SECTION 5

CRUDE DEHYDRATION

CONTENTS Page No. 1. 2. 3. 4. INTRODUCTION EMULSIONS EMULSION STABILITY THE CAUSES OF CRUDE OIL EMULSION PROBLEMS 4.1 Chem !a" Com#o$e$%& 4.1.1 Na%'(a"") O!!'(( $g S'(*a!%a$%& Re& $& 4.1.2 A&#ha"%e$e& 4.1.3 +a, 4.1.4 Sa$4.1.5 Sa"% C()&%a"& 4.1.. Co((o& o$ P(o-'!%& 4.1./ O%he( O "* e"- Chem !a"& 4.1.0 Dem'"& * e( O1e(-o& $g Ph)& !a" Pa(ame%e(& 4.2.1 Tem#e(a%'(e a$- Age $g 4.2.2 D(o#"e% S 2e D &%( 3'% o$ 4.2.3 4 &!o& %) 4.2.4 Lo5 +a%e( C'%& 5 1 2 2 3

4.2

5.

PREDICTIN6 DEHYDRATION PROPERTIES 5.1 5.2 BP Bo%%"e Te&% P "o% P"a$% Te&%&

..

SOLUTIONS TO EMULSION SEPARATION PROBLEMS ..1 E$g $ee( $g ..1.1 6e$e(a" ..1.2 E"e!%(o&%a% ! Se#a(a% o$ ..1.3 P(o-'!e- +a%e( Re!)!" $g Dem'"& * e( Chem !a"& ..2.1 Com#o& % o$ a$- Me!ha$ &m o* A!% o$ ..2.2 De#"o)me$% S%(a%eg)

..2

/. 0.

THE FUTURE 6ENERAL READIN6 REFERENCES

17 11

FI6URES 18 5

1.

INTRODUCTION

Crude oil is often found in association with water, the oil bearing zone overlying a saline aquifer. As the reservoir is depleted, a stage is reached (days or years after production start up) when this formation water is coproduced with the oil. If water in ection is employed (to maintain reservoir pressure) then in ection water (usually sea water) may also be coproduced later in the life of the field. Although water and crude oil are immiscible, the produced fluids are readily emulsified by the simultaneous action of shear and pressure drop such as occur at cho!es or across valves. "he produced emulsions can be stable, i.e. the oil and water phases do not separate readily within the residence time of separation equipment. #ffshore, this is usually a period of minutes (e.g. $orties ca % minutes& 'agnus, ca. () minutes& *uchan ca. (+ to ,) minutes). -ven onshore, normal fluid throughput may not allow sufficient time for dehydration (e.g. -ndicott, first stage oil residence time ca. . minutes). In other words, produced emulsions often have to be treated (usually with a chemical emulsion brea!er also called a /de0mulsifier/ or /demulsifier/) to effect efficient dehydration. "he operation consequences of not removing this water would be1 (. ,. %. 4. +. -2port oil specifications would not be met. "he water with its associated salt would result in increased corrosion of pipewor!, pumps and downstream production equipment. 3nnecessary e2pense would be involved in pumping or transporting a valueless product by pipeline or tan!er. 5ater would occupy vital oil capacity in storage and transport facilities. Crude refining costs would be higher and therefore the crude would be of lower value.

