Integration of a novel distributed water and energy system in the oilfield

Abstract

The oil production process in union stations requires consuming a lot of energy, and sewage at high temperature will be produced simultaneously. Realizing the benefits of energy saving that waste heat utilization can bring to the oil field, this article first describes a novel integrated water separation and treatment process (IWSTP) with energy-saving effects. Based on the integrated process, the oilfield distributed heat station system is a good choice for utilizing waste heat from sewage. The heat pump is also considered as indispensable equipment for recovering the low-temperature waste heat of oilfield sewage. Next, a mixed integer linear programming model considering energy and technical constraints is developed to optimize the oilfield water treatment process to minimize annual total cost, which determines the selection and capacity of the required equipment. Taking an oilfield in China as an example, the validity and applicability of this model are demonstrated. The results show that the optimized scheme saves 14.08% of the economic cost compared with the traditional energy supply scheme. Finally, the impact of energy price fluctuation on the design results is analyzed.