: Introduction to Offshore Petroleum Production System

Feb. 7, 2012
Yutaek Seo

Course Syllabus
Outcome
: To develop broad understanding of fluid properties that determine
the design parameters
: To describe in detail a number of different system in terms of
advantages and drawbacks of each facility.

Assessment
Attendance (10%)
Continuous assessment Assignments (30%)
Term project Modeling with provided software (30%)
Examination- End-of-Semester examination (30%)

Recommended reading
Primary Subsea Engineering Handbook
Secondary Fields data, Design notes, Reports, etc.

Period
1 Week
2 Week
3 Week
4 Week
5 Week
6 Week
7 Week
8 Week
9 Week
10 Week
11 Week
12 Week
13 Week

Contents
General introduction, outline, goals, and definition
Type of reservoir fluids
: Dry gas / Wet gas / Gas condensate / Volatile oil / Black oil
PVT laboratory testing
: Constant mass expansion / Differential vaporization / Compositional analysis /
: Oil densities and viscosity / SARA, Asphaltenes, WAT
Fluid sampling
: Bottom hole samples / Drill stem test samples
Thermodynamics and phase behavior
: Ideal gas / Peng-Robinson (PR) / Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK)
: Peneloux liquid density correction / Mixtures / Properties calculated from EoS + molecular data
Piping systems and process pressure vessels
: System design / construction
Production
: Gas production / Oil production / Enhanced oil recovery
The well components
: Christmas tree / surface wellhead
Subsea structures
: Subsea control systems / umbilical / flowlines
Flow regime
: Horizontal and vertical flow / Stratified flow / Annular flow / Dispersed bubble flow / Slug flow
Flowline pressure drop
: Frictional losses / Elevation losses / Acceleration losses / Errors in P calculation / Pipe wall roughness
Liquid hold up
: Cause / Prediction / Field & experimental data / Three phase flow
Field operation
: Operational procedures for offshore petroleum production

14 Week

Application Example: Offshore platform (Pluto fields)

15 Week

Application Example: Floating production system (Ichthys fields)

16 Week

Final Test

Energy Market Status

Global LNG market

LNG production was 210 million tone in 2010 and will grow moderately
Two major issues Shale gas and Fukushima disaster
Asian LNG demand will grow to 190 million tone in 2020, Fukushima
disaster may result in 9 to 18 mtpa of additional LNG demand by 2020
- The choice of Japan makes in generating electricity will result in differences of
5 mtpa for future LNG demand
- Chinese gas supply to 2030 will be composed of several different options:
Conventional (22 bcf/d), Shale gas (1.5 bcf/day), Pipeline (12 bcf/d), LNG (50 million ton)

Australian LNG production capacity is set to increase from 19.5 mpta

in 2010 to 38.8 mtpa from 2014.

15 mtpa
4.3 mtpa

Offshore system growth

WA Offshore Gas Fields

Prelude,
Ichthys,
Browse
Pluto,
Gorgon,
Wheatstone

CSIRO.

From Petroleum in Western Australia, April 2011

North West Shelf

Timor Sea

Status of Offshore Market

The Offshore Production System

Field Development The Building Blocks

Reservoir Considerations
Hydrocarbon Production Processing
Subsea Production Options
Health, Safety, and Environment

Reservoir Considerations
Reservoir fluids have a huge number of components
Fluid Type

C1 mole%

API gravity

Character

Black oil

< 60

30-45

Majority of subsea oil reservoirs

Volatile oil

60 -70

45-70

2-phase region; high gas content

Gas
condensate

70 80

70-100

Gas at reservoir conditions.

Retrograde behaviour yields light oil

Dry gas

90 -100

NA

Low MW hydrocarbon mixture

Their phase behaviour is complex compared to single components

Instead of a single curve separating liquid from vapour phase, there is a
broad region where both vapour and liquid exist together
The tow-phase region is bounded on one side by the dew point curve and
on the other side by the bubble point curve
PVT analysis and fluid sampling will provide key information for system
design basis

 PVT laboratory testing

Fluid sampling

- Phase behavior as a function

of T & P
- Composition
- Physical properties: viscosity
& density
- Solid analysis: hydrate, wax,
Asphaltenes, scale

- Obtaining a representative
sample from a deepwater
reservoir is the basis for
characterization of reservoir
fluids; and a big challenge.
- Downhole fluid sampling
- Drill stem test

Fluid Phase Behaviour

Gas-condensate system

Thermodynamics Equation of State (EoS)

