De-bottlenecking of Mature Field Production through the Use of Very Compact and Efficient Separation Equipment, Topside or Subsea

摘要

In the past decade the use of very compact processing equipment, sometimes referred to as ‘Inline separationrnequipment’ has become more and more popular. In a number of cases, it has been possible to successfully debottleneckrnseverely restricted process systems through the use of inline equipment. Successful examples on forrninstance Statoil platforms like those of Statfjord have been well documented.rnHowever, compact separation technologies have not yet been able to gain general acceptance as standardrnbuilding blocks for new process systems, or to take it one step further, have not yet been able make classicalrnseparation technologies obsolete.rnThe perceived operational disadvantages of inline equipment consist of it 1) being relative intolerant tornvariations in operating conditions (restricted turndown range) and 2) being complex equipment to design as nornaccurate, generic design rules exist. Moreover, most inline equipment is customized for a specific application.rnThis paper will highlight the development of a new generation of inline separation equipment. The newrnequipment is characterized by a much more efficient swirl generation. The principle of operation of mostrncompact separation equipment is based on creating strong centrifugal forces that drive the separation of thernwell fluids. It is shown that the more efficient generation of this driving force creates much wider turn downrnranges of critical operating conditions.rnIt is described how rigorous performance mapping has taken and still takes place under realistic operatingrnconditions (both regarding scale and physical characteristics of test fluids) to prevent the design uncertaintiesrnthat have sometimes hindered the correct application of these technologies today.rnAn example will be presented how these new inline components of which the performance characteristics arernnow well known can form an extremely compact process system with a pronounced tolerance against transientrnoperating conditions (like slugging).