TEcHNLtGY

--
WELL TE

N_l

Uaniou approaches GOnneGt

uuells t0 iaciliiies
Ken

detailed analysis of existing processing and transportation facilities must be performed to determine the requirements for tying in
new wells. A number of techniques
are available.
'

This series of two articles discusses

existing techniques and methods to

quickly and effectively connect wells
to production facilities and pipelines,
typically used in western Canada
This first article will discuss general considerations and the concluding
part will cover detailed design.

J.

Varg,-s

Falcr EDl:

L"tt. Clgary

'. COz-2 mol% maximum

Pressure-95O psig
. Heat content-95O BTU/scf
. HzO content-4 lblMMscf
. Meter-Custody transfer,:

site, trucked, or piped to .r refirery.

But a gas well, unlike an oil well,
must be connected into a pipeline
transmission system for tlre product

to be sold. There are exceptions, such

as if tl,e gas is liquefied and trans-

ported in pressurized vessels. However, this process has been used in

only a few areas of the world.
Identification of a typical gas sales
specification is the first step in determining the type of gas processig
needed to allow the gas to be trans-

Based on these specificatios, the

sales gas treatment may include some
or all of the following four steps:

Oil and gas production

as follows:

Oil can be processed at the well

tlan 16 ppm

requires
meeti1; certain product specifications
an,,1 istalling a distribution network.

.
.

acid gas (H2S anl

2. Dehydration (H2O removal)

3. Hydrocarbon dew point co,trtl
to remove rich hydrocarbons, leaving

ported witlrout liquids or freezing,

and in a state that the final consumer

A typical

of

1. Removal

CO2) by a sweetening process

methane and ethane as the sales

stream

can burn cleanly and efficiently.

Gas uells

(ZVo

accuracy

4. Compression

gas sales specification is

pipeline pressure.

Dew point-15o C. at 850 psig

of gas to

tle

Soun gas

Hydrogen sulfide (HzS)-Less

Many factors distinguislr gas wells.

Fig.

N a

ffiit
]vE l00

ffi
]

il

1]

].l

L.

:i l) l]

il

1|

ppn i1_. ind

il]od thail 1 MMs:ld

-i

d
yrs

ll&9.sdul-ffi

ors

,i - ',,i'O
'V
.

ef*6

lnsulaled

;
]

Hytlralas

paldntial

"

sparalOr
m

elOi

NOte; M

; elt

0]l & Gas Journal

Sept. 21, 1998

TEGHNtO8Y
through flow lines, the pressure and
temperature drop causes liquid hydrocarbons and water to condense. To
avoid these liquids, pipeline compa-

nies require delivery of dry (without

water) lean gas. In general most gases

have to be refrigerated or processed to

remove condensables such

popane/ butanes, and water.

as

The decision flow chart (Fig.

1)

provides general guidelines for decid-

ing on processing alternatives. For

sour well, for example, the first decision is if the H2S content is greater
than 400 ppm. If yes, then the next

step is to determine if hydrates will

form either in the facilities or in the
pipeline.
If the H2S content is below 400
ppm/ scavengers can be injected or
used as contact agents to absorb the

oil-tll

Tlis sgle

battery hanilles 3 MMscfil. It is equipped zith a treater,

amine-seetening unit, and amine acid gas incinetator for H2S disposal (Eig.2).

H2S and sweeten the gas. The gas can

then be processed in sweet-gas facilities at a reduced capital cost.

Both the scavenged and non-scavenged options require that the potential for hydrate formation be determined.
If the gas has no potential for hydrate formation, the gas is only metered before entering the sales

pipeline. If hydrates might form, the

gas is either dehydrated and transported through a noninsulated
pipeline to sales or heated in a line
heater and transported in an insulated
line to sales. Dehydration is typically
more economical than line heating for

lines greater than 10-km long.

The sweet gas portion is treated in
the sane manner except that dehydration makes more sense because H2S is
not picked up by the kiethylene glycol (TEG), and therefore is not re-

leased to the environment via the

evaporated water of the regenerator
effluent.

Thuniler Enetgy Ltil.'s Roalinil sow oil battery hanilles 7,600 bolil Gig.3).

The most important is H2S content.

With H2S, the gas stream must be
handled in a different manner than
sweet gas because H2S is extremely

toxic and lethal in small concentra-

tions. A concentration of 500-700 ppm

H2S in the surrounding air can cause a

person to lose consciousness and possibly die.

