AU2007270185B2 - Method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream - Google Patents
Method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- AU2007270185B2 AU2007270185B2 AU2007270185A AU2007270185A AU2007270185B2 AU 2007270185 B2 AU2007270185 B2 AU 2007270185B2 AU 2007270185 A AU2007270185 A AU 2007270185A AU 2007270185 A AU2007270185 A AU 2007270185A AU 2007270185 B2 AU2007270185 B2 AU 2007270185B2
- Authority
- AU
- Australia
- Prior art keywords
- liquid
- multiphase
- separator
- gas
- conduit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Ceased
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 19
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 title claims description 12
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims description 65
- 238000004064 recycling Methods 0.000 claims description 12
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000010779 crude oil Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000013535 sea water Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- ZZUFCTLCJUWOSV-UHFFFAOYSA-N furosemide Chemical compound C1=C(Cl)C(S(=O)(=O)N)=CC(C(O)=O)=C1NCC1=CC=CO1 ZZUFCTLCJUWOSV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 28
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000007906 compression Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 4
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 3
- VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N methane Chemical compound C VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003628 erosive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003345 natural gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003134 recirculating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/34—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well
- E21B43/36—Underwater separating arrangements
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28C—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITHOUT CHEMICAL INTERACTION
- F28C3/00—Other direct-contact heat-exchange apparatus
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
- F28D1/00—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators
- F28D1/02—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators with heat-exchange conduits immersed in the body of fluid
- F28D1/0206—Heat exchangers immersed in a large body of liquid
- F28D1/022—Heat exchangers immersed in a large body of liquid for immersion in a natural body of water, e.g. marine radiators
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
- F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
- F28D21/00—Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
- F28D2021/0019—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for
- F28D2021/0059—Other heat exchangers for particular applications; Heat exchange systems not otherwise provided for for petrochemical plants
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
- Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
- Separation By Low-Temperature Treatments (AREA)
- Jet Pumps And Other Pumps (AREA)
Description
WO 2008/004881 PCT/N02007/000247 1 5 METHOD OF COOLING A MULTIPHASE WELL EFFLUENT STREAM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream. 10 Such a method is known from OTC paper 17399 "Subsea Gas Compression - Challenges and Solutions" presented by R.Fantoft at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, USA on 2-5 May 2005 and from International patent 15 applications W030/033870, W003/035335 and WO 2005/026497. The method known from W02005/026497 comprises: - transferring the multiphase well effluent mixture via a multiphase well effluent flowline to a gas liquid separator in which the multiphase well effluent 20 mixture is separated into substantially gaseous and liquid fractions; - transferring the substantially liquid fraction into a liquid flowline in which a liquid pump is arranged; - transferring the substantially gaseous fraction into 25 a gas flowline in which a gas compressor is arranged; - protecting the gas compressor against surge by recirculating a recycled gas stream via a gas recycling conduit through the gas compressor in response to detection of the onset of surge at low 30 inlet flowrate to the compressor. It is desirable to cool the gas prior to compression for reasons of maximizing capacity for a given installed compression power.
2 It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of cooling a multiphase well effluent mixture. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a self-controlling subsea system for cooling a multiphase well stream from a subsea production well where a multiphase conduit is led into a separator for separating gas and liquid, and where a liquid recycling conduit extends from the separator, and where the system furthermore includes a sea water cooled heat exchanger, wherein the liquid recycling conduit extends directly io into the heat exchanger and further directly into the multiphase conduit upstream of the separator, such that the system exclusively includes static equipment. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream, the method comprising: - separating the multiphase well effluent stream into gas enriched and liquid is enriched fractions in a gas liquid separator, - leading the liquid enriched fraction directly to a heat exchanger; - cooling the liquid enriched fraction in the heat exchanger; - leading the liquid enriched fraction from the heat exchanger directly into the multiphase well stream; 20 - injecting the cooled liquid enriched fraction into the well effluent stream at a location upstream of the gas liquid separator. The gas liquid separator and heat exchanger may be immersed in (sea)water and the heat exchanger may be cooled by the surrounding (sea)water. 25 The driving force for the liquid circulation may be provided by the static head between the liquid level in the separator and the injection point. Particular advantages of the method according to the invention are that any gas carry-under to the liquid stream or liquid carry-over to the gas stream are immaterial, hence no level control is needed. The 30 system may therefore consist entirely of static equipment (i.e. requires no pump, no power, no instrumentation and no controls) and is therefore extremely robust, solids tolerant and of low cost.
