LIQUID NITROGEN

Storage, Transport and

Operation

COILED TUBING UNIT

PT ELNUSA Tbk
Liquid Nitrogen (LN)
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at an extremely low
temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of
liquid air

Nitrogen=>
Nontoxic, Colorless, Tasteless, Odorless
Inert-Non Flammable
Slightly lighter than air
Will Not Support Life
Nitrogen Phase Diagram
How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?
Used both in onshore and offshore situations.
Applications for nitrogen include :
Underbalanced Drilling
Well stimulation
Well start up/unloading
Injection and pressure testing
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), reservoir pressure
maintenance, nitrogen floods
Inert gas lift, etc
Material for LN2 Services

Cyrogenic Materials
Liquid Nitrogen Storage
Nitrogen storage is equipment used primarily at the
district or job site to hold liquid nitrogen inventory until
required for a job.
Because LN is extremely cold, LN storage must provide heat insulator

Storage Insulation:
•Perlite Insulation
•Super Insulation
Liquid Nitrogen Hazards & Storage Safety
Devices
LN Hazards
•LN is extremely cold: -320F
• „Can cause severe frostbite or eye damage upon contact
• Substances may become brittle upon contact with liquid nitrogen and shatter
•„On vaporization, LN expands by a factor of almost 700
• „May cause an explosion of a sealed container.
• Displaces oxygen and may cause asphyxiation.
•„Oxygen may condense on surface of LN
• Highly reactive with organic materials Safety Device
Relief valves
Rupture disc
Liquid Nitrogen Transport
Nitrogen transports are road-legal tanks to move liquid
nitrogen to location. The transport may be used to fill
location storage or as standby liquid supply for the
pumper
The type and condition of transports
can have the following effects on
profitability:
•Transports with poor vacuums will
have unacceptable losses.
•Bad filling practices at the district can
contribute to additional losses of liquid
nitrogen
Liquid Nitrogen Transfer
Pressure transfer
 Depend on differential pressure between storage and receiving
tank
 Whenever possible, the pressure transfer method to move fluid
from one tank to the other should be used
 Even though it is slower than using the C-pump, there is less
metal being cooled down and therefore the losses are less
Transfer with C-Pump
Sometimes the job and the number of units being filled will be
large.
The pressure transfer technique may not be appropriate in this
case.
Pressure Transfer
Vent

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SourceTank
Receiver Tank
Liquid Nitrogen Losses
The following lists various actions involved in
transferring that impact nitrogen losses:
LN2 used to build pressure on the storage tank
LN2 used to cool down storage tank piping
LN2 used to cool down the C-pump
LN2 used to cool down the transfer hose
LN2 used to cool down the receiving tank piping.

‘These operations must be as efficient as possible, or

else the nitrogen losses will be unacceptable’
Liquid Nitrogen Operation
Before Job?? Result??
Job Information •Appropriate pumper selection
Well Information •Appropriate size and number of transports
Location ,etc
•Planning for additional location equipment
•Comparison of wellhead pressure limits to
Job design
anticipated treatment pressures
Injection Rate
Injection Pressure
Coil tubing size ,etc
Equipment Selection
•Rate Capabilities
•Pressure Capabilities
•Storage Capacity
•Nonconventional Equipment
Liquid Nitrogen Job Preparation

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Equipment

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Product Availability

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Maintenance Status
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Personnel Qualification
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Journey Assessment &Approval

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Form
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Nitrogen Unloading with CT
Design Based On:
• N2 injection depth
• CT size
• Liquid unloading rate
(CT RIH speed)
• Large/deviated wellbores
• Well Pressure and
Temperature

Injection Rate and Pressure

LN Quantity

Job Preparation
Thank You 