Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TRAINING PROGRAM
MINISTRY OF OIL OF IRAQ
JUNIOR PRODUCTION ENGINEER
GAS PLANTS 1
Lecturer: Eng. Romano Bianco
BOOKLET N1
Code: IMG017-E-A0 Rev.: 02
date : 02/08/2004
Pages number: 89
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GENERAL INDEX
1 NATURAL GAS
BOOKLET N 1
BOOKLET N 1
BOOKLET N 1
BOOKLET N 1
5 TREATMENT LINE
BOOKLET N 2
BOOKLET N 2
BOOKLET N 2
BOOKLET N 2
9 LPG PLANT
BOOKLET N 2
10 PROPANE DEHYDRATION
BOOKLET N 2
11 COS TREATING
BOOKLET N 2
12 MERCAPTAN TREATING
BOOKLET N 2
13 SWEETENING
BOOKLET N 2
BOOKLET N 2
BOOKLET N 2
16 COMPRESSION UNITS
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
19 FLARE SYSTEM
BOOKLET N 3
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20 NITROGEN PRODUCTION
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
BOOKLET N 3
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BOOKLET INDEX
1 NATURAL GAS
1.1 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FEATURES OF GASEOUS
HYDROCARBONS
1.1.1 Characteristics of Natural Gas
1.1.2 Density and Specific Gravity.
1.1.3 Heating value and Wobbe Index
1.1.4 Specific Heat
1.1.5 Molecular Weight
5
5
6
12
14
18
18
22
27
27
30
32
33
34
34
34
37
38
45
48
48
50
50
53
59
62
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67
3.2 CONTROLS
3.2.1 Alarms and Shut-Down
3.2.2 Process value upsets
3.2.3 Fusible Plug Network-heat detection line
3.2.4 Emergency
3.2.5 Safety Valves
67
67
68
69
69
69
70
70
76
78
83
84
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1 NATURAL GAS
1.1 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FEATURES OF GASEOUS
HYDROCARBONS
Natural gas is a mixture of paraffin hydrocarbons composed of C and H,
mostly non condensable at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature.
The main component is methane (CH4). Other constituents normally
present are the following:
ETHANE
- C2H6 -
PROPANE
- C3H8
BUTANE
- C4H10
PENTANE
- C5H12
HEXANE
- C6H14
- CO2
NITROGEN
- N2
HYDROGEN SULPHIDE
- H2S
- He/Hg
Mol %
Mol %
NITROGEN
0.51
4.85
CARBON DIOXIDE
0.67
0.24
HYDROGEN SULPHIDE
METHANE
91.943.11
83.74
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ETHANE
1.26
5.68
PROPANE
0.37
3.47
I BUTANE
0.34
0.30
N BUTANE
traces
1.01
NEO-PENTANE
0.18
N PENTANE
0.110.16
0.18
I PENTANE
1.35
0.19
HEXANE
0.09
C7+
0.25
.
100.00
100.00
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Standard conditions
T = 15 C = 298,16 K
P = 1 Atm = 1.01325 bar
Or:
Normal conditions:
T = 0 C = 273,16 K
P = 1 Atm = 1.01325 bar
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(at fixed P )
(at fixed V )
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atmospheric pressure , i.e. 1.01325 bar, is 22,414 m3., that can be written
as defined above also 22,414 Nm3.
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Many other forms of the equations of state for real gases have been
developed to allow the calculation of the main parameters such as
pressure, volume and temperature along with the processes of the gas.
One of these has been developed by Van Der Waals on the basis of the
equation of the state of ideal gases, adding some correction factors, based
on the following concepts:
n =1
p + 2 (V b ) = RT
V
The constant values a and b vary according to the gaseous species and
are tied to critical data (critical temperature, critical pressure and critical
volume of the gas). The parameter a/V2 is related to the interactions that
exist between the gas molecules, whose action is summed to external
pressure, while the constant b represents the actual volume of the gas
molecule and must be subtracted from the total volume occupied by the gas
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in order to reach the volume of space actually available for the motion of
molecules.
Tc =
8a
Vc
;b =
; a = 3 pc V 2 c
27Rb
3
is
Critical pressure is the pressure limit value for the saturated liquid.
For H2O the critical pressure is 221.3 bar and the critical temperature is
374.1 C. At critical pressure or higher, the two phases liquid and vapour
cannot exist and there is only one phase, called supercritical phase.