Ideal gas law

RT
P=
V
- Molecules have zero volume
- No attraction between molecules
Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK)

RT
a (T )
P=

V b V (V + b)
Peng-Robinson (PR)

RT
a(T )
P=

V b V (V + b) + b(V b)

Hydrocarbon Production Processing

Separation

Separation & Conditioning Facilities

- Land based
- Platform based
- Floating
Production
Flowlines
Chemicals
Distribution

Oil &
Gas

Riser
Rigid or Flexible
Comingled Flow
Manifold

100m ~ 100km

Water

Subsea Production Options

Subsea Production Options

Sales Terminal
Floating Storage
Export

Shuttle Tanker

Export

Process Facility
Floating
Options

Storage

Process Facility

Riser Flexible

Riser Fixed/Rigid

Bottom
Founded
Options

Pipelines & Manifolds

Interfield Gathering Line

Single Phase Pumps

Subsea Separation

Production Manifold

Flowline

Modular Template

Single

Cluster

Wellhead

Subsea well

Multiphase Pumps

Typical Field Layout

This is what we are dealing with!!

Norsk Hydro - Ormen Lange

Two manifolds (natural gas: 700~2500 million ft3/day)

Primary elements

Trees and Wellheads

Manifolds
Flowlines and Risers
Control systems
Umbilicals
Topside facilities
-

Master control station with operator interface

Electrical power unit for power conditioning & monitoring
Hydraulic power unit for pressure generation, fluid storage
Topside umbilical junction boxes
Chemical injection skid

Construction vessels
Divers and ROVs
Intervention systems

Onshore vs Offshore trees

Onshore Trees..

Offshore Trees.. can you see??

Xmas Tree
Primary production and safety device for a well
Essentially consists of a number of valves to regulate flow and
isolate the tree from the well, and monitor the production fluids

Manifold/Template
A template is a seabed
founded structure that provides
a guide for other equipment
A manifold is a system of
piping and associated
equipment used to gather
produced fluids. Associated
equipments may include
: Isolation valves
: Flowline connectors
: Xmas tree connectors
: Flow control chokes
: Umbilical termination and distribution

Manifold/Template for Ormen Lange

PLEM/PLET
PLEM (Pipeline End Manifold)
: Used to comingle 2 or more pipelines together and eliminate
the need for additional risers

PLET (Pipeline End Termination)

: Used to link manifold to the production pipeline

Flowline
Transport reservoir fluid to processing facilities
Pipelines
: horizontal transfer from wellhead
: these may be very long
: may be rigid or flexible pipe
: commonly called flowlines

Riser
Vertical transfer to above surface processing facilities
Either Rigid or Flexible
Rigid risers normally for fixed platforms
: pre-installed inside jacket frame
: cost effective and added riser protection
Flexible risers mainly for floating production system
: Flexibility and reliability
: Easy and rapid installation

Multiphase flow
Multiphase flow patterns depend on the gas and liquid
properties and velocities and the angle of inclination of the
flowline
There are four basic flow regimes:

 Under most pipe flow conditions, the liquid moves more slowly
than the gas because it is more dense and viscous.
Both phases would move through the pipe at the same velocity
if there were no slip between the gas and liquid.
Liquid holdup is the volume fraction of the pipe that is liquid.
Because of slip, this fraction is generally higher than the fraction
of liquid entering the pipe.
The flowline pressure gradient consists of three elements:
- Friction
- Elevation changes (can be + or-)
- Fluid acceleration (can be + or -)

Operating production system

Its a lot easier to picture what is happening in onshore system
But, understanding what is happening in offshore system
requires experience and inferences
Challenges
: Hydrates
: Corrosion
: Wax
: Asphaltenes
: Scale
: Sand (erosion, deposition etc.)
: Other issues e.g. emulsion, heavy oil..

