PNG 480Surface Production Engineering

3 credits · Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering · Penn State

Analysis and evaluation of surface production processes, fluid separation, storage, measurement, treating, custody transfer, transmission, disposal, corrosion, and other operations. P N G 480 Production Process Engineering (3) Surface production engineering involves the extraction of reservoir fluids, their treatment at the surface and movement to a commercial market via a common carrier. It is the primary objective of this course to provide the fundamentals of surface production operations and underlying operational principles and design criteria for equipment utilized in the surface handling of petroleum production fluids. Surface production facilities are described in detailed as systems in charge of the separation of the wellstream fluids into three single-phase components (oil, gas, water) and of their transport and processing into marketable products or their disposal in an environmentally acceptable manner. A detailed overview of hydrocarbon fluid behavior, analysis of hydrocarbon and water separation processes, analysis and design of surface transportation systems and flow assurance problems is provided along with a comprehensive look at the engineering aspects involved in surface production operations. Topics include purpose and description of onshore and offshore surface production facilities and the function of the equipment used in these processes, including wellheads and Christmas trees, gathering systems, production manifolds, field processing of crude oil, field processing of natural gas, phase separation of gas, oil and water, water-in-crude oil emulsification, heater-treaters and dehydration of crude oil, natural gas dehydration, stock tank batteries and transportation. Discussion includes oil and gas quality checks, oil and gas metering, typical contractual hydrocarbon sales specifications, and typical specifications for produced waters and other by-products. Hydrocarbon fluid behavior topics includes an overview of hydrocarbon thermodynamics, hydrocarbon PVT behavior, thermodynamics of liquid and vapor separation, and fluid behavior prediction models including modern cubic equations of state. In the context of surface facility design, a process simulation or compositional simulation is implemented to predict how the components the make up the well fluids react to changes in pressure and temperature as they are processed through the facility through a succession of phase changes where liquids flash to vapor or vapors condense into liquid. Equipment design topics comprise design of 2-phase and 3-phase vertical and horizontal separators, derivation of design equations, design of crude and condensate stabilization trains, design and operation of glycol dehydrator towers, and flow assurance topics such as hydrate, corrosion, and wax prevention. The ultimate purpose of surface equipment design is to recommend the most suitable and cost-effective equipment type and size that meets the specified service and system condition, contractual obligations, and industrial health and safety and environmental regulations.