PNG 482Production Engineering Laboratory
Measurement and analyses of the physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbon fluid systems in a production environment. P N G 482 Production Engineering Laboratory (1) The task of production engineers is to optimize the extraction, treatment and delivery rate of hydrocarbons. For this optimization to be realistic, quantitative values of some relevant parameters and properties that characterize the system should be known preferably by way of measurements. It is the primary objective of this laboratory course to give the student an understanding of the available measurement techniques; an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in carrying out the experiments as well as operating the apparatus and some practice in the art of technical report writing. The Production Engineering Laboratory has been designed to expose the student to the principles and procedures of production engineering for oil and gas analysis (physicochemical characterization and quality control) and the transport of fluids in pipes and conduits. The main objective is to familiarize students with the basic measurements that must be taken in production monitoring and control, as well as basic production engineering principles. It is also aimed to enhance the error analysis, critical evaluation and technical report writing skills of the student. Major pieces of equipment in this laboratory include: viscosimeters, oxygen bomb calorimeters, gas chromatograph, densitometers, centrifuges, dead weight testers, dew point testers, and a meter run setup. Laboratory experiences include, but are not limited to, the determination of density of clear organic substances and petroleum distillates that can be handled as liquids at test temperatures between 10 and 40 °C using digital density meters, the determination of the API gravity (or specific gravity) of crude oil, petroleum products normally handled as liquids (e.g. stabilized crude oil, stabilized gasoline, napthane, kerosene, gas oils, lubricating oils, and non-waxy fuel oils) and alcohols using hydrometer and pycnometer methods, the calibration of Bourdon type pressure gauges by means of a dead weight testers and constructing of calibration charts for gauges that are not adjustable, the determination of water and sediment in crude oils by means of the centrifuge procedure, the determination of the heat of combustion of organic substances ranging in volatility including oil samples with volatiles ranging from that of distillates to that of residuals, the measurement of viscosity of crude oil and liquid petroleum products by means of measuring the time for a volume of liquid to flow under gravity through a calibrated glass capillary viscosimeter, the determination of water vapor content of gases by measurement of the dew point temperature and the calculation there from of the water vapor content, and the determination of a gas flow rates in pipelines by means of orifice plates and axial full-flow turbine meters.