Abstract
Early Production Facilities are makeshift process deployment that ensures that marginal oilfield operators make revenues from their new discoveries with little cash outlay and limited investment risks. Authors have in past simulated a gas process facility using Hysys without particularly developing mathematical models for the key equipment. There also has been modeling of phase separation dynamics and process simulation but still without models for equipment. We basically developed models for the critical process equipment for early production, sized the equipment with data from a marginal field in the Niger delta region of Nigeria and then ran a dynamic simulation with the sized equipment. The important elements of the deployment are two-phase process vessel, 3-phase process vessel; knock-out drum, produced water treatment unit. Mathematical models were developed and adapted with Mathlab for the equipment sizing whilst ASPEN PLUS was used for simulating the process. Process data retrieved from a marginal field in Nigeria was used as input to quantify the equipment models. Sized equipment was deployed in Hysys V8.8 for a steady and dynamic state. The system simulation was comprised of a two-phase process vessel followed by a 3-phase process vessel [1]. The unwanted gas was sent to knock out drum for removal of entrained liquid droplets before flaring (this was because the volume of gas processed is deemed uneconomical) and produced water to treatment unit for removing droplets of oil before disposal. Gas, oil and water were fed into the first stage separator (2-phase) at 132918.34 Ibmole/hr, 7622.95 Ibmole/hr and 1082.74 Ibmole/hr respectively. The operating pressures of the first and second vessels were at 850 psi and 150 psi respectively. The 2-phase vessel flashed off 96.7% of the gas and increased the liquid recovery by 3.3%. At the end of the second stage separation, oil yield increased by 270 Ibmole/hr, the gas increased by 110.15 Ibmole/hr whilst water reduced by 379 Ibmole/hr. This result confirmed that the vessels were sized to optimize recovery of hydrocarbons entrained in the various phases into the most required oil phase.
Highlights
Oil exploration is a capital intensive investment
Production Facilities are makeshift process deployment that ensures that marginal oilfield operators make revenues from their new discoveries with little cash outlay and limited investment risks
We basically developed models for the critical process equipment for early production, sized the equipment with data from a marginal field in the Niger delta region of Nigeria and ran a dynamic simulation with the sized equipment
Summary
Oil exploration is a capital intensive investment. It comes with a lot of cash outlay requirements before generation of economic returns or bottomline. Separation degree of the vapor phase was expected to be at 96% - 98% depending on nature of the multiphase whilst the remaining vapor % was retained in the liquid phase [3] This stage vessel was operated at a much higher pressure and it will present unstable crude to the process stage. Retention time of the fluid in the vessel played a vital role in aiding the separation of the oil from the water This was achieved by allowing a reasonably high vapor liquid interface height in the vessel and operating the vessel at a relatively low pressure. Some work has been done in this regards in the past
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