Cas with H2S is also corrosive and
causes the associated gas to freeze in
the presence of free water at a much
higher temperature. Depending on
pressufe and concentration, this temperature is typically more than 80o F.
H2S must be removed from a gas
steam before the gas can be used as a

fuel. Typically H2S is removed with

Sept. 21 , 1 998

Oil & Gas Journal

amine in a tiered contactor vessel.

A gas stream also can cause problems if it contains large quantities of
CO2. CO2 is corrosive, and in combination with H2S compounds processing problems. Most gas streams contain some CO2.
When a gas contains more than 2mo|Vo CO2, transmission companies
will generally refuse the gas or charge
a penalty for the low BTU content gas.

lean/nich gas

Rich gas contains large quantities

of hydrocarbons heavier than ethane.

These heavier hydrocarbons drop out
when the temperature is reduced.

As gas flows up the well bore and

llil ells
Oil wells can be classified by the produced crude such as heavy, intermediate, light, sour, sweet, waxy, and

tightly

emulsified. Emulsions are a dispersion

of droplets of one liquid in another, immicible liquid, in which the droplets are
of colloidal or near-colloidal size.
Three basic designations of crudes
are:
]..

Bitumen or extra-heavy crude

has a viscosity above 10,000 cp and a

specific gravity greater than one

2. Heavy crude has

a viscosity

below 10,000 cp and a specific gravity

between 1 and 0.934

3. Light crude has

viscosity

below 10,000 cp and a specific gravity

below 0.934.

TEcHNtOGY
or

ergi..ering, prtcrrtunt. rt. i .r a gerc t ( IPC ivl ).

For iil \,v(,ll (ne las tt tlt]ttrt'
tlc trrs[t,t;titr _tlo_.1 slr:l "s
pipelire tr trrt,k, ar.i tlc ctlotl ftr

Tle objective of upstream crude

tre.ating is to remove water, salts, and

sulilr, an,.l to gir.e tlre oil a viscosity

struc litn,
X

sul. that it is easily transported in a

pil,.line, vLssel, or truck. The tighter

tle emulsitn, the more extensive it

l!il\r il!

neLds to b reate,l, '[o treat crude, the

follorying nray

.
'.

F{t.t

Llt

j.llN

chemicals such as aphaltenes

. Electrostatic precipitators.
Crudes .re typically treated to
0.5% bs&w, below 100 cp viscosity,
and 10 Rvp, which means that the
crude vapor pressure at 100o F. is 10
psia. These specifications provide a
stable product with minimal volatility.

Sales specifications for crude vary

widely and typically include penalties

for noncompliance. For example,

crude over 0.85 specific gravity might

bc penalized for each fraction over
0.85.

As a rule, the specifications would

apply to almost any clude for custody
transf..r to a pipeline or refinery.
Activity prior to sales includes:

wells

be testing at least once every

mtnth. The testing should comprise a
24-1r period and include flow rate
a,l til, water, and gls anaiysis.
sholt_-l

. Cs remoal-Associated

gas is
renrtved by providing the crude
witlr settling time and heat. This is
typically achieved initially in an inlet

separator and subsequently in a

treater where heat, and,/or electric
cufrent and chemicals are aclded. The

chemicals and electric current are

needed only if emulsions have to be

brken.

For example/ most gas will be re-

moved by raising the crude temPerature to 160" F. After treatment the

crude will have an B-10 Rvp.

Shipping the removed associated
gas to sales is the same as for gas well

gas except the facilities might be

snaller than those for a gas well. In
special circumstances the gas may be
flared; lowever, this is not environmenhlly acceptable.
Fig. 2 shows a single oil well battery with treater, amine sweetening
unit, and amine acid gas incinerator
for lJ2S. The facility can handle 3 MMBs remol)al-So|ids and water

are rernoved to less than 0.5% volume.

This can le done with gravity settling

al water washing to remove

the

sand and treating the emulsion with

heat, settling time, or chemicals. Tight
80

th-, ,sso-iated

plt via a pipeli-.

gas

gas, r.itht r
- ilarig.

