & experimental data / Three phase flow
Flow assurance issues
: Hydrate/Wax/Asphaltene/Corrosion/Scale
Field operation
: Operational procedures for offshore petroleum production
Application Example: Offshore platform (Pluto fields), Floating production system (Ichthys fields)
Final Test

Subsea development challenges

Water Depth

Flow Assurance

Wax
Hydrates
Scale

Lift, Boost and Separation Options

6 - 8 km

Tieback Distance

10 - 100 km

Res. Pres. Gradient

Subsea Wells

Dry Wells

Pressure drop in production facilities

Artificial Lift
Artificial lift methods are used to continuously remove liquids
from a liquid loaded gas well.
The lack of energy in a reservoir can affect the flow rate of oil,
gas, or water and artificial lift is used to supplement the
reservoir energy. Using this method, energy is transferred
downhole and the fluid density in the wellbore is reduced.
Artificial lifts also boost well production by reducing bottomhole
pressure at wells that are deemed not economically viable.
A variety of artificial lift methods are used, with each method
configured for specific lifting requirements and operational
constraints.
During the selection of the lift systems, elements such as
reservoir and well parameters, and field development strategies
should be taken into consideration.

Basic methods
The basic methods for artificial lift are
: Gas lift
: Subsea boosting
: Electric submersible pumps.

Gas lift
The traditional artificial lifting methods are used to produce
fluids from wells that are already dead or need to increase the
production rate

Side pocket mandrel and gas lift valve

 During the initial part of the field architecture survey, the need
for gas lifting is assessed based on the following information:
a. Fluid composition and properties such as solution gas-oil
ratio, oil formation volume factor, oil viscosity, and gas
compressibility factor;
b. Maximum water content, etc.;
c. Multiphase flow correlations;
d. Well profile, production rate data, bottomhole flowing
pressure, average reservoir pressure at midperforation, and
surface gas-lift pressure as needed to optimize the gas-lift
system.

 Gas lifts employ additional high-pressure gas to supplement

formation gas as shown in Figure 2-15.

Produced liquids are extracted by reducing fluid density in the

wellbore, to lighten the hydrostatic column, or back-pressure,
loads on formations.

 Continuous injection is popular because it utilizes the energy

from formation gas.
At specific depths, special gas lift valves will be injected with
external gas, which mixes with produced liquid.
The pressure gradient will be reduced from the injection point to
the surface. Bottomhole pressure reduction will create a
pressure differential for required flow rates.
Insufficient drawdown can be remedied using instantaneous
high-volume injection, or intermittent gas lift to displace slugs of
liquid to the surface.
This condition will create surface gas handling difficulties apart
from surges downhole resulting in sand production. Gas-lift
expenditures depend on the gas source and pressure, but can
be costly if additional surface compressors and processing
facilities are needed.

Subsea pressure boosting

The impact on the production flow rate and pressure as a result
of pressure boosting is illustrated in Figure 2-16.

: System resistance is characterized by the specific system configuration and water depth.
: Natural well flow rate is dependent on the specific reservoir conditions.
: As indicated in the figure, both the production flow rate and pressure are increased as a
result of the pressure boost.

 For a long tie-back and in a deepwater operating environment,

the system resistance curve becomes steep, and the
intersection with the production curve will be at a much lower
flow rate.
Similarly, a low-pressure reservoir results in a production curve
that starts out with a lower shut-in pressure and decreases
faster. The intersection with the resistance curve will again be
at a lower production rate.
Subsea pumps can be used to increase the pressure of the
fluid.

 The subsea pump systems are designed to operate for long

periods of time without maintenance.
Regular maintenance may be required every 5 years due to
general wear. The pumps are of a modular insert design and
consist of a driver unit and a pumping unit. The driver can be
either an electric motor or a water turbine.
The driver shaft power depends on production flow and
required differential pressure increase, and single-driver units
are available ranging from 200 kW to more than 2.5 MW.
In most applications, one single pump will be sufficient, but if
required, several pumps can be installed in parallel to cater to a
higher flow rate or in series to provide higher pressure.

 Pumps are available to pump oil, water, or multiphase fluid.

Such a boosting system is installed in the Ormen Lange gas
field located 100 km (62 miles) off the northwest coast of
Norway in water depths of 850 to 1150 m (2800 to 3800 ft).
Two main booster pump technologies are available
: Positive displacement pump
: Centrifugal booster pump.