6ence, for e2ample, the spec for the ma2imum residual water content of the $orties 'ain #il 7ine is ,8. "he "A9: line specification is ).%+8. ;emulsifiers greatly facilitate oil0water separation. 6owever, they cannot perform miracles< It is therefore a prerequisite when evaluating new field designs, that the facilities proposed for dehydration (e.g. number, size and type of separators, operating temperatures, sites for chemical in ection) are established as satisfactory 0 neither under nor over design is economically acceptable. "he presence of high levels of salt in crude e2ported to refineries is undesirable since, in addition to corrosion, salt causes saline fouling in refinery heat e2changers and even in trace (ppm) quantities can poison refinery catalysts. "able ( lists the ma2imum amounts of residual water after dehydration that meet a typical salt target of ,+ pounds per thousand barrels (ptb) (( ptb is appro2imately %mg=l). Ta3"e 1 F e"'agnus 9rudhoe -ndicott $orties *uchan 3la +a%e( 9:; %o g 1e 25 #%3 ).4 ).% ).,% ).)? ).)4 ).)% Fo(ma% o$ +a%e( To%a" Sa" $ %) 9mg<"; ,),))) ,4,>() %%,(4) ..,))) (.@,))) ,+%,)))

Consequently, even after reducing residual water contents of produced crude oil to achieve ma2imum water specifications, further dehydration may be needed to achieve salt specification. ;esalting is usually achieved by AwashingA the crude oil with water of low salinity (typically ).+0+8 by volume). "he wash water is usually fresh (or desalinated) water, although sea water is also widely used. "he water is mi2ed with the crude oil so that dispersed water contact residual droplets of formation water or salt crystals and the salt moves into the lower ionic strength wash water. At the same time the e2tra water helps to destabilise the emulsion which is then AresolvedA (Abro!enA or AseparatedA) under gravity or in an electrostatic field (e.g. at ;as Island and in Borthern Cuwait). $urther desalting is performed at refineries, normally in electrostatic separators operating at high temperatures (())0(4)DC), where residual salt contents are further reduced from ca. ,+ ptb to ca. ,Eptb. An alternating electric current when applied to low water cut emulsions causes increased water droplet coalescence and as the water drops out it ta!es the unwanted salt with it. (In recent years, AC has been replaced in some cases by pulsed ;C, which is beneficial under certain circumstances). $or reasons similar to those described above, emulsion brea!ing technology is also applied to the selection of demulsifiers for wash water desalting and to design of the minimum facilities required to produce acceptable desalting.

2.

EMULSIONS

De* $ % o$ 0 An emulsion is a heterogeneous system consisting of at least one immiscible liquid intimately dispersed in another in the form of droplets. Te(m $o"og) 0 "he phase present as droplets is termed the dispersed phase. "he liquid phase forming the matri2 within which these droplets are suspended is called the continuous or e2ternal phase. In oilfield operations the two common types of emulsion are1 water0in0oil (w=o) and oil0in0water (o=w) which is observed as a function of the produced water cuts.

3.

EMULSION STABILITY

"he dispersed phase consists of microscopic droplets, usually within the size range ).( to ()) microns. 5hen two separate liquid phases are converted into an emulsion a very large amount of new surface area is created. An energy input is required to produce this interfacial area. "herefore when drops coalesce the free energy of the system is reduced. "hus crude oil emulsions are thermodynamically unstable. 3nfortunately the !inetics of the separation process may be too slow for our li!ing. In discussing emulsion stability it is necessary to distinguish between the mechanisms involved in the stages of AflocculationA (or AcoagulationA), AcreamingA and Abrea!ingA. 9F g'(e 1;. 3.1 F"o!!'"a% o$ is the association of droplets, forming three0dimensional clusters, without coalescence which would form larger individual droplets.

3.2 C(eam $g is the term given to the fall (w=o emulsions) or the rise (o=w emulsions) of dispersed droplets under the action of gravity. Clearly, creaming can only arise if the dispersed and continuous phases are unequal in density. "he rate of creaming for a single drop is governed by :to!es/ 7aw1 V= 5here F g r ;p z G G G G G velocity of fall (or rise) of droplets gravitational constant droplet radius difference in density between the dispersed and continuous phases viscosity of the continuous phase 2gr2 (Dp) 9z