Oil wclls typically l,a,, tt bt tct,

ed every

l i,ri,li,si
o1 plt1 ll, s ls
lrrs

settling or residence time

days art,l cm]sit L-re.k-

_10

ing histtry or labo,atory anlvsis

should br availtlt-. tc set grirlelies

f

ll-Ji le }J.5.
lir Ii,c,,4rlel1.
lJ i tlt, f'

fiers.

in

*,ailll,J nlr,

solvents, de-waxers, and de-emulsi-

scfd.

disposng f

(,)l.

ai)UiV

i [;,y. lli

required:

. Well fsfs-Individual

|, \l,.,ls

]l lil
'! lu's,ltlll
i
l]l )i] 1-1l.,

clren iea [ or t r(,a

te

r tell ptr. trre.

cc tl is i [t,rr t io is t-,o pilt tl

ly the egineer, tle 1rojtet sig-tfi
sltulrl tltln Lc rtct_.ivul frtr c.r,tyte ivolvet] ir deterirrig tle le-

Vr,;s

,tliM[ l is r,,;.slerl 1rofi,ssill

,r i Colt rl ilr, tl.S.

,,1l-

(f

sign Lsis, Orct l,l gretct

t|sits ti,v retlire t,lcctrtstaiic

prt

cili t

ti t,n,

()il trt,atig is tt a

exact sc,i-.rce
crt-]r, lt,[ps

atl l'ai]iaritv ith tlrc

to design a treatment.

. Crude storage-Crude is stored

in atmospheric noncontaminated

tanks to maintain the 0.5% bs&w. The

c,de should be stable after being

trcittld to 10 Rvp.

For sour crude, a blanketing and

vip()r recovery system is required be-

even with treatment H2S is still

givtn off in small concentrations and
mtst be ctrtained to prevent it from
.a.SL

bectning a public nuisance.

Fig. 3 slows a sour oil battery citsigrctl t_ handle 1,60Obo/d.

To begi tlro letailtd tlesigr for tle

[icilitics. trnc
ca

rt

-lir,-s the folltwig

ta arrl .-ltctets

. Wcll

ciflut-.t ;ralysis frt DST

(tlrillste 1..515) tr ttler wtll tcsts.
T]ose will be -serl irr dtter-irir]
tle chractc.ristics of the gs, cotlcrSate or til, a,rl water.
. WeIl site survey showing the
wells, access roads, power lines, flow

lines, dwellings

in the vicinity,

any special features.

titr

and

. Closest tie-in point

together
with the pipeline right-of-way. The
pipeline right-of-way should show all
pipeline crossings before reaching the
tie-in point, for example roads, creeks,
rivers, cables, etc.
. sales specifications and special

requirements prior to entering the

sales line or crude transport truck.
. Available utilities, such as sweet

fuel gas, electrical power/ water, etc.

' special design constraints requested by the client.
. Project management by an engineer or engineeing firm, for example
engineering only (EP); engineering,
procurement, and construction (EPC);

sttrag-

p,:rtje-,t

iitrr-

tion. 'l-his .,i bt rJ,rc witl [hratring binder (project manual) to store
all project information. The project
manual should contain the following
information categories or divisions:
. Correspondence
. Design basis
. Surveys and site layout 1-lan
. Project management (cost
and
schedule)
. Process design (process flow diagr.r,t/ PFD, and material/crergv Lltrrce)

err

[lc]-lakry rtl-ircr.ts (gtv-

ct n si

Facilities peciilcatlon

is

reachetj, tlrc, oginecr c prtceed ir

<-lesi gi g tlc 1rt ctss etlr ilnt n t,
l'lc nct step is Pr()l)rl, org.niz.l,

pl,ro

v a ls /

e r,i ro

tits)
Meclrarical clt,sig

e t

c rr

/
.
. Elcctric[/instr-nerttit tlcigl /
. Qtality c,trtrl *
' Miior ctl_ipent irl'cr,rtior
(bicls, speci ica iir,s, ptrch;rse rrrd trs,
perftrnco, r.t.,,) ftr scpira[trs,
co]lL),ess()rs, lie lrtaters, pL,,p5/
pipelies, rcfriger;ticr plrt, ctc.
. Co,structit-.
cJ

Recombining wcll eiiluents

To recombine well effluents to sim-

ulate reservoir conditions one can

perform an energy/material balance

by using Hysim or other hydrocarbon

process simulator to specify unit operations and associated streams
If pipelines are involved, the flow

can

be

simulated with

pressure/temperature drop program

or calculation. This should be incorporated into the energy/material balance.

one can select and order the

major/long delivery equipment by

sizing them with the energy,/material

balance and write an AFE cost estimate and detailed schedule for the
wells being tied-in.
oil & Gas Journal . sept.

