Implementation and Operation of a Cogeneration Plant for Steam Injection in Oil Field

Abstract

As part of Europe, Romania now faces increasing natural gas prices, growing dependence on fuel imports and the threat of global warming. One of the modern and long-term solutions, efficient and environmentally friendly to such issues is cogeneration of both electricity and useful heat. The paper deals with the implementation of an experimental cogeneration plant for combined electrical and thermal energy production, necessary for extracting heavy oil. Located in North West of Romania, at Suplacu de Barcau, the cogeneration plant was built with the aim of studying its efficiency in growing oil production with lower costs for the electrical and thermal energy used in oil field. The cogeneration plant was designed to meet the parameters of superheated steam injected in heavy oil field at 19 bars and 300°C, assuming lower costs than market prices. The cogeneration plant consists in two identical cogenerative lines; each line consisting of an electrical turbogenerator powered by one aero derivative ST18 Pratt&Whitney turbine engine, a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) with afterburner and linked installations. The cogeneration plant is automatically operated using Programmable Logic Controllers – PLC, which provide 3 operating conditions: combined electrical and thermal energy production, electrical energy only and steam only. Design, installation and commissioning in 2004 were realized by National Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines – INCDT COMOTI, providing 32,000 hours between overhauls. Operated over 55,000 hours, the 2 lines of cogeneration plant fulfil an efficiency of 85%. Experimental data of 3 years of cogeneration plant operation is also present in the paper.