3.3 B(ea= $g of an emulsion occurs when droplets which are flocculated or which collide actually coalesce, i.e. brea! their individual interfacial films, forming a larger droplet. It is useful at this point to introduce the concept of interfacial tension. "wo immiscible liquids in contact, e.g. oil and water, possess a tension in the planar interface between them. 5hen an emulsion is created, curvature is introduced into this interface thus increasing the energy of the system. If the interfacial tension is low the curvature is more easily formed. "hus smaller droplets can be formed. ("he limiting case is for completely miscible liquids when the tension would be zero.) "he discussion to date has been in terms of two components i.e. oil and water. It is essential that a third chemical component is present to confer stability to the produced emulsion. "his component will either form a physical (repulsive) barrier to droplet0droplet coalescence, or reduce the interfacial tension or both. "his is discussed further below in section 4.(.

4.

THE CAUSES OF CRUDE OIL EMULSION PROBLEMS

-2cept where water cuts are e2tremely high (typically H@)0?)8), crude oil emulsions are oil0 continuous i.e. of the water0in0oil (w=o) type. "he treatment of the reverse oil0in0water type is similar to that of the oily effluent (see 5ater "reatment section) and will not be discussed in this section. -ven when water cuts are very high, produced fluids entering the separation equipment usually consist of some free water and an oil continuous emulsion with the remainder of the water. If untreated, w=o produced emulsions are often stable with respect to water separation and under ambient conditions may remain unchanged for several years. In the first instance, therefore, we need to consider what factors (chemical and physical) give rise to this stability. 4.1 Chem !a" Com#o$e$%&

5e can consider these to form two groups, those which lower interfacial tension and those which form a physical barrier to droplet coalescence. "he former facilitate the creation of the emulsion in the first instance but it is the latter class that is responsible for the main operational problems. 4.1.1 Na%'(a"") O!!'(( $g S'(*a!%a$%& 9Re& $&;

"hese are relatively low molecular weight (,,,)))) organic species often with acid or amine functional groups. "hey have a natural affinity for the oil=water interface to which they can move rapidly and are primarily responsible for lowering interfacial tension. 4.1.2 A&#ha"%e$e&

"hese are higher molecular weight species and as a result tend to move only slowly to the surface of a water droplet. 6owever they possess several polar groups per molecule and can therefore attach to the interface at a number of points. "his ma!es them particularly difficult to displace. $urthermore, their solubility in crude can be dramatically affected by small changes of temperature, pressure and loss of light ends. "his can result in AsolidificationA at the interface and the formation of a particularly effective barrier to coalescence. 4.1.3 +a,

5a2 crystals can act in the same way as solidified asphaltenes. In their natural state, they are less polar than asphaltenes and thus are not strongly attracted chemically to the droplet surface. 6owever, they can interact with resins or asphaltenes which modify their surface properties and can act as a lin! to hold the wa2 crystals to the interface. 5a2es are of particular relevance to Borth :ea operations and a study has been carried out at Binian. Iemoval of wa2, for e2ample, from (Binian) crude oil at %+DC and ,)DC does not appreciably change the density or viscosity of the oil, nor the interfacial tension, but significantly reduces emulsion stability. (see F g'(e 2). "he wa2 is thought to be interfering with the transition from flocculation to coalescence by providing a physical barrier between the droplets. 4.1.4 Sa$-

:ilica is generally too polar and too dense to stabilise produced emulsions. 6owever, formation sands also contain a percentage of clays. "hese can either interact with resins to form surface active aggregates or form a networ! within the water droplet matri2 which acts as a barrier to coalescence. (B* 7i!e asphaltenes, sand can accumulate in separators thus interfering with emulsion resolution). 4.1.5 Sa"% C()&%a"&

"hese are similar to sand in their effect but are of lower density. :ome formation waters are so highly saline that comparatively small changes in temperature can cause precipitation of salt crystals which then act as a barrier to droplet coalescence. 4.1.. Co((o& o$ P(o-'!%&