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Hydrogen
Critical
Temperature
- 240 C
Critical Pressure
12.8
atm
atm
Oxygen
- 118 C
49
Carbon Dioxide
+ 31.04 C
72.85 atm
Water
+ 374.1C
218.13 atm
Since the Van der Waals equation is not easy to use in calculations, it is
better to use the general state equation of gas: P V = Z nRT. Where the
compressibility factor Z is an intensive dimensionless factor, experimentally
determined for every gas at the various pressures and temperatures. Z is
so defined:
Z=
VACTUAL
VIDEAL
mass
volume
i = 0
Pi T0 1
P0 Ti Z
at Pi
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Where:
C)
T0 = absolute temperature at normal conditions (273,16 K)
15 T0
=
0 T15
(from equation of ideal gases)
where:
15
[kg/Sm3]
[kg/Nm3 ]
T0
= 273,16 K T15
= 273,16 + 15 = 288,16 K
The Specific Gravity is the ratio of gas density to density of air at the
same conditions of pressure and temperature.
The ratio is:
GAS
AIR
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The heating value is the heat (kcal) produced during the complete
combustion of 1 kg of a substance; it is calculated by the reaction to the
combustion.
For example, 12 grams of Carbon (i.e. 1 mol) produces 96 Kcal, 1,000 g =
1 kg produce 96 1,000/12 = 8,000 kcal.
As far as gas is concerned, the heat of combustion is the heat released by
completely burning one Nm3 of gas. It is expressed in kcal/Nm3 @ 0C and
760 mmHg (or kcal/Sm3@ 15 C and 760 mmHg.
The complete burning reaction for pure Methane is
CH4 + 2O2
C O2 + 2H2O
The distinction between gross heating value and net heating value is
based on the assumption that, after burning, the first takes into account the
water as a liquid and represents the maximum heat available, while the
second considers that water remains in the vapor state (this is the most
common situation).
Thus, the difference between gross heating value and net heating value is
the vaporisation or condensation heat
combustion.
The heating values are experimentally determined using calorimeters.
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CH4
= 94,0 Mol%
C2H6
= 5,5 Mol %
N2
= 0,5 Mol %
The heating values of the components are known from table 1.1:
0,94
9.513 = 8.942,2
0,055 x 16.775 =
0,005 x
0 =
3
GHC (kcal/Nm ) =
0,94
922,6
8.573
0,0
9.864,8
= 8.058,6
0,055 x 15.356
844,6
0,005 x
0,0
NHC (kcal/Nm3)
= 8.903,3
DENSITY
3
273,16
= 9351,3 kcal/Sm3
288,16
273,16
= 8439,8 kcal/Sm3
288,16
SPECIFIC
Gross Heating
Net Heating
GRAVITY
Value
Value
kg / Nm
kg / Nm
(Air = 1)
kcal/ Nm
(0C760mmHg)
kcal/ Nm3
(0C-760mmHg)
METHANE
CH4
0,717127
0,55491
9513
8573
ETHANE
C2H6
1,352940
1,04690
16775
15356
PROPANE
C3H8
2,003500
1,55030
24110
22197
BUTANE
C4H10
2,677580
2,07190
31633
29213
PENTANE
C5H12
3,411800
2,64000
39900
36984
HYDROGEN
H2
0,089950
0,06960
3046
2576
0,96700
5989
5228
CARBON
1,249800
MONOXIDE
CO
CARBON
CO2
1,963200
1,51900
N2
1,250000
0,96720
DIOXIDE
NITROGEN
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The composition of some Italian natural gases is shown in table 1.2 and the
composition of gases from different countries is shown in table 1.2a.
COMPOSITION (Mol %)
FIELDS
Sergnano Cupello
Rubicone
Cortemaggiore
Methane
97.38
61.44
99.69
92.57
Ethane
1.00
4.86
0.06
4.82
Propane
0.33
2.53
0.03
1.30
Butane
0.13
0.86
0.01
0.59
Heavier hydrocarbons
0.07
0.50
0.02
0.30
Nitrogen
0.94
21.90
0.16
0.42
Carbon Dioxide
0.15
7.64
0.03
-0-
-0-
0.04
-0-
-0-
0.572
9084
0.781
7990
0.557
9024
0.605
9703
8184
7011
8125
9248
0.710
1.020
0.682
0.760
Compressibility factor Z
0.9979
0.9942
0.9980
0.9980
Hydrogen sulphide
CHARACTERISTICS
@ 15 C & 1.01325 bar
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Specific heat : is the heat needed to raise the temperature of the volume
1,008
CARBON
12,01
OXYGEN
15,99
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SULPHUR
32,06
96,0 Mol%
C2H6
2,1 Mol %
C3H8
1,5 Mol %
C4H10
0,4 Mol %
_____
100,0
0,96
x (12,01 + 4 x 1,008)
15,400
0,631
0,661
0,232
_____
16,924 kg/kmol
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Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen
Hydrogen sulphide
H2CO3
H2O
H2CO3
+
H +
HCO-3
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1.2.2.Nitrogen (N2)
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(0,7 bar)
2. Volatile substances @ 60 C
(28 85 %)
(> 90 %)
(< 190 C)
The content of heavy hydrocarbons in the natural gas H2S, CO2 are the key
factors for the definition and the design of proper treatment units.
