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Saturday, April 13, 2013

OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION HANDBOOK

Introduction, Units, Acronyms and References

An introduction to oil and gas production

Håvard Devold

© 2006 ABB ATPA Oil and Gas



PAGE 1

PREFACE

This handbook is has been compiled to give readers with an interested in the oil and

gas production industry an overview of the main processes and equipment. When I

started to search for a suitable introduction to be used for new engineers, I

discovered that much of this equipment is described in standards, equipment manuals

and project documentation. But little material was found to quickly give the reader

an overview of the entire upstream area, while still preserving enough detail to let the

engineer get an appreciation of the main characteristics and design issues.,

This book is by no means a comprehensive description on the detailed design of any

part of this process, and many details have been omitted in the interest of overview. I

have included some comments on the control issues, since that is part of my own

background. For the same reason, the description will be somewhat biased toward

the offshore installations.

The material has been compiled form various online sources as well as ABB and

customer documents. I am thankful to my colleagues in the industry for providing

valuable input, in particular Erik Solbu of Norsk Hydro for the Njord process and

valuable comments. I have included many photos to give the reader an impression

what typical facilities or equipment look like. Non-ABB photo source given below

picture other pictures and illustrations are ABB.

Edition 1.3 Oslo, June 2006

Håvard Devold

©2006 ABB ATPA Oil and Gas

Except as otherwise indicated, all materials, including but not limited to design, text, graphics,

other files, and the selection and arrangement thereof, are the copyright property of ABB, ALL

RIGHTS RESERVED. You may electronically copy and print hard-copy of this document only for

non-commercial personal use, or non-commercial use within the organization that employs you,

provided that the materials are not modified and all copyright or proprietary notices are retained.

Use of photos and graphics and references form other sources in no way promotes or endorses

these products and services and is for illustration only.