21 ,

998

TEOlNLGY

re

WE|.L

TlE-lN-Gonclusion

Examples illustrat8 s0u uas

and 0 ll iacility desisn
Ken

}.

Vargas

Falco EDF Ltd

Calgary

|wo examples illustrate the design

required to tie-in sour gas and oil

facilities.

wells to production

These designs are typical for the

western canadian environment and

1,800

economics.

1,600

This article is tle conc]usion of a

two-part series on techriques and
methods to quickiy and effectively
connect wells to tl,e production facil-

ities and pipelines. The first was in

OGJ, Sept. 21, p.78.
The detailed design includes:

. Equipment layout
. Process flow diagram (PFD)
. Environmental/regulatory approvals
. Pile/civil design layout
' piping and instrument drawings (P&IDs)
. Process control strategy (PLC)
. Electrical single-line drawings
. Electrical load balance

],r100
6

a
0

]
o

fI

],r00
1,000
B00

00
400

a00
0

250
Ten,}peralure

Fig,2

0nbtlstiOn

combslioil
Auto ignitOr

Flae taGk

lncinsatO

,
'_'- .-*
+
i
l Reqenerator

Regenoralo
overhead
condense

purchased
sweel lLel
9as

EsDV,
TE

Emergen0y

shul.down valvo

TriethylEne glyc0l

Psv - Presuo afety valve

Nc:

{ormal|y c|ood

oGJ]

Oil & Gas JoUrnal.Oct. 12, 1998

TEcHNtGY
:
Fig. 3

lte plot

Locatign well

ovnnnnl Od 6ll0walc0
hl0Odo uasl ror

Rollinq snnl

hill

?.h

lil8l e
[0m c0.0R

POplar to 0.2-n. lmcB

and
p.uce 0 0,3,it. dlanalel
L

- _,-.-.
Table

Shutdown key
Isometric drawings

Bill of materials.
unl Quantlty

Deeription

2,50

Suvtyig

Permils:

Fl_A lad aoces)

Pl- 10() iAlbor approvals)

2,349

12
7.75
7.75
2,500
2,50Q
500
1,50Q
75
45m
]50
10m

n NOM 0.125 in, W.T.

Gtt390 CAT] Sw ERW
2 in Nolvl x 0. l25 in. W.T.
GR290 QAT? SW ERW
2

Linepipe construction:
Hod c!QsSlnqS

Pipeliqe crossings
Cloeh clossi,gs
Cable crossings
Tilnbe salVaqc
PipeliQ constfuction 4 il, 2 x 2 in.
Swan]p WeiOhts

RockslieId

3,000
550

2,349

28,1 88

2,349

18,204

2,960

22,940

Each
Each
Each
Each
Cord
Each

0 Each
7 Each
0 Each
1 Each
240 Cord
2,600 m
0 Each
0m

Total plpalne

0
17,500

1,500
1B,000
1 17,000
0
0

232,755

Equiplnent & malerials:

24 i. Dia, duhydration unit sour

lncillerator
Flsr0 6 in. (60 l|) & llaru l(ockoL[ drun]
ESDVs 2 2 i, 2 x 4 in, hillo pilots
Plgging fauililicS. "S" becls pans
Pipe vaIves littiqs
lnsr,ul|]cnl.tio] (aUto Valv9s etc.)
cahodic Droteclion
Water ank gas blanket P-oul

Scada oq.]lpmenl
lnsulaton

7Q,0o0
67,o00

Now
Now

23,000

Each
Each
Lump sum

2,1,000
17,Q00

75,000
24,000

a,000

19,000
25,000
7,000

Each
Each
Each

Ngw

Each

Each

Lump sum

Totsl mateial

constucion:

Clvil Conslruclion & piIes

Meclancal construction
Eleclrlcal/instrunrentalion constr.