1.3 SWEET GAS - ACID GAS - CONDENSATE GAS
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sometimes, very high molecular weight terms (crude oil), together with
minor amounts of some non hydrocarbons (CO2, N2, H2S etc.).
Formation water is almost always present in the reservoirs.
In the reservoir, the fluids can be present as a single phase gas (a gas
reservoir), single phase liquid (an under-saturated petroleum reservoir) or
two distinct phases (a petroleum reservoir with an overlaying gas cap).
The points along the line AC represent liquid at incipient vaporization i.e first
vapour bubble formed, and constitute the bubble point curve. (Fig. 1.1)
The points along the CB curve represent vapours at incipient condensation
i.e and constitute the dew point curve. (Fig. 1.1 )
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POINT C: maximum pressure at which both liquid and gaseous phase can
coexist; it identifies the CRICONDENBAR state.
The internal AB area of the curve represents the region of coexistence of
liquid and gaseous phase. The dotted curves inside this area connect points
of equal percentage of liquid phase.
By reducing pressure below the dew point value, there is initially an
increase of the liquid phase and subsequently a partial or total reevaporation of the phase itself. This phenomenon is known as retrograde
condensation and the reservoirs involved in this action are commonly
known as condensed reservoirs. The pressure reduction produced by the
gas distribution in these reservoirs, that are initially single phase gaseous,
causes a liquid phase to appear in the layer.
In the following table, the components of SWEET, ACID and CONDENSED
gas fluids are indicated. (Table 1.3)
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SWEET GAS
Methane
Ethane
Propane
Nitrogen
Helium
Water
Carbon dioxide
CH4
C2H6
C3H8
N2
He
H2O
CO2
ACID GAS
Methane
Ethane
Propane
Hydrogen
Carbon Oxide
Hydrogen sulphide
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Water
CH4
C2H6
C3H8
H2
CO
H2S
CO2
O
H2O
CONDENSED GAS
CH4
Methane
Ethane
C2H6
Propane
C3H8
Buthane
C4H10
Pentane
C5H12
Hexane
C6H14
Hepthane
C7H16
Ethylene
C2H4
Propylene
C3H6
Butylene
C4H8
Nitrogen
N2
Helium
He
Water
H2O
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1 LONG STRING
Sampling data
_______________
Interval:
3
Capacity: - m /day
m. -
Pressure 83 bar
Temp. - C
Bottle n. 3047A
Analysis Results
CENTESIMAL
COMPOSITION
CALCULATED
(gas
chromatography)
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC
Nitrogen
0.72
Compressibility Factor
0.9980
Carbon Dioxide
0.01
0.561
Hydrogen sulphide
0.1 ppm
Density kg/m3
0.687
Methane
98.99
Ethane
0.19
8997
37669
Propane
0.02
I-Buthane
0.02
8101
33918
N-Buthane
<0.005
Neo-Penthane
I-Penthane
0.01
N-Penthane
<0.005
Hexane
< 0.005
Hepthane
0.01
Octanes
0.03
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Remarkable levels of salty water (variable salinity from 12 gr. per litre
upwards) (see Fig. 1.2) can always be found under the form of interstice or
bottom water in oil fields.
Consequently, gas is always saturated with water.
Special wire-line measuring instruments (AMERADA) are used to determine
the temperature and the pressure at the different depths to which they are
lowered in the well.
1.4.1 Determination of the water content in natural gas
Gas with the constant presence of interstice water in the field is saturated
with water vapour at levels depending on the temperature and the pressure
of the place where it is found.
Saturated means that the amount of water vapour contained in the
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In any case, a liquid phase is very often present in a gas stream from a well,
the gaseous phase is therefore saturated.
The gas treatments are intended to lead the gas to under-saturated
conditions.
First of all, the liquid phase has to be removed, then the gas is sent to
drying systems (final treatment). A gas can also turn out to be undersaturated when it is heated, but in this case the water content remains the
same as before heating. So, when the gas returns to its previous
temperature, it is again in saturated condition (temporary treatment).
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Hydrates are crystallized, compact, porous and rather light mass, similar to
compressed snow. They are made of water, hydrocarbons, H2S and CO2.