Iron o2ides, hydro2ides and sulphides can form as a result of highly saline or sour reservoir fluids passing through wellheads, pipelines, control valves etc. "heir mechanism in emulsion stabilisation is similar to that of salt crystals. 4.1./ O%he( O "* e"- Chem !a"&

"hese can increase emulsion stability in two ways. $irstly, they are often surface active in themselves because they are required to coat for instance a wa2 surface (wa2 inhibitors) or a metal surface (corrosion inhibitors). "hus, they can be naturally attracted to oil=water interfaces. :econdly, in some cases demulsifiers can interact with other oilfield chemicals. Corrosion inhibitors in particular can combine with demulsifiers to create a surface active coc!tail which increases

emulsion stability. "his phenomenon emphasises the importance of an integrated deployment strategy for oilfield chemicals. 4.1.0 Dem'"& * e( O1e(-o& $g

After an appropriate chemical has been selected for a given crude plant upsets can occur due to changes in the physical conditions of the fluids or any of the other effects described above. #ften the initial response is to increase the demulsifier dose rate. As demulsifiers are surface active they may saturate the oil=water interface and can actually ma!e the situation worse. If this occurs the reverse strategy of decreasing the dose rate should be employed before further increases are made. 4.2 Ph)& !a" Pa(ame%e(& 4.2.1 Tem#e(a%'(e a$- Age $g

Increasing temperature 0 0 0 0 reduces the bul! viscosity (increasing rate of creaming 0 :to!e/s 7aw) increases the frequency of droplet0droplet collisions facilitates film drainage between droplets may increase the density difference between oil and water (increasing rate of creaming 0 :to!e/s 7aw)

6ence, the overall effect of increasing temperature is to increase the rate of dehydration of crude emulsions. In modern field developments where fluids from a large number of wells (some remote) are processed at the same gathering station (or platform) fluid temperature effects may be crucial. -ven if the temperatures of cool streams are raised during processing, these fluids may have been cold for a period long enough to Afi2A components such as asphaltenes much more firmly at the oil=water interface, greatly contributing to the difficulties of dehydration. #n the other hand the effects of wa2 crystal formation can usually be reversed by heating above a critical temperature, often around +)DC. 4.2.2 D(o#"e% S 2e D &%( 3'% o$

"he rate of separation of water from produced crude increases in proportion to the square of the water droplet radius (:to!es/ 7aw). "he droplet size distribution of produced crude oil emulsions is polydisperse (as against monodisperse). In most cases, H.)8 by volume of the water is dispersed as droplets in the size range +0,+ microns, but many (by number) may be smaller than + microns. Fery small droplets li!e these will sediment only slowly under gravity due to thermally driven motions within the fluids and the viscosity of the bul! phase itself. "he droplet size distribution in produced emulsions is determined by the degree of shearing and mi2ing. Although crude dehydration is critically dependent on water droplet size, in reality there may be little opportunity to e2ercise control over it. 4.2.3 4 &!o& %)

"he rate of separation decreases with increasing crude oil viscosity. Crude oil viscosities can vary widely, typically (at (+DC) from () m9as (light, conventional crude oils) to (),))),))) m9as (heavy oils, bitumens, tar sand oils). At the appropriate temperatures and shear rates of production, most crude oils of interest to *9 have viscosities in the range +0()) m9as. 9rudhoe and -ndicott crude

oils also lie within this viscosity range. 6owever, this average is tending to rise with an increasing trend towards development of medium gravity=viscosity crude fields. It is important to realise that the dispersion of water as an emulsion in crude oil can substantially change the rheological properties of the crude. Fiscosity of an emulsion can be many times that of the dry crude and the viscosity0shear rate properties of the produced fluids may be substantially changed. In many models of emulsion behaviour and separation processes it would be more accurate to use the emulsion viscosity rather than that of the crude. "he viscosity increase depends upon the temperature of the emulsion, the shear rate applied to the emulsion, and most importantly, the droplet size and phase volume (i.e. /water cut/) of the emulsion. "hus, particularly at low rates of shear, the viscosities of crude oil emulsions can be several orders of magnitude greater than that of the dry crude oil. "he high viscosity impedes sedimentation and can at low temperatures, low shear, and high water cuts (e.g. H4)8), pose a serious emulsion brea!ing problem. 4.2.4 Lo5 +a%e( C'%&

