Heavy Oil Production

Separation Systems

Heavy Oil Production

Economical production of heavy and high viscosity oil represents a major challenge for the oil industry. The economic feasibility of heavy oil projects is determined by numerous factors, one of the most important being the design of the process plant. New separation technologies are key to optimizing process plant design and thus the whole heavy oil project, making it economically viable. At FMC we provide these technologies: enhanced liquidliquid separation, highly efficient degassing, emulsion breaking and sand removal.

Photo: Statoil, Marit Hommedal

Benefits
Efficient systems for water-gas-oil-sand separation will optimize process plant design and make both onshore and offshore heavy oil projects economically viable through: Enhanced phase separation as the result of higher G-forces generated Reduced residence times, allowing for a reduction in footprint and the weight of the plant Reduced temperatures, allowing for lower energy consumption Emulsion control, allowing for a reduction in chemicals consumption Improved oil and water quality Reinjection of produced water into the reservoir

Challenges for heavy oil production

Several factors complicate the production process of heavy oil and have an impact on the design of the process plant. Heavy oil production is typically associated with solids control and handling challenges. When down hole submersible pumps are used, stable emulsions may be formed. The presence of inorganic solids together with surface-active materials enhances the stability of emulsions. To treat these extra-tight oil-water emulsions, a high rate of chemicals injection and heat input is required. Entrainment of gas bubbles in heavy oil can create foamed oil emulsions with increased viscosity (mousse). The presence of gas-oil emulsions reduces the efficiency of the processing and pumping equipment, which has a negative effect on oil recovery. The use of water as the continuous phase or injection of steam into the reservoir to improve the heavy oil flow assurance requires significant amounts of water but also additional facilities for water handling and steam generation and transportation.

Separation Systems
The separation company major oil companies go to with their most challenging projects Maximum return on investment through extensive experience and know-how The only separation company with a proven track record with inline separation equipment The leading company in subsea separation Develops out-of-the-box solutions for the separation challenges of tomorrow

Our equipment
At Separation Systems we have developed a line of highly efficient compact equipment based on cyclonic technology that covers all aspects of primary separation. The equipment can be combined to suit all conditions and separation requirements. Key characteristics: Ultra-compact separation Effective de-bottlenecking to increase production capacity for existing processes Compact separation skids for new-build production systems Higher G-forces can be generated so that greater separation efficiency can be achieved

Unlocking value through new production and separation technology

High-performance internals

Inline Heavy Oil DeGassing

The InLine DeGasser separates gas from a continuous liquid stream. It is a very compact centrifugal inline device and is therefore particularly attractive for new heavy oil topside and subsea systems as well as for debottlenecking and upgrading existing production facilities. For new build installations, the InLine DeGasser is an ideal solution for degassing heavy oil. In retrofit projects it can be used to precondition the feed stream to the existing separation equipment in order to reduce the effects of mousse.
Lack of deck space made the installation of a conventional separator impractical. Instead, a compact InLine DeGasser was used.

Our high-efficiency cyclonic internals are well proven in heavy oil duty service and have shown they can overcome some of the problems associated with heavy oil separation: they prevent or eliminate foam, separate gas and reduce or eliminate creation of mousse, and enhance liquid-liquid separation.

Inline separation systems

Our inline separators are based on compact cyclonic technology and we provide inline equipment spanning the entire heavy oil processing flow sheet. The following inline separation equipment is currently available.
Gas-liquid InLine DeGasser InLine DeLiquidiser InLine DeMister InLine PhaseSplitter InLine DeWaterer InLine ElectroCoalescer Inline HydroCyclone InLine Desander InLine Controls

The Jasmine platform

Liquid-liquid

Solids Controls

The operating ranges of the InLine DeGasser, InLine DeLiquidiser and InLine PhaseSplitter overlap to some extent. The space available and required boot size / scrubber size can restrict the use of the InLine DeLiquidiser and InLine DeGasser in which case an InLine PhaseSplitter should be used.

Degasser installed on the Jasmine Platform in Thailand

Inline Heavy Oil DeSanding

The InLine DeSander is a compact centrifugal inline separator, which removes solids from liquid or multiphase streams. It can be installed at the inlet of the production system, upstream or downstream of the choke, upstream and downstream of primary separators, upstream of the hydrocyclones or anywhere in the process where solids separation is required. The InLine DeSander is currently qualified at Brazilian oil company Petrobras for installation on the seabed (Marlim field).
Swirl element & Separation chamber

InLine ElectroCoalescer
FMC Technologies has successfully added a new inline electrostatic coalescer to its Separation Systems portfolio of InLine Separation Technology. This development has been aimed at the next generation of topside and subsea separation systems. Compact electrostatic coalescence technology meets the challenges involved in applications with heavy oils and highly emulsifying oil-water mixtures. The InLine ElectroCoalescer uses electric fields to promote water-in-oil droplet growth and emulsion breakdown to facilitate effective oil-water separation. This technology is one of the most important parts of a process when complete oil-water separation is carried out topsides or on the seabed in combination with advanced separation technology.