Typical subsea developments

Crude oil subsea tieback
Crude oil field
Wells tied back to existing
platform 10km away
Water depth 150m
20,000 bbl/d
2 * 6 flowlines
Water injection required into
reservoir
Fluid composition
: Gas Oil Ratio 1000scf/bbl
: water cut 20%
: Temperature 35~70 oC
: Pressure 30~80 bar
: Rates 7000~20000 bbl/d

Gas tieback to LNG plant

Gas condensate field
Wells tied back to an LNG plant
150km away
Water depth 1200m
1000 MMscfd
10~30 flowline
Continuous MEG or MeOH
injection required at subsea chokes
Fluid composition
: Condensate gas ratio 5bbl/MMscf
: Water gas ratio 1bbl/MMscf
: Temperature 3~130 oC
: Pressure 75~300 bar
: Rates 500~1000 MMscfd

Operation challenges
Crude oil subsea tieback
Steady-state operation
: System operated at capacity
: Wellhead chokes fully open
Shutdown
: Followed by flowline depressurization
: Keep fluid hot to avoid wax & hydrate
Restart
: Hot oil circulation is required to warm
enough flowline to prevent hydrates
Pigging
: may require routine pigging if wax
deposition is an issue

Gas tieback to LNG plant

Steady-state operation
: Gas offtake at required rate
: Subsea choking to maintain pressure
Shutdown
: Followed by MEG injection, but
maintain pressure and flowline content
Restart
: May be accompanied by very low
temperature downstream of choke
Pigging
: Hopefully is not a routine procedure
: Rigorous modelling to control speed

Chemical injection
Crude oil subsea tieback
Gas tieback to LNG plant
Scale, wax, & corrosion inhibitors may Continuous MEG injection can result
require continuous injection
in a large complex processing system
that may induce operation troubles
Monitoring of chemical injection
system performance is important both MEG needs to be regenerated and
for effectiveness of chemical treatment reclaimed to remove salts
and cost management
Introduction of new chemical products
should only follow lab testing to verify
compatibility

Case Studies

Woodside Pluto project

100% Woodside-owned gas field
Discovered in early 2005 at North West Shelf (NWS) area
190km from the Burrup Peninsula
Water depth ranging from 400 to 1000m
Potential resource 4.1 trillion ft3 gas and small amount of condensate (42mmbl)
Potential revenue boost by AUD 5.5 billion and Job creation of more than 4500

Woodside Pluto project (contd)

Criteria

Key characteristics

Hydrocarbon resource size

Approximately 116 000 Mm3 (4.1tcf) recoverable dry gas

Approximately 6.7Mm3 (42mmbbl) recoverable condensate

Proposed number of wells

Up to 7 wells in 2008
Up to 12 wells in total

Subsea infrastructure

Two manifolds with dual flowlines, 32km

Offshore platform

Unmanned riser platform located in 80~85m water depth

Offshore gas trunkline

A 762~1068 mm (30~42) carbon steel trunkline

A 188km length offshore trunkline from platform through
Mermaid Sound.

Onshore gas trunkline

Trunkline from landfall to processing plant at Burrurp

Peninsula

Onshore gas processing plant

Up to 12 Mtpa

Gas storage and export

facilities

2 * 160 000m3 LNG cryogenic tanks

2-3 condensate tanks with a combined capacity of up to
130000m3

First gas

End 2010

Design life

Up to 30 years

Woodside Pluto project (contd)

Development concept
- Subsea wells tied back, Gas and condensate export pipeline
- Onshore LNG gas treatment plant, LNG, LPG and condensate storage tanks
- Turning basin and shipping channel, Export jetty
- Operational for 20-30 years

Onshore LNG plant

(4.8 million ton per year)

Gas and condensate to an

onshore LNG plant via 35
export line
Subsea wells tied back to
an offshore platform via
2*18 flowline

Remote Production System

Avoid!!
2700~2900 m
water depth

120km long tie-back

Emerging issues

Four major changes

1993
Deepwater = 600 m
: 3 companies, few wells
Hydrate/Wax apprehension
Problem magnitude unknown
: Wax or Hydrate ?
: Time scale unknown
Only steady state simulation
: Transient was uncertain

2003
Deepwater > 2000 m
: Many companies & wells
Hydrate/Wax avoidance
Problem identified
: Hydrate > Wax > Napthenates
: Hydrate (min/hr) vs Wax (wks/mths)
Steady state & Transient simulation

Flowline/Riser/Service line Design

Reservoir fluid characteristics dominate design
: Pressure drop and cooling causes separation
- multiphase regime causes irregular flow and vibration
- slugging occurs as velocity decays
: Hydrate may form as P and T changes
: Waxes may precipitate on cooling
: Corrosion may occur as water condenses
: Sand may cause plugging
: Pigging may be required

Emergence of Flow Assurance as an Engineering discipline

Flow Assurance

Subsea Design Phases

1. Concept Selection/Feasibility
Compare various flowline routes
Pipe size and insulation requirements
Topsides requirements