-mulsion dehydration ultimately depends on causing water droplet coalescence. "his in turn depends on the number of collisions, which will inevitably be less if there are fewer water droplets present. -mulsion resolution at water cuts less than ()8 can be particularly problematical. "hus operationally, the most severe problems encountered can be shortly after water brea!through when relatively small volumes of water are processed. "hese may disappear as water cuts rise, but as discussed elsewhere in this course, this causes different problems.

5.

PREDICTIN6 DEHYDRATION PROPERTIES

"he previous section underlines the wide range of interacting parameters which can influence the stability of crude oil emulsions. Bo two crudes possess the same chemical or physical characteristics nor indeed respond to treatment in e2actly the same way. It is therefore vital to consider fluid properties in addition to process design when optimising separation. Although laboratory studies have revealed, for instance, a broad correlation between crude asphaltene content and emulsion stability, there is no substitute for carrying out e2periments on the particular crude itself. Indeed, when selecting appropriate demulsifiers this becomes vital. "wo types of tests are conducted within the oil industry for evaluating demulsifier efficiency and consequently predicting emulsion stability. "hese are1 (i) (ii) 5.1 7aboratory *ottle "est 9ilot 9lant "ests BP Bo%%"e Te&%

"he method entails1 (() (,) the batch preparation of simulated water0in0crude oil emulsions at the required temperature the addition and dispersion of chemical demulsifier

(%)

monitoring (versus time) at the desired resolution temperature, the rate of water separation, the oil0water interface and separated water qualities. "he volumes of separated water are measured either visually in graduated glass bottles, or through the remaining water content of the oil phase as determined by Carl $ischer. 0 0 "his method allows rapid screening of demulsifiers under a wide range of conditions. :mall sample requirement "hese are static tests "hey only provide relative, rather than absolute, performance data "emperatures above ?)DC cannot be easily e2amined It is difficult to use this test for water cuts of less than ()8.

Advantages

;isadvantages 0 0 0 0

*9 have found notable discrepancies in this separation of water from some crude emulsions when there has been some delay between sampling and e2amination. "his test can however be adopted for use at the production wellhead where fresh samples are available, and indeed this is the preferred use of such a test. 6owever, the often minimal volumes of appraisal and e2ploration well samples available often mean that laboratory determinations are inevitable and only possible after completion of other studies such as 9F" or geochemical. "he best indication of demulsifier performance is from bottle test conducted in the field. 7aboratory testing, at best, can ran! a large number of demulsifiers prior to field tests. 5.2 P "o% P"a$% Te&%&

*9 has developed a test rig for studying crudes of (. A9I and above. It is highly fle2ible and can be adapted to mimic most oil production or refinery dehydration=desalting processes, allowing e2amination of the effects of e.g. temperature, water cut or demulsifier. -mulsions, of dispersed produced water or wash water, are prepared continuously and can be resolved at temperatures in the range of )0(%)DC in either gravity or electrostatic separators, where fluid residence times can be ad usted as required to mimic various production rates. "he rig can also model production from remote facilities with associated emulsion cooling during pipelining. Bitrogen may be in ected to simulate higher J#I/s. ;emulsifiers can be in ected at a variety of locations into the oil, water and emulsified phases 0 thus any oilfield additive can be in ected to investigate its /compatibility/ with the demulsifier. Iesidual water contents in separator oil are determined by Carl0$ischer analysis and residual salt contents by conductivity. :eparated water quality is measured by solvent e2traction and infra0red (total0oil), filtration or centrifugation (soluble oil) and=or turbidity (clarity). Advantages 0 0 0 ;isadvantages 0 0 ;ynamic flow (as against static conditions in the bottle test) Continuous emulsion resolution and preparation (closely resembles production=process facilities) Kuantitative assessment of oil and water quality& absolute data corresponds more closely to those obtained in the field. 6igh crude oil requirement (several hundred litres) "est duration (only one, possibly two variables investigated per day)