Unlike ice, hydrates have an unusual characteristic: they form at a
temperature that is above water freezing point . For instance, they can form
at 20 C at particular pressures.
When they are exposed to air, they dissolve chugging and fizzing because
of the gas that is more or less slowly freed according to the surrounding
temperature. When they are lit in the air, they can slowly and completely
burn, until they leave a small residue of water. This does not represent the
quantity of water they actually contain, as part of the water content is lost
through evaporation. Hydrates form quite easily by simple contact of gas
and water and the formation is related to the conditions of temperature and
pressure, according to the law of equilibrium.
They can quite frequently form in lines that gather gas from the various
wells and transport it to the central treatment station where it undergoes
dehydration.
This formation of hydrates can partially or totally obstruct the lines, limiting
or hindering the transportation of gas
Hydrates can form only if the following conditions occur:
a)
b)
presence of hydrocarbons
c)
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Fig. 1.4 Pressure temperature diagram for a natural gas with a density of 0,7
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From the nature of hydrates and their formation it can be stated that, correct
gas treatment must be carried out so that such dangerous formations are
avoided.
heating;
inhibition.
dehydration;
sweetening.
The first gas treatments are temporary. Their aim is to prevent the
hydrates formation and theyre classified as follows:
-
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The elimination of free water in the gas is carried out through separators
that are installed at the well-head and at the entrance of the treatment
stations.
This treatment removes the liquid phase from the two-phases coming out of
the well head. The gaseous phase is saturated before the treatment and is
still saturated (at pressure and temperature conditions) leaving the
separator.
Gas undergoes a temperature decrease flowing within the pipe from well
head to the treatment station and expands (decreasing in pressure, caused
by head losses along the pipe and across valves and fittings). The
expansion causes a temperature loss (Joule-Thompson effect), since
another condensation of moisture takes place, so that the liquid phase can
be present at the inlet of the treatment station once again.
Gas heating
Inhibitors are liquid substances that prevent and also eliminate the
formation of hydrates. The inhibitors enter a solution with water, lowering its
freezing point thus shifting the equilibrium of hydrates towards lower
temperature values. The inhibitors which are generally used are:
- ethyl Alcohol;
- methanol;
- diethylene Glycol.
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Other chemical inhibitors are used in order to hinder, in case of sour gas,
the corrosion of the machinery located at the wellhead.
Both treatments are temporary, since they do not eliminate the problem, but
simply hand it over to the treatment stations, either for the elimination of
water vapour or the elimination of corrosive agents such as CO2 and/or H2S.
Final treatments
After temporary treatments, gas is delivered to the treatment plant and then
to users, according to the requested specifications.
The final treatments eliminating harmful elements from natural gas consists
in:
1. reducing water (dehydration);
2. reducing the content of superior hydrocarbons (adsorption);
3. reducing the content of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide
(sweetening).
The above-mentioned treatments are carried out by appropriate types of
plants according to the composition of natural gas. Moreover, the plants are
managed to meet the users specifications. The maximum concentration
allowed for the various undesirable components are indicated as follows:
(Table 2.1)
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HYDROGEN SULPHIDE
Content
= 2 ppm/Vol Max
CARBON DIOXIDE
Content
NITROGEN
Content
= 6 Mol%
GASOLINE
Max
The methods currently used for gas dehydration are the following:
1. Absorption through liquid substances (diethylene triethylene glycol).
2. Adsorption through solid substances (Molecular sieves, Alumina,
Silicagel).
The dehydrating agents used for ABSORPTION and ADSORPTION after
use, must be regenerated.
The main characteristics of these dehydrating agents are as follows:
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easy regeneration;
The absorption liquids have high boiling points. They are thermally stable
and do not loose efficiency with usage.
Dehydration with glycols occurs as follows:
The saturated gas is put in contact with glycol, which absorbs part of its
water content by absorption. The glycol that has absorbed the water
(exhaust or rich glycol) is heated to release by evaporation the absorbed
water (regeneration). The regenerated or lean glycol is then cooled and
sent back to the contactor.
Absorption is favoured by large contact surfaces. The liquid absorption is
widely used because, compared to other methods, has relatively low
installation and operation costs. The factors that influence the absorption
process are:
-
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For the same installation and the same gas with the same liquid flowrate,
dehydration is stronger if carried out with solutions characterised by high
concentration. An important parameter that governs the absorption of water
vapour is the contact temperature. Besides high concentrations of glycol,
also low working temperatures (15 C) have a positive influence on
dehydration. DEG and TEG are almost odourless and colourless liquids,
with high hygroscopicity . Their physical properties are indicated in Table
2.2.