2. FEED
Determine most viable flowline route & flowline design
Chemicals requirements & umbilical design
Operability & topsides requirements

3. Detailed Design
Flowline design meets life time functional requirements
Chemicals requirements & umbilical design
Operability and topsides design for production & export

4. Operations
Operator training
Adjust operating procedures according to reality

Fluid Related Issues

200

150

Pressure

Wax / Asphaltenes

Emulsion / Foam

Hydrates

Multiphase composition

100

Multiphase
region

50

0
0

100

Sand / Erosion

200

300

Temperature

Gas Hydrates

Corrosion

Scale (salts)

Design Related Issues

Pipeline sizing

pressure loss vs slugging

Design of Chemical
Injection Systems

to minimize risk of hydrates,

scale, corrosion etc.

Thermal Insulation
Design

to keep fluids warm and minimize

risk of hydrates and wax

Choke design

to minimize pressure loss

and erosion

Erosion analysis

Erosion wear in complex geometries

Flow assurance is
to take precautions to
Ensure Deliverability
and Operability

Flow Assurance
: Interface with Reservoir Evaluation and Topsides Design
Production profiles; FWHP, FWHT, WI rates
Reservoir depth, temperature, and pressure
Required topside arrival pressure (separator pressure + ~50
psi) and temperature
Separator and slug catcher capacities
Capacities and pressure ratings of
: Export pumps and compressors
: Gas lift compressors
: Chemicals pumps
: Hydraulic fluid pumps

Topside piping/equipment temperature ratings

Topside storage capacities for oil, diesel, chemicals and water

Determine Line Size

Most offshore pipelines are sized by use of three design criteria
: Available pressure drop, allowable velocities, and slugging
Line sizes calculated by use of the steady state simulators
The maximum allowable pressure drop is constrained by its
required outlet pressure and available inlet pressure

Wellbore production: oil 10,000 bpd

FWHP = 2900 psi

Required arrival pressure = 500 psi

Key Flow Assurance issues - Hydrate

Hydrate
: An ice-like solid that forms when
i) Sufficient water is present
ii) Hydrate former is present (i.e. C1, C2, and C3)
iii)Right combination of Pressure and Temperature

Control strategy
: maintaining

temperature above hydrate

formation conditions, by e.g. utilizing DEH
: Decreasing the pressure outside the area
of possible hydrate formation
: Chemical addition or removing the water
: Continuous injection of MEG is state of
the art for hydrate inhibition of long distance
subsea to beach gas-condensate field
developments

CSIRO.

Key Flow Assurance Issues - Wax

Wax
: A solid paraffinic hydrocarbon which precipitate from a produced fluid
: Forms when the fluid temperature drops below the Wax Appearance
Temperature (WAT)
: Melts at elevated temperature (20oF above the WAT)

Control strategy
: Rate of deposition can be predicted to calculate pigging frequency
: Flowline insulation
Wax deposition
: Wax inhibitor
: Major factors
- WAT
- Fluid temperature
- Flowline U-value
- n-paraffin content

CSIRO.

Key Flow Assurance Issues - Slugging

Slugging
: Periods of low flow followed by periods of high flow (liquid bomb)
: Occurs in multiphase flowlines at low gas velocities
: Causes
- Low fluid velocity
- Seabed bathymetry
- Riser type

Control strategy
: Increase flowrate
(playing with topside valve)
: Slug catcher
: Gas lift / Gas recirculation

CSIRO.

Key Flow Assurance Issues - Corrosion

Corrosion
: Metal loss caused be corrosive water
: Fe = Fe++ + 2e: Variables
- Material
- H2S and CO2 level in fluids
- Water composition

Control strategy
: Alter chemical environment
- Oxygen scavengers
- Sulfide scavengers
: Alter reactive surface of metal
- Corrosion inhibitors
- Polymeric liners to flowlines

Key Flow Assurance issues

Asphaltenes
: The heavy polar aromatic fraction
: Resulting blockage and formation damage
: The main causes are
- A decrease in the system pressure
- Mixing of incompatible crude oils
: Require asphaltene inhibitor injection

Scales
: The carbonates or sulphates of calcium, strontium and barium
: FeCaCO3, CaCO3 scaling issues in the MEG system
: Require scale inhibitor injection

After de-scaling
in separator

CSIRO.

Contact: Yutaek Seo

Phone: 042 350 1521
Email: Yutaek.Seo@kaist.ac.kr

Thank you