;espite the usefulness of these test procedures in indicating the trend of emulsion characteristics for a given crude, production conditions with rapidly flowing live crude are very different. "here is no substitute for field testing, especially for fine chemical selection and dose rate optimisations.

>

Bevertheless initial laboratory and=or pilot rig studies give a valuable guide to li!ely conditions, narrow the range of chemical types to try in field tests and provide wide ranging data for separator facilities design. "hey can also indicate a suitable contingency demulsifier to cope with initial separation problems when significant water brea!through occurs, thus allowing service companies time to select the most cost effective chemical in situ.

..

SOLUTIONS TO EMULSION SEPARATION PROBLEMS ..1 E$g $ee( $g ..1.1 6e$e(a"

6owever good a chemical treatment is, it needs time to wor!. $or best results, residence times and high temperatures are needed. $or economic and space reasons, the size of oil=water separation facilities may be constrained. 3sually it is most cost0effective to use the natural heat from the wellstreams to assist separation. 6owever, in some cases additional heating may also be required. 5here space allows and where the production is sufficient for more than one train, routing of difficult fluids to the most appropriate separators may be a possible solution to optimising separation. ..1.2 E"e!%(o&%a% ! Se#a(a% o$

-lectrostatic separation involves the application of AC or pulsed ;C electric fields of high intensity to the w=o emulsion. As a result water droplets are polarised (F g'(e 3) and form chains li!e strings of beads within the separator. "his greatly increases the opportunity for droplet collision and thus coalescence. -lectrostatic separators are very efficient and are e2tensively used in refineries where water contents in the crude are already low and further desalting is necessary. "hey may be the only efficient method of dehydration=desalting for water contents less than ()8 although their efficiency is substantially reduced at water cuts of less than about +8. Incoming streams are usually mi2ed with appro2. +8 by volume of a low salinity wash water which increases dehydration and desalting efficiency by improving droplet AchainA formation. :uch separators are however e2pensive to operate. At production facilities offshore they are generally used only for difficult crudes. -lsewhere, they are employed as a final ApolishingA to meet a pipeline specification. "his is particularly important to achieve the "A9: specification of only ).%+8 water in crude. ..1.3 P(o-'!e- +a%e( Re!)!" $g

$or the reasons outlined above, achieving the degree of droplet contact required for efficient dehydration may be harder early in a field/s lifetime. :hortly after water brea!through, when water levels are +0()8, dehydration can be improved by artificially increasing the water cut by recycling some of the separated water. At higher water cuts there is li!ely to be insufficient surface active material in the crude oil to cover the oil=water interface produced. Fery efficient droplet coalescence results and water specification targets are easier to achieve. It may still be necessary to employ demulsifier chemical and the level should be ad usted to avoid overdosing or decreasing effluent water quality. "he increasing comple2ity of new field developments together with the need to treat the fluids from several fields at a single point means that facilities design and treatment fle2ibility are going to be the !eys to success in the future. ..2 Dem'"& * e( Chem !a"&

"he addition of a properly selected chemical demulsifier at very low concentrations (usually (0+)Eppm) can cause rapid and virtually complete brea!down of otherwise stable water0in0crude emulsions. 5hile elevated temperature and=or an electric field may also be essential, the fact remains that a demulsifier is still usually required. ..2.1 Com#o& % o$ a$- Me!ha$ &m o* A!% o$

Chemical demulsifiers comprise typically1 4)0@)8 of mi2ed low molecular weight surface active polymers, usually nonionic, e.g. etho2ylated phenols and @)04)8 solvent (usually aromatic)