lnspectlon supervlson
X-ray slross relievg
Transporaion
Engineering

Toal englmgt/qc
59/o

Totals with coningencIes

Admin overhead
Proiect totas

oct. 12. 1998 . oil & Gas Journal

70,000
67,000
21,000
23,000
17,000
75,000
24,000
2,000
19,000
25,000
7,000

450,000
32,000
3,000
,l
,200

Lump sum

Day
Day

,l9
14

DaVs
Dai/s

Total contruction
Engineerlng & management:

subtotal
Contingoncy @

5,872

Lump sunl
Lump sum

Linepipe naterialsi
.1 in NoM 0.]56 n, W.T.
LiR359 CATl SS EnW

32,000
57,000
,l6,800
105,800

600

Day
sum
Lump sum
Man hours

16,000 Lump

'l2,000

60

30
830

Soun gas well

Budgot
unlt ($ Canadlan,

Days

18,000
16,000
,l2,000
49,800

95,800
893,778
45,000
938,777
14,000

952,778

The first example is for a sour gas

well that requires a dehydration unit

and pipeline to sales.
The first step in the well tie-in design is to recombirt tlre hydrocarbon
well _.fl:ltents anll .,turate them with
water. Tlre reconl,ination helps simulatt the reservoir tfflent.
Thc gts trnci liquitl hydrocarbon

componunts vere derivcrl from the

well iest a,alysis. By recombining the
gaseous antl litltid plrases and siturating thcm witl watar, one can simulate the energy consumed or gir,en
off in the process.
Fig. 1 shows the two-phase etvelope for the gas and the hvdratc line.
Note the hydrate temper.rture is 73o
F. at the operating pressure of 1,000
psra.

Pnocess ilow diagnam

For the sour gas well, the recombined hydrocarbons were input to tle

Hysim simulator. Tlre process flow

diagram (Fig. 2) shows the strcam

and unit operations. Fig. 3 shows tle

site plot. The facilities required to
handle the sour gas include:

. Separator-This unit removes

the water and condensate. The condensate is pumped to a nearby oil line
and the water is trucked out of

buried tank. All vents go to the flare.

. Dehydration unit-The dehydration unit consists of the absorber

tower, the regenerator (which includes the regenerator still, reboiler

and overhead condenser), inlet/outlet exchangers and circulation pump.

. Incinerator-The

incinerator
85

TEcHN(tGY
Fig. 4

SO2. fhis eiim,tes the toxrc H2S va-

p,s iom being released to the envir(

k
Dlill wall

6$,

W9ll eq!lpqlao

3w

tgd

naOulaory

Pipgltn pEiltiil

1w

Fdelity parnl

aw

Aqntnclian pqfmil

.)

{0d

wll

Apr|l
Mafch
B ]li .:) J:) 1 1., ].)

'ebuaryi
t i ] : t

namo

7d

En9iaaring
PFD maefial balane

4d

EtlulPlr]sit layrl

rc
'H

lina

aw

11

R,lqtltr]a an0l

1a

ofrlQrmloroquipl?.ll

l3

P,999j:

.ct

l4

:oundaln dgailflfi

15

Elg!fiaI daBile

Pipin$ layoB

ild

17

PLc

7d

1B

df

awing

prorm

p.aulamnt

t8t

4-in. lln ppo a.4OJnOur.

2q

a:!o" lln_pip

Fll. enk rp!

3!qq_E

,8w

qonda!Q

1w

uEd dahydralion uni

.4w

hoinafetar

6w

e4

Flr

ew

[El@9q!!uq._

aw

e6

walil

aw

i.'.

tanlr

a8

F]qq

tQ

tw

2a

,tderp gliPmnt

3w

30

ffi

away.

pip9 valua.lltgd

i|u_p!9pn!c!]9!

33

r]p_!!ilE!]a!

34

!_ug!Ea!!E-l!!9-

Rl ids

?9.

Pipng tao-inS

& tlaro

TEG maximizes the water pickup in

the contactor, allowing tlre dehydrated gas to be on specificatitn (4 lb
HrSlMMscfd).

ffi

PLO lRrt-up Colnision

pinelinA.6illrlnli6n

eration.

Sour fuel gas could have been

used in the incinerator to achieve the

ffi
ffi

desired temperature for complete

1d

_E_
2d

ffi

-_|9
7d

_9
7d

ff

Tak

rc

erilleltk

tower; thus, more water is stripped

from tlre TEG. In this case, sweet fuel
gas is available and is used for incin-

ffi

4d

to

To aid TEG regeneration, stripping

gas can be added to the regenerator

ry

2w

37

s8

the top of the still, allowing the water

to boil off easily. This permits good

regeneration of TEG, making the TEG
very lean (very little water). Lean

9tt

ontruo|lon

3P

Tl,e close proximity of the inciner-

ator minimizes the backpressure on

ry
ffi

ffi

w9llhd ED

Eummary

exit-

tl"t, rtItlrator still ,<t]d lc fed tt, a

flre; irowever, a flae would have to
be located a considerable distance

-6w

3d

l:()r

,,ter is boiled off.