2a Optionally, the multiphase well effluent stream is transported from one or more gas and/or crude oil WO 2008/004881 PCT/N02007/000247 3 production wells to the gas liquid separator via a multiphase well effluent transportation conduit and the cooled liquid enriched fraction may be reinjected into the multiphase well effluent transportation conduit by means of 5 a jet pump, where the multiphase effluent will be the motive fluid. This will cause a minor drop in pressure of the multiphase effluent. The gas liquid separator may be a hybrid cyclonic and 10 gravity separator comprising 'a substantially vertically orientated tubular separation vessel with a liquid outlet near the bottom of the vessel and a gas outlet near the top of the vessel and a substantially tangential multiphase fluid inlet which. is connected to the multiphase well 15 effluent -transportation conduit. These and other features, embodiments and advantages of the method according to the invention are described in the accompanying claims, abstract and the following detailed 20 description of preferred embodiments in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.1 depicts a schematic view of assembly for use in the 25 method according to the invention; and FIG.2 depicts a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the assembly of FIG.l. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE 30 INVENTION FIG.1 depicts a subsea natural gas and/or crude oil production well 1 from which the produced multiphase well effluent stream G+L is transported to a gas liquid WO 2008/004881 PCT/N02007/000247 4 separator 2 via a multiphase well effluent transportation conduit 3, which may be located close to the sea bed 4. The gas liquid separator 2 comprises a gravity type 5 separation vessel in which a liquid fraction L accumulates at the bottom of the vessel and is discharged into a liquid recycling conduit 5 in which a heat exchanger 6 is arranged in which the recycled liquid is cooled and which recycling conduit discharges recycled cold liquid Lcld into the 10 multiphase well effluent transportation conduit 3, which recycled cold liquid Lcoid cools the entire multiphase well effluent stream, including the gaseous fraction, thereby generating a cooled multiphase well effluent stream G+Lcooied that is' discharged via an upper outlet 7 of the gas liquid 15 separator 2. FIG.2 depicts a preferred embodiment of a gas liquid separator for use in the method according to the invention, wherein the separator comprises a substantially vertically 20 oriented separating vessel 22 into which a multiphase well effluent mixture G+L is fed via a tangential inlet conduit 20 from a multiphase well effluent transportation conduit 23, which is connected to a subsea gas and/or crude oil production well 21. The tangential inlet conduit 20 ensures 25 bulk gas/liquid separation. In the separator vessel 22 a liquid fraction L accumulates at the bottom of the vessel and is discharged into a liquid recycling conduit 25 in which a heat exchanger 26 is 30 arranged in which the recycled liquid is cooled and which recycling conduit discharges recycled cold liquid Lcold into the multiphase well effluent transportation conduit 23, which recycled cold liquid Lcola cools the entire multiphase WO 2008/004881 PCT/N02007/000247 5 well effluent stream, including the gaseous fraction, thereby generating a cooled multiphase well effluent stream (G+L)oold that is discharged via an upper outlet 27 of the gas liquid separator 22. 5 The cold recycled liquid Lcold is injected into the conduit 23 through a jet pump 28, which induces the multiphase well effluent stream G+L to suck the recycled cold liquid Lcld into the conduit 23, without requiring a recycling pump and 10 such that the recycled cold liquid Laoia is intimately mixed with the multiphase well effluent stream G+L and effectively cools said stream. An advantage of recycling cold liquid into the conduit 23 15 over arranging a seawater cooled heat exchanger in the conduit 23 itself is that the heat exchanger 6,26 in -the liquid recycling conduit is a liquid-liquid heat exchanger, which may be about ten times smaller than a gas-liquid heat exchanger that would be required to cool the potentially 20 predominantly gaseous well effluent stream G+L flowing through the well effluent transportation conduit 3,23. An additional advantage is that the multiphase well effluent may contain solids that could risk significant erosion over time on the heat exchanger if it was arranged in conduit 25 23. This risk is substantially reduced as the velocity in the cooler 26 is fairly low and it can be arranged such that most of the solids directly leave the separator 20 through conduit 27 rather than be recycled into conduit 25. It may be desired to cool the multiphase well effluent 30 stream if the stream is separated and/or compressed at a location downstream of the heat exchanger 2,22. The flow capacity for given compression suction and discharge pressures will be higher if the temperature of the WO 2008/004881 PCT/N02007/000247 6 compressed gas is lower. Therefore the method according to the invention is suitable for cooling a multiphase well effluent stream in an efficient manner at a subsea location, with a compact liquid-liquid heat exchanger 6,26 5 and without requiring additional subsea pumping and/or flow regulating means.