"he Asurfactant0li!eA active ingredients contain both oil soluble and water soluble parts within the same molecule1 hence their affinity for oil=water interfaces. At present the number of formulations, patented and commercially available, is enormous. "ens of thousands of different demulsifier formulations e2ist. Indeed, in treating an emulsion in the field, a demulsifier supplier (service company) may blend the optimum chemical in situ from a range of primary ingredients. 6owever, as e2plained in section 4, the barrier to coalescence of water droplets in crude oil emulsions is largely physical, comprising a film of resins, asphaltenes, wa2es and other solids surrounding the droplets. "he primary function of the demulsifier is to brea! or displace the film of natural surfactants which prevent coalescence. "his is illustrated in $igure 4. "he surface active behaviour of demulsifier chemicals allows them to replace the natural crude oil components that stabilise emulsions. "he AwrongA chemical can however itself stabilise emulsions. $or instance, surfactants which are too Aoil solubleA can stabilise water0in0oil emulsions, whereas a molecule dominated by /water soluble/ functional groups could stabilise oil0in0water emulsions. "he important point is that there is a region of instability, A, where neither o=w or w=o emulsions are stabilised by members of a given series of surfactants. :uch surfactants are potential demulsifiers (F g'(e 5). ;emulsifier formulations may also contain components which have additional functions. "hese include Awetting agentsA which can act to displace solids away from the interface into the water phase and AflocculatorsA which assist the aggregation of water droplets.

..2.2

De#"o)me$% S%(a%eg)

*ecause the mechanism of chemical demulsification involves displacement of indigenous crude oil surfactants from the oil=water interface, the earlier they can begin this tas! the better. In ection at the wellhead ust downstream of the cho!es i.e. ust after the emulsion has formed may be advantageous. "his can overcome problems of ageing and=or low temperatures in streams from remote wells. -conomic constraints may mean that this strategy may only be viable for streams which are particularly difficult to treat. Additionally, separated free water in subsea multiphase flowlines can impact corrosion control.

/.

THE FUTURE

"he oil industry is e2amining several new technologies to minimise life cycle costs of developments by e2amining LsmarterM methods of dehydrating crudes. 5ith the current need to lift the water that the reservoir produces along with the oil, and to separate it at the surface and to dispose of the separated water there is a finite cost associated with producing and processing water. #ne option under consideration is to reduce the volume of water that needs to be handled at surface through partial processing of produced streams. Iemoving water downhole eliminates the requirement for any surface processing. Current technology does not go as far as removing all of the water downhole. 6owever, hydrocyclones have been developed that can remove up to about ?)8 of bul! water downhole where it can be re0in ected via an -lectrical :ubmersible 9ump (-:9) to either a disposal zone or into the aquifer. $or this single stage hydrocyclone to wor!, the well fluids need to be water continuous, typically this means water cuts in e2cess of ?)8. $orties are in the process of designing and installing a downhole oil=water separation system in con unction with an -:9. A Noint Industry 9rogramme is e2amining techniques that could e2tend this process to wells cutting only 4)8 water, for instance by using pre0separation and deoiling hydrocyclones in series, or installing a downhole centrifuge. $ree 5ater Cnoc! #ut ($5C#) vessels are also being designed for location at remote well pads. "hese remove the ma ority of produced water (around ?)8) and rein ect it locally, freeing up space in the flowlines for more oil, reducing chemical usage and also reducing the requirement for water in ection lines. "hey wor! on the principle of gravity phase separation, the same as %0phase separators in the main processing facilities. 5ytch $arm are in the process of installing such a vessel at their ' site. A further Noint Industry 9ro ect to design and construct a Configurable :ubsea 5ater :eparation :ystem (Co:5a::) has been e2amining water !noc! out and local re0in ection at the seabed. Bors! 6ydro announced that they were sufficiently convinced in the technology to install a water separator on "roll C. "his 9ro ect are now evaluating alternative compact partial processing technologies with the aim to prove operation of various components and systems not part of the "roll trial.