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PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Formula
Molecular weight
Density:at 20/20 C
at 25/25 C
Boiling temperature, at 760 mm Hg
Decomposition temperature
(theoretical)
Freezing point
Dragging point
Specific viscosity : at 0C
at 25C
Specific heat: at 25 C
at 100 C
at 180 C
Evaporation heat at 760 mm Hg
Heat of solution in water :at 25C
at 30C
Flash point
Surface tension
Water vapour pressure at 20C
at 40C
Refraction index, at 25C
Gasoline solubility (*)
Na Cl solubility, at 20 C (*)
UNITS
DEG
Kg/l
Kg/l
C
C
C4 H10 03
106
1,1184
1,1160
245
164
C6 H14 04
150
1,1254
1,1220
287
206
-9
- 62
127
29
0,550
0,610
0,680
83,3
32,2
-6
56
155
34
0,540
0,615
0,695
99,5
C
C
Centipoise
Centipoise
(kcal/kg C)
(kcal/kg C)
(kcal/kg C)
(kcal/kg C)
(kcal/kg C)
(kcal/kg C)
C
dine/cm2
mm Hg
mm Hg
=
% in weight
% in NaC1
weight
135
44
0,00295
0,02250
1,446
0,040
6,2
TEG
50,6
154
45
0,00064
0,00490
1,434
0,045
5,5
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Figures 2.1 and 2.2 highlight the temperature in which glycol freezes, in
relation to its H2O content.
The regeneration temperature of DEG should not exceed 164 C to reach a
96% by weight concentration, as for higher concentration,
it would be
The advantages and disadvantages of DEG versus and TEG are listed
below:
D E G ADVANTAGES
-
very hygroscopic;
D E G DISADVANTAGES
-
T E G ADVANTAGES
-
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very hygroscopic;
T E G DISADVANTAGES
-
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temperature.
- High selectivity f
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ADSORPTION CAPACITY
It is the percentage of water content, when theres the saturation of the solid
material.
In Figure 2.3 it is evident that the adsorption capacity of Silica Gel is lower
than that of the Sovabead.
SPEED OF ADSORPTION
It is the speed in which vapour molecules are taken away from the gaseous
stage and condensed.
RANGE OF TEMPERATURE
TIME- WEEKS
The vapour fills up the pores of the adsorbent until the quantity/level of
condensed water per Kg of adsorbent (about 10 Kg. per 100 Kg of
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temperature through the bed under regeneration for the time required to
cool down all the system, i.e. adsorbent and vessel, to a temperature as
close as possible to that of the adsorbing phase. At the and of the
cooling phase, the bed is ready to be switched back on line.
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Part of water and gasoline vapours condenses to the liquid phase by the
effect of decreasing temperature and pressure (retrograde condensation) of
the gas stream flowing from the field to the gathering station. In this case,
the separation processes of gasoline and free water occur simultaneously in
separators. Nonetheless, the gas which leaves the separator is still
saturated with water and gasoline. In order to recover gasoline vapours and
steam, a degassing treatment is carried out. The operation can consist in
cooling the gas by a refrigerating plant, e.g. a refrigerant propane
compression unit, or by a turbo-expander where the cooling is due to the
work done during the pressure let-down through the machine or, to expand
it through a throttling valve so as to obtain cooling by the Joule-Thomson
effect.
Another way of recovering heavy component fractions is by adsorption on
solid bed. Solid bed units when applicable, have the advantage of being
easy to operate and also performing heavy fractions removal and
dehydration, at the same time.
This type of unit is based on proprietary adsorbing agent Sovabead, which
is a type of molecular sieve. The objective of the heavy fraction removal is
two-fold: one purpose is to treat the gas to meet the hydrocarbon
contractual dew-point and the other one is to recover saleable gasoline.
2.4 GAS SWEETENING
Natural gas can contain hydrogen sulphide (H2S). For example the natural
gas produced in the field of Trecate (Italy) contains 0,049 % of H2S by
weight. In the Russian fields of Kubiscev, Isciubai and Kinelneft the
percentage of H2S varies from 1 to 4,6. In the United States, and precisely
in the fields of Mc Kamie in Arkansas, gas is produced with a H2S
percentage volume of 6,80 %, whereas in France, in the large field of Le
Lacq, the gaseous hydrocarbons contain a H2S percentage by volume of
15%. The hydrogen sulphide is toxic and must be removed almost
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completely. The specification for the natural gas in the distribution pipelines
allows a maximum of 0,002 g./Nm3 as H2S. Another reason to carry out the
sweetening, is that H2S is:corrosive when dissolved in aqueous fluids on
some metals. For carbon steel, in a similar way as CO2, but at a lower level,
has a particular type of attack referred to as Sulphide Stress Cracking,
(SSC) which is very harmful due to its material collapsing effects and
consequent sudden loss of containment toward the envronment.
