Production Technique-1

Eng. Ahmed Al-Shaikh.

Phone: +967-771919336
 Chapter 3

 Separation System

Year 2
Semester 3
Production and Field Measurements
What is this…?

Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh

What is this…?

Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh

Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Introduction

Oil and gas produced from wells are normally complex

mixtures of hundreds of different compounds.

A typical well stream is a turbulent mixture of oil, gas,

water, and sometimes solid particles.

The well stream should be processed as soon as possible

after bringing it to the surface.
Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Introduction

Field separation processes fall into two categories:

1) separation of oil, water, and gas;

2) dehydration that removes condensable water vapor

and other undesirable compounds, such as hydrogen
sulfide or carbon dioxide.

This chapter focuses on the principles of separation

and selection of required separators.

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 Separators

 A separator for petroleum production is a large

vessel designed to separate production fluids into

their constituent components:

 Gas.

 Oil.

 Water.

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 Separators

The fluids produced from oil wells are normally complex

mixtures of hundreds of different compounds.

A typical oil well stream is a high-velocity, turbulent,

constantly expanding mixture of gases and hydrocarbon
liquids, intimately mixed with water vapor, free water, and
sometimes solids.

The well stream should be processed as soon as

possible after bringing them to the surface. .
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 Separation System
Separators are also used in other locations such as upstream
and downstream of compressors, dehydration units, and gas-
‐ sweetening units.

At these locations, separators are referred to as:

• scrubbers,

• knockouts,

• free liquid knockouts.

All these vessels are used for the same purpose: to separate
free liquids from the gas stream. Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Various Names for Separators or Similar Vessels
An oil and gas separator vessel may be referred to in the following ways:

 Separator  Flash chamber (flash vessel

 Stage separator or flash trap)

 Trap  Expansion separator or

 Knockout vessel expansion vessel

 Knockout drum  Scrubber (gas scrubber),

 Knockout trap  Filter (gas filter).

 Water knockout, or liquid

knockout) Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Selection of Separators

Petroleum engineers normally do not perform detailed

designing of separators but carry out selection of
separators suitable for their operations from
manufacturers’ product catalogs.

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 Selection Factors

1. Characteristics of production stream to be treated

2. Floor space availability at the facility site,

3. Transportation,

4. Cost.

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Factors that cause separation

1. Density.

2. Time.

3. Area.

4. Turbulence.

5. Viscosity.

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 Separation Factor Effect of Factor

Difference in weight of fluids Separation is easier when weight

(Density) difference is greater.

Residence time in separator. Separation is better with more time in

the separator.

Coalescing surface area. Separation is better with more area.

Turbulence. Separation is better with the least amount

of liquid movement.

Viscosity of fluids. Fluids which have a lower viscosity are

easier to separate. Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh

 Two types based on the Fluid Flow

 2 phase separators (Oil+Water / Oil+Gas)

 3 phase separators(Oil+Water+Gas)

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Types of Separators on the Arrangement

 Three Types of Separators:

1. Horizontal separators

2. Vertical separators

3. Spherical separators

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Each type of separator has specific advantages and

limitations. Selection of separator type is based on several

factors including characteristics of production steam to be

treated, floor space availability at the facility site,

transportation, and cost.

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 Horizontal Separators

Horizontal Separators: are usually the first choice

because of their low costs. Horizontal separators are
almost widely used for:

 High-gor (gas-oil-ratio) well streams,

 Foaming well streams,

 liquid-from-liquid separation.

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 Horizontal Separators

Horizontal separators have much greater gas–liquid

interface because of a large, long, baffled gas-separation
section.

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 Horizontal Separators

Horizontal separators are further classified into two

categories:

1. Single tube

2. Double tube.

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 Horizontal Separators

Horizontal separators are easier to skid-mount and

service and require less piping for field connections.

Individual separators can be stacked easily into stage-

separation assemblies to minimize space requirements.

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 Horizontal Separators

Horizontal separators are usually the first choice because

of their low costs. They are almost widely used for:

• high gas–oil ratio well streams,

• foaming well streams,

• or liquid-‐from-‐liquid separation.

They have much greater gas–liquid interface because of a

large, long, baffled gas separation section.

