Case Study: A Novel Approach to Tankless Zero-Emission Crude Oil Production Facilities

Abstract

_ The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and numerous states are introducing new emissions regulations which impact oil and gas producers. Additionally, under the pressure of stakeholders, the producers are committing themselves to decarbonize their operations. A large portion of these emissions occur at oilfield production sites. To eliminate these emissions, Pioneer Energy created a new type of skid‑mounted production facility. The technology was deployed on a pad in Weld County, Colorado, and demonstrated elimination of emissions, improved operational efficiency, and an increased crude yield of 11.3%. If adopted by the industry, this solution can dramatically reduce the emissions and carbon footprint of oil production. The Challenge There are five populated areas in the US that the EPA currently designates as Severe Ozone Nonattainment Zones. The Denver Metro and Front Range area, which also encompasses most of the Denver‑Julesburg (DJ) Basin, is one of these areas, and the EPA is currently working to include the Permian Basin as a sixth nonattainment zone. Oil and gas producers are actively seeking solutions to drill and produce wells while significantly reducing pad‑level emissions to achieve attainment. Strategies currently being employed include eliminating crude storage tanks, eliminating natural gas actuators, and consolidating processing from offset pads, each of which offer incremental improvements but do not address the whole problem. Current production facilities use passive means to separate the oil, gas, and water. This incomplete separation results in gas remaining in the crude, and when this gas leaves the crude, it results in fugitive emissions. The Solution To address this challenge, Pioneer Energy developed an active separation process called the Emission Control Treater (ECT) as seen in Fig. 1. The ECT receives wellhead fluid and uses a combination of heat and gravity in a closed‑ loop process to separate water, oil, and gas. The system sorts the hydrocarbons much more efficiently than traditional processes, resulting in crude which is completely stabilized, containing no flash gas. An additional benefit is that crude molecules that would be left in the gas instead remain in the crude, increasing its volume. By eliminating the flash gas, and through process electrification, pad emissions are eliminated. Pipeline-quality crude oil is output from the ECT and can be directed straight to the Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) unit or surge vessel if buffer capacity is needed for the crude midstream provider. The ECT is emissions‑free when run on grid power, contains no gas-venting actuators, and replaces nearly all existing production facility equipment, including high-low pressure separators (HLPs), vapor recovery units (VRUs), gas busters, vapor recovery towers (VRTs), and storage tanks. It is capable of bulk processing and when assembled in parallel with multiple skids, the ECT system can accommodate a wide range of production profiles.