Gas sweetening by absorption in an aqueous solution of amines is a
commonly used method in natural gas treatments. The aqueous solutions
most commonly used are:
- Monoethanolamine (MEA)
- Diethanolamine (DEA)
- Methyl-Diethanol-Amine (MDEA)
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Property
Monoethanolamine
Molecular weight
Specific gravity. (at
20C) kg/dm3
Vapour pressure (at
37.8C) mmHg
Boiling Point in C
at 760 mm Hg
Vaporisation heat in
Kcal/kg
Freezing point at C
Solubility at 20 C in %
of weight
61,08
1,0179
1.05
0.058
0.0061
170
197.2
269
160
247
123.9
10,4
100
28
96,4
- 21,2
100
24,1
380
101
from 15 to 25
from 25 to 35
from 40 to 50
Absolute viscosity
At 20 C in cps
Solution concentration
usual range (wt %)
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To separate and measure gas, oil and water produced by each well
by means of a Test Separator
Part of the gas itself is often used as fuel gas for the heater and as
instrument gas.
Typical wellhead equipment arrangement is shown in Fig. 3.1.
Test Separator;
Heaters;
Choke valves
Gathering manifolds
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OKKIO
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3.1.1 Separators
Horizontal separators;
Vertical separators;
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Horizontal separators
Horizontal separators are those where the fluids travel inside the vessel,
mainly along a horizontal path, while the separation of each couple of
phases, e.g. liquid from gas or liquid hydrocarbons from water, takes place
by gravity, i.e. vertically, and thus, perpendicularly to the average direction
of the fluids.
Usually, the horizontal separators are selected when large flow rates of gas
have to be treated.
For example, a horizontal separator, as shown in Fig. 3.2 has a higher
treatment capacity than a same diameter vertical separator, due to the
longer runs that can be obtained for the fluids in a horizontal separator with
respect to a vertical separator.
The two-shell separator, (Figures 3.3 and 3.4) have the upper shell
dedicated to the gas/liquid separation and this ensures a high gas capacity.
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Vertical separators
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3.1.2 Heaters
Well-head heaters are usually indirect fire type, (see Fig. 3.7, 3.8)
Figure
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Glycol advantages
Glycol disadvantages
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Methanol advantages
Methanol disadvantages
Internal corrosion in carbon steel pipelines where wet and acidic gas-liquid
well head fluid are transported, is usually mitigated by injecting proper
corrosion inhibitors that can protect internal pipe walls in contact with liquid
as well as with a gas phase.
Anti-corrosion treatments include the use of surface active corrosion
inhibitors and the pH-stabilisation technique. Such technique is a corrosion
control method for wet gas pipelines based on the increase of the water
phase pH, forming a protective corrosion product layer. The liquid corrosion
inhibitor is designed for oil and gas.
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The liquid drains from the wellhead equipment system, are usually sent to a
closed drain system.
The gas discharge streams for the well, e.g. from the PSVs, are usually
sent to a flare system.
The flare system and the hydrocarbon liquid disposal systems can be
combined in a burn system and provided with a collecting basin. These
systems, called also burn pit, are provided with permanently lit pilot flame,
which ensures the proper operation in case of liquid and/or gas discharge.
3.2 CONTROLS
3.2.1 Alarms and Shut-Down
The wellhead manifolds are normally provided, with automatic systems that
ensure safe operation of the plant equipment.
The manifold will therefore be provided with actuated shut-down valves
which are activated in case of:
-
High pressure;
Low pressure;
Fire;
Emergency.
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Fire
The emergency event can activate the Emergency Shut-Down and the BDV
opening in automatic sequence, or the depressurisation can be on manual
activation only.
These valves must also be manually reset before re-starting.
The ESD interlocks are activated by specific instruments, either switches or,
most commonly nowadays, transmitters that detect process upsets and any
other abnormal conditions that require ESD.
-
ESDV at well-head .
- Low low liquid level in a separator to S/D the pump that receives liquid
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Fusible plug loops are pipe runs, made of metal tubing with a number of
melting plugs fitted on them or fusible plastic pipe, pressurized with air or
gas and installed on some equipment items where a fire is to be detected
and automatic actions taken.
The melting plugs can be specified for a certain temperature of intervention,
e.g. 85C, so that when one or more plugs melt at this temperature, the
consequent depressurisation of the loop will activate S/D actions and, also,
activate firefighting measures such as the opening of deluge valves to spray
water on the concerned machines or tanks to ensure cooling.