Claims (9)
1. A self-controlling subsea system for cooling a multiphase well stream from a subsea production well where a multiphase conduit is led into a separator for separating gas and liquid, and where a liquid recycling conduit extends from the 5 separator, and where the system furthermore includes a sea water cooled heat exchanger, wherein the liquid recycling conduit extends directly into the heat exchanger and further directly into the multiphase conduit upstream of the separator, such that the system exclusively includes static equipment. 10
2. The self-controlling subsea system as defined in claim 1, further including a jet pump, allowing the multiphase well flow to suck liquid from the separator, placed inside the multiphase conduit.
3. The self-controlling subsea system as defined in claim I or 2, further 15 comprising that the separator includes a vertically orientated tubular separation vessel with a liquid outlet near the bottom of the vessel and a gas outlet near the top of the vessel, said vessel being supplied with the multiphase well stream through a substantially tangential multiphase fluid inlet from the multiphase conduit. 20
4. A self-controlling subsea system as defined in claim 1 and substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. I or 2.
5. A method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream, the method comprising: 25 - separating the multiphase well effluent stream into gas enriched and liquid enriched fractions in a gas liquid separator, - leading the liquid enriched fraction directly to a heat exchanger, - cooling the liquid enriched fraction in the heat exchanger, - leading the liquid enriched fraction from the heat exchanger directly 30 into the multiphase well stream, - injecting the cooled liquid enriched fraction into the well effluent stream at a location upstream of the gas liquid separator. 8
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the gas liquid separator and heat exchanger are immersed in water and the heat exchanger is cooled by the surrounding water. 5
7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the multiphase well effluent stream is transported from one or more gas and/or crude oil production wells to the gas liquid separator via a multiphase well effluent transportation conduit and the cooled liquid enriched fraction is reinjected into the multiphase well effluent transportation conduit by means of a jet pump. 10
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the gas liquid separator is a hybrid cyclonic and gravity separator comprising a substantially vertically orientated tubular separation vessel with a liquid outlet near the bottom of the vessel and a gas outlet near the top of the vessel and a substantially tangential multiphase fluid inlet which is is connected to the multiphase well effluent transportation conduit.
9. A method of cooling a multiphase well stream as defined in claim 5 and substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 1 or 2. Dated 29 October, 2010 20 Norsk Hydro Produksjon A.S. Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V. Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON & FERGUSON
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO20063165 | 2006-07-07 | ||
| NO20063165A NO325979B1 (en) | 2006-07-07 | 2006-07-07 | System and method for dressing a multiphase source stream |
| PCT/NO2007/000247 WO2008004881A1 (en) | 2006-07-07 | 2007-07-02 | Method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| AU2007270185A1 AU2007270185A1 (en) | 2008-01-10 |
| AU2007270185B2 true AU2007270185B2 (en) | 2010-12-02 |
Family
ID=38894777
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AU2007270185A Ceased AU2007270185B2 (en) | 2006-07-07 | 2007-07-02 | Method of cooling a multiphase well effluent stream |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US20100006291A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2007270185B2 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2454126B (en) |