With a sweet-gas well, tlre incinerator is not required becasc H2S is
]()t p.cst nt. In this casc tl,c r,;pors tff

=_

111|11f5

ing tlt bstrl,t rtt tnly picks up

,tt, ltt ,1|5. 1itks up 0.0761 moie
ti,t:titt ol l t2S. This H2S is given off
in tlrt regenerator still wlren the

'1,|v

in thc .limtds
.t r,li:l, ntt,,ia1 bal_
|lr. sh,eas ,s dt,termined.

rnLt,rs

l'lc tricth,ltt, glv,:l (TEG)

Fre*ffiry

ad

_ _^ _

!l!,,!e gr!j].s

l]l,,.,--\'l1 L]orr,tlwn and emerqte1, tlist,l.,Ht,5 a,(. \,etctl tlrrough

tlr l'lro litlu t(].1,1 ,,,t-igitt,d flare.
F'ig. J slro,s tlt st,t,a equired
'.ttt

. ffil
ffi

w
ffi

|]l a l) t.

) 1,1

ft,r ile detailt,l .ltsiu tf tl project.

-f]rt
indi-

ry

10

the

llt]|llonll(,l\\,\ll|()
l.,,gr,1,1.,1,,1|,l1,,lllrl
,j,.isr.s (I l.). .1111 tI,ns|'t],ns tht,il tt)

-D

fro

takcs fhe ,tcr ev;,l-orti:d

conversion of H2S to SO2. Because of

tlre large amounts of equipment required to eliminate H2S, a line heater
could have been used with an insulated line to keep the gas temperature
above hydrate temperature until it
reaches the transfer point. But for dis-

tances over 10 km, tlris may be too expensive.

In this example the gas was being
delivered into a dehydrated-gas gath-

ering system, and delrydrated gas

was mandatory.
It is important to run project economics when facilities are selected, to
ensure the most cost-effective alternative is selected.

Ilesign

Based on the PFD material bal-

ance,

all equipment was sized

specified.

.*t\-

6?\aL.t0^^")

Oil & Gas Journal

Oct

and

TEcHNOtY
Fig. 5

{*
EBv

*uJ*,o,

ESDv

lilo /'i
^^U
Flow

Crude
ank

l
-'ra @" E
,->l

_l

FE

knockout

t-+ ._J\
o

Flow olgnent

ESoV: Emo9ecy

The separator was sized fcr 10

MMscfd and 23 b/d condensate. The
dehydration unit w;s designed for
these flows and the reboiler duty of

shutdown valve

ished, in this case the well completion. Installation/commissioning was

complete in 3-4 weeks.

722,200 BTU /hr /0.6 or about 250,000

Soun oil hatteny

terial balance. The 2,400-m pipeline is

For designing a sour-oil battery for

1,600,,b/d, a similar process to the
sour gas well example was followed.

BTU/hr (48.22hp).
Tlre incinerator was sized by
means of stream "OVHD" in the madesigned for 10 MMscfd.

All long-delivery

equipment was
ordered based on the PFD information ad associated equipment sizing.
Table 1 and Fig. 4 slow the cost
and schedule for this proiect.

The detailed design involves

equipment layout drawing, environmental approval, process and instrumentation drawings, civil drawings,
piping layout/material lists, line list,
shutdown key for PLC programming,
and area electrical classification.

Gonstnuction

The construction can proceed once

the detailed design and procurement
for the piping, foundations, electrical
instrumentation, equipment, and
well completion are finished.
Because the project was fasttracked, construction was started

wlen the first critical item was fin-

The well effluents were recom-

bined in the given ratios. In this case

the gas/oil ratio was used to calculate
the gas flows. The expected maximum water cut was used.
Tlre production was as follows:
. oil = 1,600b/d
. Water = 14,400 b/d (this is tlre
highest expected water cut)
. Gas = 0.7 MMscfd.