PAGE 2

CONTENTS

1 Introduction....................................................................................................... 4

2 Process overview .............................................................................................. 6

2.1 Facilities .................................................................................................. 7

2.1.1 Onshore.......................................................................................... 8

2.1.2 Offshore ......................................................................................... 9

2.2 Main Process Sections........................................................................... 12

2.2.1 Wellheads .................................................................................... 12

2.2.2 Manifolds/gathering..................................................................... 12

2.2.3 Separation .................................................................................... 13

2.2.4 Gas compression.......................................................................... 14

2.2.5 Metering, storage and export ....................................................... 15

2.3 Utility systems....................................................................................... 16

3 Reservoir and Wellheads ................................................................................ 17

3.1 Crude oil and Natural gas...................................................................... 17

3.1.1 Crude Oil ..................................................................................... 17

3.1.2 Natural Gas .................................................................................. 18

3.1.3 Condensates ................................................................................. 19

3.2 The Reservoir ........................................................................................ 19

3.3 Exploration and Drilling........................................................................ 21

3.4 The Well................................................................................................ 24

3.4.1 Well Casing ................................................................................. 25

3.4.2 Completion .................................................................................. 26

3.5 Wellhead ............................................................................................... 27

3.5.1 Subsea wells ................................................................................ 29

3.5.2 Injection....................................................................................... 30

3.6 Artificial Lift ......................................................................................... 30

3.6.1 Rod Pumps................................................................................... 31

3.6.2 Downhole Pumps......................................................................... 31

3.6.3 Gas Lift ........................................................................................ 32

3.6.4 Plunger Lift.................................................................................. 33

3.7 Well workover, intervention and stimulation. ....................................... 33

3.8 Unconventional sources of oil and gas .................................................. 35

3.8.1 Extra Heavy Crude ...................................................................... 35

3.8.2 Tar sands...................................................................................... 36

3.8.3 Oil Shale ...................................................................................... 36

3.8.4 Coal, Coal Gasification and Liquefaction.................................... 37

3.8.5 Methane Hydrates ........................................................................ 37

3.8.6 Biofuels........................................................................................ 38

3.8.7 Hydrogen ..................................................................................... 38

4 The Oil and Gas Process................................................................................. 40

4.1 Manifolds and Gathering....................................................................... 42

PAGE 3

4.1.1 Pipelines, and Risers .................................................................... 42

4.1.2 Production, test and injection manifolds...................................... 42

4.2 Separation.............................................................................................. 43

4.2.1 Test Separators and Well test....................................................... 43

4.2.2 Production separators................................................................... 43

4.2.3 Second stage separator................................................................. 45

4.2.4 Third stage separator.................................................................... 45

4.2.5 Coalescer ..................................................................................... 46

4.2.6 Electrostatic Desalter ................................................................... 46

4.2.7 Water treatment ........................................................................... 46

4.3 Gas treatment and Compression............................................................ 48

4.3.1 Heat exchangers........................................................................... 48

4.3.2 Scrubbers and reboilers................................................................ 49

4.3.3 Compressor anti surge and performance...................................... 50

4.3.4 Gas Treatment.............................................................................. 54

4.4 Oil and Gas Storage, Metering and Export ........................................... 54

4.4.1 Fiscal Metering ............................................................................ 54

4.4.2 Storage ......................................................................................... 57

4.4.3 Marine Loading ........................................................................... 58

4.4.4 Pipeline terminal.......................................................................... 58

5 Utility systems ................................................................................................ 59

5.1 Control and Safety Systems .................................................................. 59

5.1.1 Process Control............................................................................ 59

5.1.2 Emergency Shutdown and Process Shutdown ............................. 62

5.1.3 Control and Safety configuration................................................. 63

5.1.4 Fire and Gas Systems................................................................... 65

5.1.5 Telemetry / SCADA .................................................................... 66

5.1.6 Condition Monitoring and Maintenance Support ........................ 67

5.1.7 Production Information Management Systems (PIMS) ............... 68

5.1.8 Training Simulators ..................................................................... 69

5.2 Power generation and distribution......................................................... 69

5.3 Flare and Atmospheric Ventilation ....................................................... 71

5.4 Instrument air ........................................................................................ 72

5.5 HVAC ................................................................................................... 72

5.6 Water Systems....................................................................................... 73

5.6.1 Potable Water............................................................................... 73

5.6.2 Seawater....................................................................................... 73

5.6.3 Ballast Water ............................................................................... 73

5.7 Chemicals and Additives....................................................................... 74

5.8 Telecom................................................................................................. 77

6 Units................................................................................................................ 78

7 Acronyms........................................................................................................ 80

8 References....................................................................................................... 82

PAGE 4

1 Introduction

Oil has been used for lighting purposes for many thousand years. In areas where oil

is found in shallow reservoirs, seeps of crude oil or gas may naturally develop, and

some oil could simply be collected from seepage or tar ponds. Historically, we know

of tales of eternal fires where oil and gas seeps would ignite and burn. One example

1000 B.C. is the site where the famous oracle of Delphi would be built, and 500 B.C.

Chinese were using natural gas to boil water.

But it was not until 1859 that "Colonel" Edwin Drake drilled the first successful oil

well, for the sole purpose of finding oil.

The Drake Well was located in the middle of quiet farm country in north-western

Pennsylvania, and began the international search for and industrial use of petroleum.

Photo: Drake Well Museum Collection, Titusville, PA

These wells were shallow by modern standards, often less than 50 meters, but could

give quite large production. In the picture from the Tarr Farm, Oil Creek Valley, the

Phillips well on the right was flowing initially at 4000 barrels per day in October

1861, and the Woodford well on the left came in at 1500 barrels per day in July,

PAGE 5

1862. The oil was collected in the wooden tank in the foreground. Note the many

different sized barrels in the background. At this time, barrel size was not yet

standardized, which made terms like "Oil is selling at $5 per barrel" very confusing

(today a barrel is 159 liters, see units at the back). But even in those days,

overproduction was an issue to be avoided. When the “Empire well” was completed

in September 1861, it gave 3,000 barrels per day, flooding the market, and the price

of oil plummeted to 10 cents a barrel.

Soon, oil had replaced most other fuels for mobile use. The automobile industry

developed at the end of the 19th century, and quickly adopted the fuel. Gasoline

engines were essential for designing successful aircraft. Ships driven by oil could

move up to twice as fast as their coal fired counterparts, a vital military advantage.

Gas was burned off or left in the ground.

Despite attempts at gas transportation as far back as 1821, it was not until after the

World War II that welding techniques, pipe rolling, and metallurgical advances

allowed for the construction of reliable long distance pipelines, resulting in a natural

gas industry boom. At the same time the petrochemical industry with its new plastic

materials quickly increased production. Even now gas production is gaining market

share as LNG provides an economical way of transporting the gas from even the

remotest sites.

With oil prices of 50 dollars per barrel or more, even more difficult to access sources

become economically interesting. Such sources include tar sands in Venezuela and

Canada as well as oil shales. Synthetic diesel (syndiesel) from natural gas and

biological sources (biodiesel, ethanol) have also become commercially viable. These

sources may eventually more than triple the potential reserves of hydrocabon fuels.

PAGE 78

6 Units

Some common units used in the oil and gas industry. I have listed a representative

selection of US and metric units since both are used in different parts of the oil

industry. The non standard factors differ slightly between different sources.