Electric Submersible Pump (ESP)

ESP technology is an ideal solution to produce significantly
higher fluid volumes and provide the necessary boost to deliver
the production flow to the host platform.
ESP systems require a large electricity supply. Providing
electricity to ESP systems, however, is less complex and more
efficient than delivering gas to gas-lift systems.
The high-volume capacity, wide operating range, and
efficiencies up to 40% higher than the gas-lift process make
ESP systems more attractive for deepwater subsea wells.
Traditionally, ESP systems are installed downhole.

 Economic benefits
Seabed ESP systems can be deployed with vessels of
opportunity versus semi-submersible rigs, reducing both the
overall cost of installation and intervention and deferred
production resulting from a waiting period for a rig.
Seabed ESP systems can be configured to provide a backup
system to maximize run life and minimize deferred production.
Some seabed ESP system alternatives use existing
infrastructure to house the systems, which also significantly
reduces overall development costs.
Seabed ESP booster systems are not as space constrained as
in-well systems. Production from several wells can be boosted
with only one seabed ESP booster system.

 Vertical Booster Station

: The vertical booster stations require installation of a large pipe,
such as a 36-in (0.91 m). conductor pipe, by drilling or suction
pile if the seabed is muddy.

 The booster station can be located at any point between the

well and host facility.
If more than one field is connected to the host production
platform, the booster station may be closer to the platform and
boost production from several fields.
In developments where several wells are in one seabed
location, the booster station may be installed closer to the wells.

 Horizontal booster station

: The horizontal ESP system is a variant of the ESP jumper,
placed on a permanent subsea base. The advantage of this
system is the ease of changing out equipment and the ability to
have systems in series, in parallel, or as redundant systems.
: All of these configurations improve overall runtime and reduce
any deferred production if one pumping system goes down.
: Plus, these systems can be used for boosting pressure for the
production wells or boosting seawater downhole for water
injection.
: The ESP booster systems can also be bypassed to clean the
flow lines.

 ESP Jumper system

: The ESP jumper system configuration shown in Figure 2-18 is
the most cost-effective seabed ESP boost system available.
: This system places the ESP equipment in the existing subsea
flowline jumper infrastructure either between the wellhead and
the manifold or the manifold and the pipeline end termination.

 The incremental costs of this system are negligible since the

infrastructure is already a sunk cost and no significant
modifications are necessary.
Like the other systems, ESP jumpers can boost one well,
providing the opportunity for individual well optimization, or
several wells, depending on the needs of the fields.
The ESP system can be installed in the jumper onshore to
minimize costly seabed installation expenses. The lower costs
associated with ESP jumpers make the technology ideal for
brown field applications where existing subsea fields can
benefit from seabed booster systems.

Subsea processing
Subsea processing (SSP) can be defined as any handling and
treatment of the produced fluids for mitigating flow assurance
issues prior to reaching the platform or onshore. This includes:
a. Boosting;
b. Separation;
c. Solids management;
d. Heat exchanging;
e. Gas treatment;
f. Chemical injection

 The benefits of introducing subsea processing in a field

development could be:
a. Reduced total CAPEX, by reducing the topside processing
and/or pipeline CAPEX;
b. Accelerated and/or increased production and/or recovery;
c. Enabling marginal field developments, especially fields at
deepwater/ultra-deepwater depths and with long tie-backs;
d. Extended production from existing fields;
e. Enabling tie-in of satellite developments into existing
infrastructure by removing fluid;
f. Handling constraints;
g. Improved flow management;
h. Reduced impact on the environment.

 Subsea boosting, as explained in an earlier section, is one

means of increasing the energy of the system.
Subsea separation can be based either on two- or three-phase
separation:
a. Two-phase separators are used for separation of any gas
liquid system such as gasoil, gaswater, and gas
condensate systems.
b. Three-phase separators are used to separate the gas from
liquid phase and water from oil.