Fig. 5 shows tle PFD for the battery. Material balance calculations on
the streams were done at the points

designated with numbered diamonds.

The model was created in such

way that the duties of the test heaters

and treater fire-tubes were conservative with more water than would be
normally expected. The PFD shows
the following equipment:

Inlet manifold with fluid going

to either a test heater separator or to

tl"e

group or inlet separator.

Test and group/inlet separators, with a heater ahead of the test

separator to provide heat to obtain
good well tests
. Two-phase (oil/water) freewater knockout (FWKO)

. Treater consisting of both a

. Gas recompressor for all gas

l,eater and separator in the model

from of tle pressurized equipment

(treater, and separators)

. Crude and water storage tanks,

. Vapor recovery unit (VRU)

at atmospheric pressure

blower, to collect the remaining gas

coming out of solution in the storage
tanks and to prevent the tanks tlrief
hatch from opening and releasing
sour gas to the environment
. Crude recirculation pump
. water booster and reinjection
PumP
. PLC (programmable logic controller) based emergency shutdown
system (ESD).

Equipment $izing

Sizing of the equipment was done

from the Hysim stream unit opera-

tions. The test separators operate at

90" F. ard 45 psia and lrave a eapacioil & GaS JoUrnal . Oct

2,

,1998

TEcHNt(GY
---

Fig. 6

ty of 100 bold and 900 bwld. The test

line heaters are designed for an emulsion in at 40o F. and out at 90' F.

The free-water knockout flow is

for 15,000 b/d of water/oil emulsion.

The treater is designed to operate at
170" F., from 40o F. in at 40 psia. Total
fluid is 2,960 b / d with 44Vo water.
The compressor is designed for 64o

F. ard 40 psia suction witl a discharge of 300 psia and 700 Mscfd. The
vapor recovery unit (VRU) takes gas
at atmospheric pressure and 80" F.

and has an outlet pressure of 50 psia.

Material balance flow (Stream 29)
times a safety factor accounts for upsets.

Filling and blanket gas is

10-15

times and equals 2,900 scf times 15 or

about 50,000 scf.

The oil storage is designed for

b/d and with a slop of two
1,000 bbl tanks. Water storage initiaily is in two 1,000 bbi tanks, wlrich
will be expanded as water cut in1,600

creaseS

Water pumping has an initial capacity of 6,000 b/ d from atmospheric

suction to 2,000 psia discharge. This
will also be expanded as water cut ircreases

The fluid flow lines are designed

for full multiphase flow with 300 psia
at the well head screw pumps to the
battery. The distance is 5,000 m

The water flow line design will

handle 14,400 b/ d at 2,000 psia.

The flare is designed to lrandle all

of the gas depressurizing from all

vessels with a 5-7 min emergency
shutdown (ESD).

The ESD system includes full

block and bleeci of all gas. Al1 the
sources are blocked and the system
allows full bleed of all vessels.
Table 2 and Fig. 6 detail the cost
and schedule for this battery.
The major equipment for the project was specified and bid or located.
Because of the fast-track nature of the

project, some existing used equipment was located and modified.

When purchasing used equipment,
the cost of suitably modifying and in-

stalling such equipment must be carefully considered. Our company's experience has been that it is quicker and
cheaper to custom build equipment
rather than modify used equipment. A
prime example was the treater. A new

treater could have been built in 12

weeks vs. 10 for modifying a used one.
The cost of the modified treater was
very similar to a new one.

ffi

ras

Cltical9k

oct. 12, 1998 . 0il & Gas Journal

l't?

Summary

Mlleslono

AEUB

Mcc

Alberta Energy Utllly Board

Motor control canler

=
=

Design, Gon$tnuction

The detailed design steps are simi-

lar to those of tle previous sour-gas

dehydration example. The only major

TEcHNtGY

Fig, 7

Liiso qiiu
.ll] p] |l,i]j:, i }..!i] ::a:|: , .s i,i] ji,.l,i
]r -., ]., ],. l,.i r..i"la}
ll,..il, ,.i :a . l, .i,. :\aij
^'oe

i):a iti

;} t)

]}]

|i|.]

.)

l na

'""'' i il.+r i.l,a _ulr r*kr

i--,Tv.-****1-1r-----------------------Em-ero-ec-cy-"--l
.

