Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2010 AIChE Regional
Process Technology Conference,
Galveston, TX
Heavy Oil Production Challenges
• External energy consumed in heavy oil production
• Diluent (light oil) required for transport to market
• Low value of heavy oil in the market
• Conventional solutions: large minimum scale, no integration
Result
• Upgrades low‐value heavy oils from around the world
Higher value, sour
• Simple, mechanically robust & easy to modularize
synthetic crude oil
• By‐products, gas & coke, converted onsite to usable energy Product
• Non catalytic thermal conversion
• Carbon rejection with no hydrogen addition
• Higher value, low viscosity product for pipelining
Low‐value
heavy oil
Feed
HTL Fundamentals
• Very fast application of heat to heavy oil feedstock
¾Wide capacity range of 10,000 – 40,000 bbls/d
¾ Conversion of by‐products to on‐site energy
• Uses any solid, inert heat carrier (sand)
• Effectively utilizes concept of thin films
• Analogous to widely‐used FCCs (400+ operating globally)
with capacities from 2,000 to 200,000 bpd.
HTL Environmental Impact
Steam
• Typical Heavy Oil Processing Lifecycle
In the refinery, HTL Reduces
In the field, HTL Can Eliminate
Natural gas firing in steam boilers
Natural Gas consumption and GHG
Well
Sulfur product
Boiler blowdown water disposal
GHG
Steam Boiler Coke product
Diluent recycle for heavy oil transportation
Natural
Gas
Diluent
Water
Disposal
Heavy Oil
Natural
Gas
Technology Development History
• Ensyn is a Canadian technology company focused on biomass conversion, operating a
successful fluid‐solids thermal process called Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP)
• Ensyn extended core technology to heavy oils in a process called Heavy‐To‐Light (HTL)
• Remarkable results were achieved in liquid product yield, quality/viscosity &
economics in extensive pilot plant studies carried out 1998‐2001
• Ensyn creates Ensyn Petroleum Inc.
• Ivanhoe acquires Ensyn Petroleum April 2005
and all rights for HTL heavy oil upgrading
Ensyn HTL Pilot Plant
Technology Development History
Technology Development History
• HTL Pilot Plant
¾ provided extensive yield and mass balance data
¾ provided data for engineering and economic models
• Commercial Demonstration Facility (CDF)
¾ validated Pilot Plant data
¾ tested customer crudes
¾ showcased HTL in an operating heavy oil field
¾ provided commercial design parameters
• Commercial biomass plants
¾ demonstrates robust time on stream
¾ validates erosion design parameters
Feedstock Test Facility Mission
• Improve HTL technology – test design enhancements and modifications
•Provide product yield and quality data for commercial heavy oil feeds
•Expand upon and refine design parameters for HTL commercial units
• Design Basis was developed by Ivanhoe Energy
• FTF Modules Completed by Zeton August 2008
• FTF Unit was installed by Southwest Research Institute in January 2009
•SwRI operates, maintains, and provides engineering support for the FTF
• Feedstock Test Facility includes all aspects of a commercial HTL unit
Product
Separation Flue Gas
‐ Fractionation Cooling and
‐ Gas Desulfurizatio
Compression n
HTL Core
Hot Section
Feed
‐ Reactor
Fractionation
‐ Reheater
‐ Atmos Unit
‐ Quench
‐ Vacuum Unit
40 ft
24 ft Instrumentation and
Controls
Athabasca Bitumen FTF Performance
11
Products
Feed Properties
SCO 85 wt% (92 lv%)
Feed Gravity 8.5 o API
Coke 10 wt%
Feed Viscosity > 20,000 cSt@40oC
Gas 5 wt%
Operating Conditions
Resid / VGO Cutpoint 1000o F
Reactor Temperature 530 o C
Sand to Oil Ratio 20:1 wt/wt
HTL Product Value
Athabasca Bitumen upgraded to Synthetic Crude Oil
Athabasca Bitumen compared to Synthetic Crude Oil: SCO
Resid reduction from 47wt% to 6wt%, 87% “conversion”
HTL Product Value
Representative FTF Athabasca Bitumen &
Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO) Assay Data
Athabasca Synthetic
Bitumen Crude Oil
SCO resid reduction by technology evolution
Technology Improvements
• Coke yield design basis reduced from 15 wt% to 10 wt% of fresh feed
• Bottoms Recycle ratio reduced from 40 vol% to 5 vol% of fresh feed
Technology Improvements
• Colors indicate range of size reduction or capacity increase for no change in sizing
• Preliminary estimate is an overall reduction in HTL capital intensity of 15%
FTF Technology Commercialization
• Feedstock Test Facility results characterize a multi‐discipline design basis
Safety Instrumentation
‐ HAZOP ‐ Instrument Selection
‐ Risk Assessments ‐ Control and Data acquisition
‐Training ‐ Cause and Effect
Process
‐ Heat and Material
Balance
‐ Design Philosophies
Mechanical
‐Material Selection
‐ Mechanical Datasheets
HTL FTF Results HTL Design Basis
Technology Deployment
Appraise / Evaluate /
Select
• Utilize Process Modeling to Evaluate Configuration and Economics for Potential Projects
• Collaborate with Affiliates and Partners to Identify Opportunity for Integration and Optimization
Electric Power
Capital Intensity ($ per bpd)
Alternate Feed
Distillation Step
HTL
Project Rate of Return (%)
Feed Steam
HTL Liquid Product Unit Capacity (barrels per day)
Technology Deployment
Appraise / Evaluate / Select
• Example HTL Commercial Process Flow Diagram (Tamarack Project basis)
Technology Deployment
Appraise / Evaluate / Select
• The HTL unit integrates with upstream thermal heavy oil production techniques
Technology Deployment
Appraise / Evaluate / Select
• Develop Training and Procedures
• Startup and Operations Support
• Implementation of Technology Updates and Advancements
Tamarack Project - Athabasca
Appraise / Evaluate / Select
• Integrated SAGD / HTL Project
• 10 miles NE of Ft. McMurray
• 11 Sections of Top‐tier oil sands
• 440 MM barrels best estimate
• Well delineated – 4 wells/section
• 100 % Ivanhoe Energy
• Phased 50,000 bpd
• Final delineation drilling Jan/Feb 2010
• HTL upgrader engineering underway
Definition ‐ BEDP and FEED
Detailed Engineering
Procurement
Construction
Commission and Start‐up
Pungarayacu Project - Ecuador
Appraise / Evaluate / Select
• Right to develop 420 sq. miles
• 30 year contract
• Discovered 1980’s
• Heavy oil: HTL is the solution
• Right to develop any light oil found
• Risk Services Contract
• Drilling began in November, 2009
• Front End of Business Planning
Process for Heavy Oil Upgrading in the
Field
Thank You
2010 AIChE Regional
Process Technology Conference,
Galveston, TX