()

0.

REFERENCES

"he following represents a general reference list for emulsion properties, resolution and oilfield operations. (. ,. %. 4. +. @. >. ?. .. Characterisation of Crude #il0in05ater -muslions, pp(@+0(?(, Nournal of 9etroleum :cience O -ngineering, 9eter - Clar! O Ali 9ilehvari Chemical Iesolution of 9etroleum -mulsions. pp 4@0@@ 7ouis " 'onson ;esigning and :electing ;emulsifiers for #ptimum 9erformance based on 9roduction $luid Characterisation. :9- (@,?+, 9 ; *erger, C 6su, N 9 Arendell ;roplet :ize Analysis1 A Bew "ool for Improving #ilfield :eparations, :9- (?,)4, ; A $lanigan -ffect of p6 on Interfacial $ilms and :tability of Crude #il=5ater -mulsions, N9", 'arch (.@?, pp %)+0%(,, N - :trassner $actors Influencing the :tability of 5ater0In0Crude #il -mulsions1 A 7iterature and -2perimental :tudy, *9 :unbury Ieport C:*=(%? 4@%, : - "aylor Improved ;emulsifier Chemistry1 A Bovel Approach in the ;ehydration of Crude #ils, :9(?4?(, $ :taiss, I *ohm, I Cupfer Interfacial Activities and 9orphyrin Contents of 9etroleum -2tracts, pp (>+.0(>@+, Industrial O -ngineering Chemistry, Aug (.+%, Fol 4+, Bo ?, 6 B ;unning, N 5 'oore Investigations into the -lectrical and Coalescence *ehaviour of 5ater0In0Crude -mulsions in 6igh Foltage Jradients. Colloids O :urfaces pp ,.0+(, -lsevier :cience 9ublishers, Amsterdam, : - "aylor #il $ield -mulsions O "heir -lectrical Iesolution. ,)pp 7 C 5aterman, I 7 9ettefer #ptical :tudies of Coalescence in Crude #il -mulsions, pp (0? N 9et :c O -ng, . ((..%), ; N 'iller, I *ohm #verview of -mulsion :tability, pp ,4%0,+@, 9 5alstra "he p60;ependent Colloidal :tability of Aqueous 'ontmorillonite :uspensions, pp >(0?), Colloids and :urfaces, -lsevier :cience 9ublishers, Amsterdam (..), - "ombacz, I Abraham, ' Jilde, $ :zanto A Kuantiative Characterisation of p60;ependent :ystems, pp%+044, 9aul Cratin, Industrial O -ngineering Chemistry, Fol ,, $eb (.@. Iesolving Crude #il -mulsions, pp >>(0>>,, Chemistry O Industry, #ct (., (..,, : - "aylor :preading Coefficients O 6ydrophile 7ipophile *alance of Aqueous :olutions of -mulsifying Agents. pp (@?(0(@?% A'I, Fol @%, #ct (.+., : Ioss, - : Chen 5ater0In0Crude #il -mulsions from the Borwegian Continental :helf, 9art ,, Chemical ;estabilisation and Interfacial "ensions, pp %?.0%.?, Colloid O 9olymer :cience, Fol ,@?, N : oblom, 6 :oderlund, : 7indblad, - N Nohansen, I ' :! arvo 5ater0In0Crude #il -mulsion :tability O -mulsion ;estabilisation by Chemical ;emulsifiers, pp ())0()?, NC9", Bew "echnology, Apr0Nun, (.@?, 'ontreal, " N Nones, - 7 Beustadter, C 9 5hittingham

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Processes Involved in Emulsion Instability

Figure 1

Breaking

Sedimentation (Creaming) Original Dispersion Flocculation