3.2.4 Emergency
To ensure that the design pressure is not exceeded, besides the S/D
instrumentation described earlier, equipment and lines are in general
protected by pressure safety relief valves (PSV). The PSV are considered
the primary overpressure protection of equipment and lines and design has
to provide them in almost all cases, assuming that all other ESD protecting
instrumentation do not exist or have failed.
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Only few exceptions are allowed to this design general criterion: one case is
when a so called HIPS (High Integrity Protecting System) is installed. The
HIPSs are subject to extremely severe design constraints as their reliability
must be proved not lower than that of a PSV system.
A particular type of PSV is referred to as Thermal-Safety-Valve (TSV) that
are installed to protect portion of lines or pieces of equipment which are full
of liquid phase and in case of full isolation, could be over-pressurised due to
the heating up to the ambient temperature, including the solar temperature.
After its initial wellhead treatment, the gas is flowing into the gathering
network up to the oil or gas plant
The gathering system should be designed taking into consideration the
following objectives:
-
ensure the
specifications.
-
The connections to the gas or oil plant can be built according to the
following possible configurations:
-
Individual connection;
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Individual connection
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The individual flow-lines from each well join a single header of proper size.
(Fig. 4.2)
ADVANTAGES: Restricted expenses on large production fields with a high
number of wells, where the treatment station is at a noticeable distance.
DISADVANTAGES: The entire network must be almost completed before
starting the exploitation.
-
The entire production can be polluted by one well (H2O H2S CO2).
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This is the typical offshore platform type of connection. The gas sources are
concentrated on a few multi-well platforms while the final platform is located
at the node of a star-like structure (Fig. 4.4).
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An Inlet Manifold, is the system of headers that receives all the flow lines
and pipelines from the production wells and, by means of a number of
automatic or manual valves, can distribute the incoming fluids between the
treating trains of the oil or gas plants.
As shown in Fig. 4.5 ,a series of automatic and manual valves are used to
feed a horizontal separator that, in most cases is a Slug Catcher type.
Moreover, various lines make it possible to maintain the slug-catcher
without stopping production, or to insert the PIG receiving barrel at the
cleaning stage of the lines.
The manifold is also equipped with high and low pressure switches or
transmitters that have the function of safeguarding the downstream plants
from operating
causes a shut down of the central process plant and, consequently, the
closure of the valves at the entrance of the plant and those at the outlet of
the central process plant.
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The first process unit where the well fluids enter downstream of the inlet
manifold is the slug-catcher. Usually, it is a double-shell type. This enables
the accumulation of large amounts of liquid, as can occur during the
pigging operation. The liquids can be heavy hydrocarbons (gasoline),
water, possibly with glycol. The liquid is flowing along the pipelines, but,
usually, at different velocities from gas phase depending on the line slope
and principally on the operating case and the turn-down capacity, so that
the liquid hold-up in the lines is variable.
At the outlet of the treating plant , the assessment of the product gas dew
point, that could be with regard to water or hydrocarbons is important to
confirm that the sales gas meets the specified requirements and, also, that
the treating plant has fulfilled its duty properly.
The measurement of the dew point temperature can be made using one of
the two portable instruments described below.
A small stream of gas is made flow through a cell (Fig. 4.6). This gas is
gradually cooled by an external refrigerating source (for example by the
expansion of liquid propane).
Through a pressure-resistant glass, it is possible to see in the cell some
droplets of condensed water due to the cooling. When the small droplets
appear, the gas temperature is read. This temperature is the dew point.
The isolation valve A is normally left open during the operation, whereas the
flow of the gas through the instrument is regulated via the valve D; Gas
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Gas Analyzer
The in-line Dew point analyser, differently from the previous portable ones
is a control system which is always in operation.
This instrument can record the dew point of various lines on a real time
basis.
The primary element is a condenser whose walls are one in pure
aluminium, the other in gold. Inside the above-mentioned walls a layer of
aluminium oxide is used as dielectric.
Since this dielectric is highly hydroscopic, higher or lower absorption of
water determines a variation of the capacity characteristics of the
condenser.
These
capacity
variations
are
recorded
and
transformed
by
the
the
Operation
As far as the operations to carry out on the inlet manifold are concerned, it
must be kept in mind that by-pass operations of the separator must be
carried out without stopping production.
In this case, it must be kept in mind, that, before operating the by-pass
valves and after having checked that the valves themselves are open, it is
possible to operate the isolation valves of the slug catcher .