CAPABILITY / COMPLEXITY

Subsea processing evolution

Full Subsea
Processing

Water Removal &

Debottlenecking

Subsea Gas
Compression

3 Phase Separation

Multiphase
& Injection
Pumping

Subsea Water Removal

Boosting & Injection

Key features of evolution

Stepwise in capability and complexity
Small steps to manage risk
Modular system approach
TIME

 A three-phase separator is useful for the crude consisting of all

three phases, namely, oil, water, and gas, whereas a two-phase
separator is used for the system consisting of two phases such
as gasoil, gaswater, or gas condensate.
Further, subsea separation could have a positive effect on flow
assurance, including the risk related to hydrate formation and
internal corrosion protection derived from the presence of the
produced water in combination with gas.
As opposed to the traditional methods of processing reservoir
fluids at a process station, subsea processing holds great
promise in that all of the processing to the point where the
product is final salable crude is done at the seabed itself. This
offers cost benefits and also improves recovery factors from the
reservoir.
Other advantages include a lesser susceptibility to hydrate
formation and lower operating expenditures.

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

MULTI PHASE PUMP
Application:
Well stream energy enhancement
Advantages:
Drawdown of wellhead pressure
Increased production rates
Increase reservoir recovery
Increased tie-back distance
Separated liquids evacuation
Status:
Helico-axial pumps in operation subsea
Twinscrew pumps qualified pilot subsea application 2005

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

INJECTION PUMP
Application
Water injection pressure boosting
Advantages
Increased injection rates
Increased tie-back distance
Ability to inject produced water or sea water
subsea
Status
Pump designs well proven topside
Critical parts qualified in MPP programme
Detail design of production version complete

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

SUBSEA GAS COMPRESSOR
Application:
Subsea gas compression
Advantages:
Drawdown of wellhead pressure
Increased production rates
Increase reservoir recovery
Increased tie-back distance
Separated gas evacuation
High tolerance for liquid droplets
Status:
In development by various specialist
companies

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

COMPACT SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY
Application:
Compact gas, oil and water 2 or 3 phase separation
Advantages:
Small size and weight
Status:
Separation performance qualified
topside
Gas/Liquid 2 phase unit in operation
offshore
Concept design for subsea unit
complete

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

COMPACT ELECTROSTATIC COALESCER
Application:
Removal of water from oil after separation
Advantages:
Small size and weight
Oil polishing to 0.5% water in oil
Status:
Topside pilot unit on Petrojarl FPSO
Design for subsea unit complete
Subsea equipment components
qualified
Next step subsea pilot testing

SUBSEA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

DOWNHOLE SEPARATION
Application:
Remove water from well stream
and re-inject into reservoir
Advantages:
Improvement on production rate
Improves reservoir recovery
Produces export-quality oil
Good quality injection water
Status:
Land base testing complete
Offshore pilot testing next step

Oil to
surface
Power
Fluid

X-over

Injection Zone
H-Sep
Production Zone

HSP

Well layout
Field development planners need to work closely with the
reservoir and drilling engineers early in the planning stages to
establish a good well location plan.
Once the reservoir is mapped and reservoir models created, the
number of wells, types of wells, and their locations can be
optimized.
Well layout is usually an exercise of balancing the need to
space the wells out for good recovery of the reservoir fluids
against the cost savings of grouping the wells in clusters.
Add to this the consideration of using extended reach wells, and
the number of possible variables to consider becomes great.
A further consideration, reservoir conditions permitting, is the
use of fewer, high production rate wells through horizontal well
completions or other well technology. Here again, there are cost
trade-off considerations.

Satellite well system

A satellite well is an individual subsea well. Figure 2-20
illustrates a typical satellite tie-back system.

: The wells are widely separated and the production is delivered by a single
flowline from each well to a centrally located subsea manifold or production
platform.

 Various field layouts must be examined. This evaluation must

involve hydraulic calculations and cost sensitivity analyses
taking into consideration flowline cost, umbilical cost, and
installation cost and flow assurance issues.

Template and Clustered well system

If subsea wells can be grouped closely together, the
development cost will usually be less than that for an equivalent
number of widely dispersed wells.
Well groupings may consist of satellite wells grouped in a
cluster, or a well template, in which the well spacing is closely
controlled by the template structure.

Clustered satellite wells

Clustered satellite subsea well developments are less
expensive than widely spaced satellite wells mainly because of
flowline and control umbilical savings.
If several satellite wells are in proximity to one another, a
separate production manifold may be placed near the wells to
collect the production from all of the wells and deliver it in a
single production flowline that is connected to the production
facility.
In addition, a single umbilical and umbilical terminal assembly
(UTA) can be used between the well cluster and the production
platform.