31dlr'i} ll}|ti ill lttl ri&ttio,|

i(iii

0.0l

'om

ul|ll!!e

|la.egock

l
I

-i.Ii(lt,a.tl

P 9s' *
t

trlsrl,ofl e}

a,/

($ Canadian)

Government ragtllalory
Pipqlir]o,'batt(.ry

subtotals:

l]m

LineDioe malerials:
n] io,, x O 15l W.T.
3 i. NQt x 1.156 W.]'.
4 in. NOM x 0.25 W.T (linod)
6 in NoM x 0, l88 w,T.

32

Llnopipe conslruction:
2B

Sublotals:

1,000 bbl storaqe tanks

200 hp reconpi. & VRujrec pumps
lnstrunents electrica|
PLC. Aontactor. MMl. UPS, MCC
otfico garagOlshop Mc bldg.
lnstrumonl air colnprssor
Flare sack & FKo
Pipo Valves titlinqs
Water reinjecton skid

subtotals:

8,900

a6,700

$m

15,000
1,650
43,350

n,l

1.160

,1,00
,1,500

:*

$lm
sln
sm
$lm

11,600
64,500
97,500
60,800
234,400

45,00Q
290,000
70,000
1 72,000
18,000
46,Q00

e35,000
,37,000
160,000
1

15,00Q

17,000
1B,000
95,000
140,o00

LS

Ls

L
L

8,860

2d8,080
278,080
90,000
290,00o
70,000
1 72,000
18,000
1 84,000
235,000
,137,000

,l

Ls

.1

Ls
Ls
Ls

LS

LS
lQ

160,000
15,000
1 7,000
18,000
95,000
140,000

LS

Ls

LS

Ls

construction:
Access road

Civil site prsp. pls

Gravel sie 8 roads
Mechanical construclion
Electrical/intrumentation

sublota|:

Englneoring & management:

lnspectlon sUperVIslon
X-ray quality conlroI
Transporlation cranes
Enginoering, 7%

subtotals:

30,000
37,500
16,000
207,000
230,000

700
19,000
29,000

Ls

,74,000
30,000
37,500
16.000
207,000
230,000
520,500

LS
L

Ls
Ls

Day

50 $lunit

35,000
19,000
29,000
197,213
280,21 3

Tolals without contlngencies

3,097,543
774,385

Total

3,871,928

Contingency

LS

+ 25% (tast track)

= Lump sunll FtubQ = Fire tube

shows the plot of the battery.

Drawings of the line lists were also

needed as well as complete PIDs. The

full battery required 23 PIDs.
Because of delivery problems with
equipment, battery construction was
completed in 11 weeks instead of the
planned 7 weeks. The main reason

was tl-e overall high demand for oil

and gas equipment and services in
Alberta in 1,997.

BOOKs

lc

Bored creek crossing

Rock shield
ploeline installation

FWKO Vessel
Trealer W/4.8 MMBTUlhf Fube
250 bbl pop lank

lQ

10
15

65

Sublotals:

1 MMBTU/lr test heater

GfOupltest sep, n]antld.pg skd

unils

AFE cost
Quantty Typo ($ Canadlan)

LS

el,]Vornll,el)lal

Equipmen & mate.ials:

aollils ?-a fo.ttarn wEll

'nr

difference was more equipment and

different construction techniques.
Fig.

unl priee

Survoyin;
Land aCqUlsillOn

.up

L[jJ

Table 2

Descrlplion

'

Total Ouality Environmental Manage-

ment-An IS0 14000 Approach, by Vas-

N. Bhat. Published by Quorm Books, Green:ood Publishing Grop,

P.O. Box 5007, Westport, Conn, 06881-

anthakumar

5007.288 pp., 59.95.

This book explains in-depth how to

initiate, develop, and implement environmental programs in a total quality
management framework and integrate
environmental factors in critical corpo-

rate decisions. ISO 14000 standards ap-

plicable to various phases of environmental management systems are described in detail.

Nondestructive Testing Handbook,

Vol. 1: Leak Testing. Editedby Patrick O.

Moore. Tlird edition. Published by American Society for Nondestructioe Testing,
P.O. Box 28518, Columbus, Ohio 432280518. 637 pp., members, $135; Nonmem-

bers, $149

Up to the minute standards, specifi-

cations, recommended practices, and

inspection procedures for nondestructive testing for leaks.
01l & Gas

Journal.Oct. 12, 1998