API American Petroleum

Institute crude grade

API = (141.5 / Specific gravity ) + 131,5

Spec gravity = 141.5/(API + 131,5) kg/l

Bl Barrel (of oil) 1 Bl = 42 Gallons

1 Bl = 159 liters

1 Bl equiv. to 5487 scf = 147 scm gas

Bpd Barrel per day 1 Bpd  50 tons/tonnes per year

BTU British Thermal Unit 1 BTU = 0,293 Wh = 1,055 kJ

CO2 CO2 emissions from

hydrocarbons

Typical values

1,625 Ton CO2 per Ton gas (for CH4)

1,84 Ton CO2 per Ton Crude Oil

0,94 kg per scm gas

Cal Calorie 1 Cal = 4,187 J (Joules)

MMscf Million Standard Cubic

Feet

1 MMscf = 23.8 TOE  174 barrels

psi Pounds Per Square

Inch

1 psi = 6,9 kPa = 0,069 atm

Scf Standard Cubic Feet

(of gas) Defined by

energy not a normalized

volume

1 scf = 1000 BTU = 252 kcal

= 293 Wh = 1,055 MJ

 0.0268 scm

Scm Standard Cubic metre

(of gas, also Ncm)

Defined by energy

content

1 Scm = 39 MJ = 10.8 kWh

1 Scm  37,33 Scf (not a volume conv.)

1 Scm  1,122 kg

TOE Tons oil equivalent

Range 6.6 - 8 barrels at

API range 8 - 52

1 TOE = 1 kilograms = 1 Ton (metric) oil

1 TOE = 1 Tonne oil (US)

1 TOE  7,33 Barrels (at 33 API)

1 TOE  42,9 GJ =11,9 MWh

1 TOE  40,6 MMBTU

1 TOE  1,51 ton of coal

1 TOE  0,79 ton LNG

1 TOE  1125 Scm = 42000 Scf

kWh kiloWatthour

= 1000 Joules * 3600 S

1 kWh = 3,6 MJ = 860 kcal = 3413 BTU

PAGE 79

Product specific gravity, API grades

Product Liters Per Ton

(metric)

API

Grade

Specific

Gravity

(kg/m3)

Barrels per

Ton

At 60°F

LPG 1835 10 1000 6,29

Jet A-1 1254 18 934 6,73

Gasoline

premium/super

1353 25 904 6,98

Gasoline regular 1418 30 876 7,19

Kerosene 1273 33 860 7,33

Gas Oil 1177 36 845 7,46

Diesel Fuel 1159 39 830 7,60

Fuel oil 80 CST 1065 42 816 7,73

Fuel oil 180 CST 1050 50 780 8,06

Fuel oil 230 CST 1047

Fuel oil 280 CST 1044

Bitumen 979

PAGE 80

7 Acronyms

Acronym Description

AC Alternating Current

AGA American Gas Association

API American Petroleum Institute

CCR Central Control Room

CMS Condition Monitoring Systems

CSP Collector and Separation Platform

DC Direct Current

DYNPOS Dynamic positioning (of rigs and ships)

E&P Exploration and Production

EOR Enhanced Oil Recovery

ESD Emergency ShutDown system

ESP Electric Submerged Pump

F&G Fire & Gas System

FPSO Floating Production Storage and Offloading

GB(S) Gravity Base Structure

GOR Gas Oil Ratio from the well

GOSP Gas Oil Separation Plant

GTP Gas Treatment Platform

HP High Pressure

HPU Hydraulic Power Unit (topside utility for subsea)

HVAC Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning

IR Infra Red

ISO International Standards Organization

K-Mass Flow Coriolis type Mass Flow meter

LNG Liquid Natural Gas (e.g. Metane)

LP Low Pressure

LPG Liquified Petroleum Gas (e.g. Propane)

MCC Motor Control Centre

MTBF Mean Time Between Failure

NGL Natural Gas Liquids, Condensates see also LPG

PCP Progressive Cavity Pump

PD-Meter Positive Displacement meter

PGP Power Generation Platform

PID Proportional Integral Derivate control algorithm

PIMS Production Information Management System

PoC Pimp of controller (for articifial lift)

POSMOR Position mooring for a floating facility

PSD Process Shutdown System

ROV Remote Operated Vehicle (for subsea workover)

RTU Remote Terminal Unit

PAGE 81

SAS Safety and Automation System

SCADA Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

TIP Tie-In Platform

TLP Tension Leg Platform

UMS Unmanned Machinery Space classification (marine =

E0)

URF Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines

UV Ultra Violet

WHP Well Head Platform

PAGE 82

8 References

Web on line sources and references that has been used in compiling this document:

· Schlumberger oilfield glossary:

http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/default.cfm

· Norsk Hydro, Njord Main Process and Oil Process Description.

http://www.hydro.com/en/our_business/oil_energy/production/oil_gas_nor

way/njord.html

· Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

· Oklahoma State, Marginal Well Commission, Pumper’s Manual

http://www.marginalwells.com/MWC/pumper_manual.htm

· Natural Gas Supply Association. See Natural Gas - From Wellhead to

Burner Tip

http://www.naturalgas.org/index.asp

· US geological survey: http://www.usgs.gov/

· US departmen of energy: http://www.doe.gov/

· NORSOK standards, Standards Norway (SN),

http://www.standard.no/imaker.exe?id=244

· UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA)

http://www.oilandgas.org.uk/issues/storyofoil/index.htm

· National Biodiesel Board http://www.biodiesel.org/

· PBS – Public Broadcasting Service - Extreme Oil

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/extremeoil/index.html

· http://www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/history/pennsylvania/pennsylvania.html


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