| NO (1) | NO325979B1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2008004881A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO330761B1 (en) * | 2007-06-01 | 2011-07-04 | Fmc Kongsberg Subsea As | Underwater dressing unit and method for underwater dressing |
| NO328277B1 (en) * | 2008-04-21 | 2010-01-18 | Statoil Asa | Gas Compression System |
| US9127897B2 (en) | 2010-12-30 | 2015-09-08 | Kellogg Brown & Root Llc | Submersed heat exchanger |
| US9464764B2 (en) * | 2012-06-04 | 2016-10-11 | Elwha Llc | Direct cooling of clathrate flowing in a pipeline system |
| US9822932B2 (en) | 2012-06-04 | 2017-11-21 | Elwha Llc | Chilled clathrate transportation system |
| NO335391B1 (en) * | 2012-06-14 | 2014-12-08 | Aker Subsea As | Use of well stream heat exchanger for flow protection |
| NO337623B1 (en) * | 2013-03-26 | 2016-05-09 | Fmc Kongsberg Subsea As | Separation system that uses heat in compression |
| WO2014197567A1 (en) * | 2013-06-06 | 2014-12-11 | Shell Oil Company | Subsea production cooler |
| US10578128B2 (en) | 2014-09-18 | 2020-03-03 | General Electric Company | Fluid processing system |
| US10801482B2 (en) * | 2014-12-08 | 2020-10-13 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Multiphase production boost method and system |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5398762A (en) * | 1991-02-08 | 1995-03-21 | Kvaerner Rosenberg A.S. Kvaerner Kvaerner Subsea Contracting | Compressor system in a subsea station for transporting a well stream |
| NO974447L (en) * | 1997-09-26 | 1999-03-29 | Kvaerner Eng | Procedure for the production of a well and plant for the production of a well |
| WO2005026497A1 (en) * | 2003-09-12 | 2005-03-24 | Kværner Oilfield Products A.S. | Subsea compression system and method |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3384169A (en) * | 1966-05-17 | 1968-05-21 | Mobil Oil Corp | Underwater low temperature separation unit |
| NO172555C (en) * | 1989-01-06 | 1993-08-04 | Kvaerner Subsea Contracting As | UNDERWATER STATION FOR TREATMENT AND TRANSPORTATION OF A BROWN STREAM |
| FR2720498B1 (en) * | 1994-05-27 | 1996-08-09 | Schlumberger Services Petrol | Multiphase flowmeter. |
| US6007306A (en) * | 1994-09-14 | 1999-12-28 | Institute Francais Du Petrole | Multiphase pumping system with feedback loop |
| NZ567255A (en) * | 2005-10-24 | 2011-05-27 | Shell Int Research | Coupling a conduit to a conductor inside the conduit so they have opposite current flow, giving zero potential at the conduit outer surface |
| NO325930B1 (en) * | 2006-07-07 | 2008-08-18 | Shell Int Research | Process for processing and separating a multi-phase well flow mixture |
| NO326079B1 (en) * | 2006-07-07 | 2008-09-15 | Shell Int Research | Process for treating and separating a multi-phase well flow mixture. |
-
2006
- 2006-07-07 NO NO20063165A patent/NO325979B1/en unknown
-
2007
- 2007-07-02 AU AU2007270185A patent/AU2007270185B2/en not_active Ceased
- 2007-07-02 WO PCT/NO2007/000247 patent/WO2008004881A1/en active Application Filing
- 2007-07-02 US US12/307,713 patent/US20100006291A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2007-07-02 GB GB0902045A patent/GB2454126B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5398762A (en) * | 1991-02-08 | 1995-03-21 | Kvaerner Rosenberg A.S. Kvaerner Kvaerner Subsea Contracting | Compressor system in a subsea station for transporting a well stream |
| NO974447L (en) * | 1997-09-26 | 1999-03-29 | Kvaerner Eng | Procedure for the production of a well and plant for the production of a well |
| WO2005026497A1 (en) * | 2003-09-12 | 2005-03-24 | Kværner Oilfield Products A.S. | Subsea compression system and method |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO2008004881A1 (en) | 2008-01-10 |
| NO325979B1 (en) | 2008-08-25 |
| GB0902045D0 (en) | 2009-03-18 |
| GB2454126B (en) | 2011-04-20 |
| GB2454126A (en) | 2009-04-29 |
| NO20063165L (en) | 2008-01-08 |
| AU2007270185A1 (en) | 2008-01-10 |
| US20100006291A1 (en) | 2010-01-14 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FGA | Letters patent sealed or granted (standard patent) | ||
| MK14 | Patent ceased section 143(a) (annual fees not paid) or expired |