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 Horizontal Separators

In horizontal separators, gas flows horizontally while

liquid droplets fall toward the liquid surface

The liquid-level control placement is more critical in a

horizontal separator than in a vertical separator because
of limited surge space.

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In horizontal separators, gas flows horizontally while
liquid droplets fall toward the liquid surface.

The moisture gas flows in the baffle surface and forms a

liquid film that is drained away to the liquid section of the
separator.

The baffles need to be longer than the distance of liquid

trajectory travel.
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 Horizontal Separators

 Mainly used in onshore fields because they occupy

large area.

 Can handle high flow rates.

 Easy to clean and maintain.

 Can handle foamy fluids,muds,slugs.

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Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Horizontal separators may vary in size from 10 or 12 in
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 Horizontal Double-tube Separator

A horizontal double-‐tube separator consists of two tube

sections.

The upper tube section is filled with baffles, gas flows

straight through and at higher velocities, and the
incoming free liquid is immediately drained away from the
upper tube section into the lower tube section.

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 Horizontal Double-tube Separator

Horizontal double tube separators have all the advantages

of normal horizontal single-‐tube separators, plus much
higher liquid capacities.

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A Typical Horizontal Double-tube Separator

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Horizontal Oil–Gas–Water Three-phase Separator

This type of separator is commonly used for well testing

and in instances where free water readily separates from
the oil or condensate

Three-phase separation can be accomplished in any type

of separator

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A Typical Horizontal Three-phase Separator

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 Vertical Separators

Vertical separators are often used to treat low to

intermediate gas–oil ratio well streams and streams with
relatively large slugs of liquid.

They handle greater slugs of liquid without carryover to

the gas outlet, and the action of the liquid level control
is not as critical.

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 Vertical Separators

Vertical separators occupy less floor space, (in offshore

platforms where space is limited)

Because of the large vertical distance between the liquid level

and the gas outlet, the chance for liquid to re-‐vaporize into

the gas phase is limited

Vertical separators are more costly to fabricate and ship in

skid-‐ mounted assemblies.

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Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Spherical Separators

• Spherical separators offer an inexpensive and compact

means of separation arrangement.

• Because of their compact configurations, this type of

separator has a very limited surge space and liquid

settling section.

• Also, the placement and action of the liquid-‐level control

in this type of separator is very critical.

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A typical spherical low-pressure separator

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Components of Separator

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Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Components of Separator

Separator has following main components :

1. Primary Separation Section

2. Baffles

3. Oil Settling Section

4. Mist Extractor

5. Water Drain Section

6. Oil,Water and Gas outlets.

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Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
 Primary Separation Section

 Present at the entry to the separator.

 Most of the separation takes place here, as oil

entering at high speed strikes here,and oil,gas

and water separate due to inertia.

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 Baffles

 Present between the oil and water settling section.

 Prevent backflow of fluids.

 Also separates particles with size between 140-300 microns.

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 Oil Settling Section

 Oil settles here, and gas, if present, separates

from the top of the oil layer.

 At the bottom of this section, oil outlet pipe is

present to extract separated oil and is sent to

transportation media.
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 Mist Extractor

 Present just before the gas outlet.

 Absorbs small oil molecules of size less than 140

microns.

 Categorised in 2 types:

 Mesh type

 Vein type

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 Gas Capacity
Souders– Brown Emperical Equation for calculating gas capacity of
oil/ gas separators:

And
Where:
A = total cross-‐sectional area of separator, ft2
v = superficial gas velocity based on total cross-‐sectional area A, ft/sec
q = gas flow rate at operating conditions, ft3/sec
ρL = density of liquid at operating conditions, lbm/ft3
ρg = density of gas at operating conditions, lbm/ft3
K = empirical factor Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
K Values Used for Selecting

Separators.

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Gas Capacity

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 Liquid Capacity

• Retention time of the liquid within the vessel determines liquid

capacity of a separator.

• Adequate separation requires sufficient time to obtain an

equilibrium condition between the liquid and gas phase at the
temperature and pressure of separation.

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 Liquid Capacity
• The liquid capacity of a separator relates to the retention time
through the settling volume:

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Example Problems

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Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Eng. Ahmed Alshaikh
Thank you 