Sand extraction

Retrofit
Liquid/gas stream with sand particles Sand stream Sand free liquid/gas

It is easily integrated into existing processes based on either conventional and/or compact separation technology.

500 Kg.

499 Kg.

1 Kg.

Inlet

Coalescing chamber

Outlet

InLine ElectroCoalescer oil gas water Retrofit Applications Adding InLine ElectroCoalescer enhances both process performance and capacity.

Inline Heavy Oil DeWatering

Size comparison, gravity vs. cyclonic liquid-liquid separation Conventional gravity separator

Heavy Oil subsea separation enabling greenfield economic viability

Total Pazflor: subsea separation

InLine DeWaterer

The InLine DeWaterer is a compact centrifugal inline separator, which removes hydrocarbon liquid from waterdominated streams. Thanks to its ability to handle up to 30 % - 50 % of gas and water cuts of 50 % and higher, it offers an attractive solution for new heavy oil topside and subsea systems as well as for debottlenecking and upgrading existing production facilities.

Extensive testing
An InLine DeWaterer has been tested extensively with a relative heavy crude oil of approximately 20 API density at a pressure of 60 bar. The InLine DeWaterer demonstrated the capability to reduce an oil content of 20% to below 2,000ppm for water removals up to 90%, thus delivering an oil removal efficiency of above 99%. This performance can be achieved at relative low pressure drops. (In the range of 1-2 bars.)

Subsea processing and separation makes it possible to exploit fields that are normally inaccessible because of deep water, long step out or heavy oil. The three gas-liquid separation and boosting stations at 800 m water depth at Pazflor field supplied by FMC, offshore Angola, provide a good example. The design of the Pazflor separation system has passed a rigorous qualification process with Total. Main challenges: Low-energy reservoir, free flow not possible High viscosity oil (17 - 22 API) and stable emulsion, resulting in high dp in flow lines/risers High water production from year 4 (large amounts of methanol needed to prevent hydrates) Presence of sand The main cost savings from subsea separation using Pazflor result from: Fewer risers, flow lines and umbilicals Reduced power generation Lower methanol demand Cost savings on the FPSO: reduced compression size (no more gas lift) & no requirement for a slug catcher
Total Pazflor
Photo: Tor Aas-Haug, Mediafoto

Compact InLine skid-based solutions

Oil: API 19 Liquid: 6,000 bbl/day Gas: 5,000 Sm3/hr Outlet OiW < 200 ppm

The Integrated InLine System for Brazilian national oil company Petrobras is a skid for produced water degassing and heavy oil removal. The Integrated InLine system consists of a CDS-Gasunie cyclone, InLine DeWaterers and recently optimised Hydrocyclones.

Heavy Oil subsea separation in a mature, deepwater field

The Petrobras Marlim Project is the worlds first system for deepwater subsea separation of heavy oil and water that includes reinjection of water to boost production in a mature field development.
Oil: API 21 - 26 Capacity 22,000 bbl/d: 70 % water / 30 % oil in 2011 and 90 % water / 10 % oil in 2016 Goal: increasing the processing capacity with no significant revamp on the platforms.

Test skids

The system receives the production stream, a mixture of oil, gas, water and sand, and separates the gas from the liquids. First, the heavy oil is separated from the water using a novel pipe separation design that was licensed and developed in cooperation with Statoil. The system also integrates Separation Systems proprietary water treatment and sand handling technologies as part of the subsea separation system. The separated gas is added back to the oil stream to aid its lifting to the FPU, while the separated water is pumped back into the reservoir to further increase production.
Petrobras, Marlim project: subsea processing

Defining solutions for produced water and heavy oil handling challenges requires predictions of how certain technologies will perform on the installation. An indication of the suitability of a certain technology can be obtained from laboratory tests. However, there is never a 100 % guarantee that it will work in a particular installation. Many aspects of the production process affect the final quality of the produced water and these are impossible to replicate completely in a controlled test environment. For that reason we provide test skids that can be hooked up to a slipstream of the produced water stream to be treated. In this way an accurate indication can be obtained of the efficiency that our technical solution will have in your production plant and you can be assured of success when the equipment is finally installed. We have the following test skids available: InLine DeWaterer InLine DeSander InLine HydroCyclone

Other solutions by Separation Systems

Production Improvements Compact Total Separation Systems Efficiency Improvement and Troubleshooting Solids Handling Produced Water

The InLine- DeGasser, DeSander, PhaseSplitter, DeWaterer and DeLiquidiser are patented by Statoil and FMC has exclusive worldwide license to sell this technology.

 Copyright August 2010 | FMC Technologies

www.fmctechnologies.com/separation

FMC Technologies 1777 Gears Road Houston TX 77067 USA Phone: +1 281 591 4000

FMC Technologies Separation Systems Delta 101 6825 MN Arnhem The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0)26 7999100