If it does not function properly, it could cause a shut-down of the process
plant due to high pressure.
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When the slug catcher has to be put on-line, the first valve to be opened is
the inlet SOV, followed by the closing of the by-pass valve.
The controls to be carried out on the slug catcher are irrelevant to the
pressure and temperature of inlet gas and to the flow rate of the liquids
separated .
Moreover, concentration and salinity of these liquids has to be verified. Both
data are useful for the good operation of the glycol regenerators installed in
the plant. It has been observed that a high content of inlet water reduces
the final glycol concentration that can be achieved, whereas a high content
of salt causes greater deposits in the re-boiler making the capacity of
thermal exchange worse.
The treating plant is located at the end of the pipelines which have collected
the gas and condensate produced from the wells.
The typical gas treatments are as follows:
Structure
The centre has a specific design structure, starting from the layout that
should be, when possible, barycentric to the reservoir.
Inside the boundary fence that limits the area, the gas treatment units are
generally:
- gas dehydration
- gas sweetening
- gas compression processes
In addition, the gas plant includes the facilities for the regeneration of the
fluids used for the primary feed gas and auxiliaries facilities for disposing of
the waste fluids.
Furthermore, the flow rate of the product gas must be measured before
being delivered to the users and it must be checked to ensure its
compliance with the required specifications.
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In
general,
fiscal
metering
for
gases
uses
differential
pressure
The following table 4.1 lists advantages and disadvantages of each method
of measurement:
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Orifice Plate
2 inches to 40
inches
(there is no reliable
data for sizes >40
inches)
+/- 2%
Gas Turbine
Meter
2 inches to 12
inches
Ultrasonic Flowmeter
6 inches to 36
inches
+/- 1%
+/- 1%
3:1
10:1
>20:1
Expensive for
larger pipe
diameters,
especially with
orifice carrier
assemblies.
Require regular
calibration and
validation on site.
Expensive for
larger pipe
diameters.
Requires proving
with a master
meter.
Metering Standards
ISO 5167
ISO 9951/AGA 7
Acceptability to
Kazakh Regulations
ISO standard
ISO standard
Meter Sizes
Total Meter
Uncertainty
Basic Turn Down
ratio
Cost
Maintenance and
Calibration
All fiscal metering systems shall communicate with the main control
systems. All process and calculated values, status and alarms shall be
available for operator at the central control point(s) through communications
links to the control systems.
Flow stations are normally placed in locations taking into consideration the
following factors:
- Availability of space for straight length meter runs (for offshore
locations)
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metering systems. Generally, the flow stations and meter runs are
under the responsibility of the Seller. The Seller is responsible also for
the accuracy and punctuality of billing documents. The flow stations are
generally located on Sellers premises, just after the take off point of the
products sold, for ease of access to the Flow Stations.
- In case of custody transfer of products, there must be an agreement
OFFSHORE
Type
Location of
Measurement
Duty
Metering
Requirement
Technique
Well Test
Wellhead Island
Operational
Multi-phase
Purge Gas
Process Barge
Operational
Process Barge
Operational
Ultra-sonic
Utility Barge
Operational
Orifice
RGI Barge
Operational
Wellhead Island
Operational
Process/
Fuel Gas from Shore
Raw Gas Compressors
Discharge
Injection Gas to
Individual Injection
Well
Gas Export to Main
Processing Plant/
Shore
Orifice or
Process Barge
Allocation
Ultrasonic
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ONSHORE
Type
Location of
Measurement
Duty
Technique
Metering
Requirement
Onshore Process
Gas Export
Operational
Orifice or Ultrasonic
Facilities
Defined By The
Gas Sales
Fiscal
Orifice or Ultrasonic
Parties
LPG Sales/Tanker
LPG Export
Fiscal
Coriolis
Loading Facilities
Onshore Process
Total Flare Gas
Operational
Ultrasonic
Facilities
Onshore Process
Purge /Stripping Gas
Operational
Variable Area or Orifice
Facilities
Upstream of off-take
Fuel Gas from 3rd Party to Early
to Construction
Works Camp & Onshore Facilities
Camp
Fiscal
Orifice or Ultrasonic
Utilities/Process
Consumed Fuel Gas
Facilities
Operational
Orifice
Fuel Gas from Onshore Facilities to
Onshore Process
Offshore Facilities
Facilities
Operational
Orifice or Ultrasonic
Fuel Gas Generated Internally
Fuel Gas Skid
Operational
Orifice or Gas Turbine
Water Import
KTO Water pipeline
Fiscal
Turbine
Water Treatment
Processed and Disposed Water
Operational Orifice, Magnetic + Others
Facilities
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