 In the case of clustered satellite wells, wells may be placed

from several meters to tens of meters from one another.
The wider well spacing is often dictated by a desire to be able
to position the drilling rig over one well without imposing
dropped object risk on adjacent wells.
It is hard to precisely control the spacing of individual satellite
wells, so crossover piping and control umbilicals must be able
to accommodate the variations in spacing.

 Example: comparison study using OLGA simulation

 Detailed design of manifold

Production well templates

Another way of clustering wells is by means of a well template.
Well templates are structural weldments that are designed to
closely position a group of well conductors. Well templates may
support two wells or more than a dozen wells.
Apart from reservoir considerations, the number of wells in a
well template is only limited by the size of the well template that
can be handled by the installation vessel.
Small templates are usually deployed from the drilling rig.
Larger ones may require a special installation vessel with
heavier lift capacity or better handling characteristics.

 Benefits of production well templates as compared to clustered

satellite wells:
a. Wells are precisely spaced.
b. Manifold piping and valves can be incorporated.
c. Piping and umbilical jumpers between the trees and manifolds may
be prefabricated and tested prior to deployment offshore.
d. Piping and umbilical interfaces are less expensive than for clustered
wells.
e. Installation time is reduced by modularizing much of the equipment.
f. Short flowline piping distances (compared to a cluster) reduce the
problems associated with flow assurance (e.g., wax and hydrate
formation) and the need for extensive pipe insulation.
g. Horizontal loads imposed by drilling can be taken by the template
structure as opposed to the tree and conductor in the case of a
satellite well.

 Disadvantages of production well templates as compared to

clustered satellite wells.
a. Design and fabrication time may be longer due to greater
complexity.
b. There may be safety concerns related to simultaneous
drilling and production operations.
c. Heavy templates may be more susceptible to subsurface
instability, such as shallow-water flows.
d. There is less flexibility in determining well locations.
e. ROV access may be limited due to space constraints.

Daisy chain
The daisy chain subsea wells consist of two or more subsea
satellite wells joined by a common flowline (and possibly
umbilical in series). Each subsea tree may have a choke
installed to avoid pressure imbalances in the flows.

 Using daisy-chained wells allows for the combined use of infield

flowlines by more than one well, and may provide a continuous
loop for round-trip pigging if needed.
The dual flowlines provide the capability for:
a. Round trip pigging;
b. Diverting both production flows into a single flowline if the
second is damaged;
c. Individually testing the two wells whenever needed through
independent lines.
As more subsea wells are needed, the attraction of daisy chains
disappears and a manifold becomes more feasible.

 Advantages of a daisy chain completion

a.

b.
c.
d.

e.
f.
g.

Similar to a single satellite well, cost is only incurred if and when a

completion is purchased and installed; the operator doesnt have to
purchase significant infrastructure before it is needed.
Some sharing of flowlines may be possible.
Round trip pigging is possible.
Wells are not mechanically linked and can therefore be located over
a wide area, which is especially important in oil fields where low
permeability exists.
In situ access to the installed equipment by ROV or divers is good
because of the absence of adjacent equipment.
Potential damage from dropped objects is constrained to (at worst)
a single completion.
Simultaneous production and drilling does not present a problem.

 Disadvantages of daisy chain wells include these:

a.
b.
c.

The possible need for subsea chokes on each well.

Absence of a common datum for flowline connections and
umbilical tie-in
Necessity for the drilling rig or dynamic positioning (DP) vessel to
relocate in order to reach another well.

Subsea field development assessment

Critical design factors may consist of
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

Engineering and design;

Cost and schedule involved;
Well placement and completion complexity;
Flexibility of field expansion;
Ease of construction and fabrication for the subsea hardware;
Intervention capability (easy, moderate, or difficult to intervene);
Rig movement (offset from mean under extreme environmental
conditions);
Installation and commissioning, such as ease of installation and
commissioning, flexibility of installation sequence;
Reliability and risk of the field architecture;
ROV accessibility.

 The inputs from the entire project team are used to assign
percentage weights to each of these design factors.
Normally, all of the various types of field layout designs, such
as the subsea tie-back, subsea stand-alone, or subsea daisy
chain, can be applied in the field.
Reliability, risk assessment, and economic balance are the
dominant factors when deciding what kinds of field layout will
be chosen.

Next Class
: Well and tree components