WO2017100949A1 - Séparation d'eau et d'huile d'un flux de production - Google Patents

Séparation d'eau et d'huile d'un flux de production Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017100949A1
WO2017100949A1 PCT/CA2016/051509 CA2016051509W WO2017100949A1 WO 2017100949 A1 WO2017100949 A1 WO 2017100949A1 CA 2016051509 W CA2016051509 W CA 2016051509W WO 2017100949 A1 WO2017100949 A1 WO 2017100949A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
phase
oil
water
separator
production
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
Application number
PCT/CA2016/051509
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English (en)
Inventor
Kyle Greene
Todd Webb
Jeff SEIBERT
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Seair Inc
Original Assignee
Seair Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Seair Inc filed Critical Seair Inc
Priority to CA3008916A priority Critical patent/CA3008916A1/fr
Publication of WO2017100949A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017100949A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D17/00—Separation of liquids, not provided for elsewhere, e.g. by thermal diffusion
    • B01D17/02—Separation of non-miscible liquids
    • B01D17/0205—Separation of non-miscible liquids by gas bubbles or moving solids
    • 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
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D17/00—Separation of liquids, not provided for elsewhere, e.g. by thermal diffusion
    • B01D17/02—Separation of non-miscible liquids
    • B01D17/04—Breaking emulsions

Definitions

  • This relates to a method of enhancing the separation of oil and water from fluids produced from a hydrocarbon producing well by diffusing microbubbles into the production fluid.
  • Fluids that are produced from an underground formation containing hydrocarbons generally include multiple phases, such as water, crude oil, gaseous product, and sand or other solids.
  • phases such as water, crude oil, gaseous product, and sand or other solids.
  • Separation equipment may include separators that separate the physical phases, such as separating the liquid phases from the solids and/or the gaseous phase.
  • Other separators may separate liquid phases, such as separating water and oil.
  • a method of separating oil and water from a production stream comprising the steps of producing a production fluid from a hydrocarbon producing well, the production fluid comprising a gas phase, a water phase, an oil phase, and sand phase, passing the production fluid directly from the hydrocarbon producing well through a series of separators, the series of separators comprising at least one water/oil separator that separates at least the water phase and the oil phase, and injecting microbubbles into the production fluid upstream of or into the first water/oil separator relative to the hydrocarbon producing well.
  • the water/oil separator may further separate the gas phase, the sand phase, or the gas phase and the sand phase.
  • the microbubbles may be injected upstream of the first water/oil separator, directly into the water/oil separator, or upstream of the series of separators.
  • the microbubbles may be injected into a circulation loop of the water/oil separator.
  • the microbubbles may be injected by passing the entire stream of production fluid through a diffusion tower.
  • the entire stream of production fluid may be passed through the diffusion tower prior to passing through the first separator in the series of separators.
  • a method of separating oil and water from a production stream comprising the steps of receiving a production fluid directly from a hydrocarbon producing well, the production fluid comprising at least an oil phase and a water phase, passing all of the oil phase and the water phase of the production fluids through a separator for separating the water phase from the oil phase, the separator having an oil outlet and a water outlet, and injecting microbubbles into the production fluid upstream of the oil outlet and the water outlet.
  • the production fluid may further comprise sand, a gas phase, or sand and a gas phase.
  • the production fluid may be passed directly from the hydrocarbon producing well to the separator.
  • the production fluid may be passed directly from the hydrocarbon producing well to a series of phase separators, and the separator may be the first phase separator that separates the water phase from the oil phase.
  • the microbubbles may be injected upstream of the separator or directly into the separator.
  • the microbubbles may be injected into a circulation loop of the separator.
  • the microbubbles may be injected by passing the entire stream of production fluid through a diffusion tower.
  • the entire stream of production fluid may be passed through the diffusion tower prior to passing through the first separator in the series of separators.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a separator with a microbubble diffuser upstream.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a separator with a microbubble diffuser attached to a separator.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a separator with a microbubble diffuser within the separator.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a separator with additional preliminary separators prior to a microbubble diffuser upstream of the separator.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a separator with a microbubble diffuser upstream of additional preliminary separators and a separator.
  • FIG. 1 depicts a general layout of a wellhead 12 and separation equipment, generally indicated by reference numeral 14, which receives the fluids produced from wellhead.
  • the production fluids may be conventional production fluids, or may be produced in other circumstances, such as a water flood, polymer flood, etc.
  • the production fluids generally have various components, including a gas phase, which consist primarily of lighter hydrocarbons such as methane and may also be referred to as a vapour phase; a liquid phase, which consists primarily of a water phase and an oil phase; and a solid phase, which is granular and generally referred to as sand, although it may include solids other than silicates, such as rock particles, clay, etc. that may be present in the underground formation.
  • a gas phase which consist primarily of lighter hydrocarbons such as methane and may also be referred to as a vapour phase
  • a liquid phase which consists primarily of a water phase and an oil phase
  • a solid phase which is granular and generally
  • the sand is generally those solids that are carried by or suspended within the other liquid or gas phases as they are produced. After the production fluids exit wellhead 12, it is necessary to separate the various phases to isolate the oil phase for further processing. The other phases are also generally separated and used or disposed of as is known in the art. The downstream processing of the various components is well known in the art, and will not be described further.
  • separators that may be used at a wellsite. Examples may include a three phase separator, which is used to separate the gaseous phase, the liquid phase and the solid phase. Another type of separator is a sand knockout, which is used to remove sand from the production stream, with the liquid and gaseous phases continuing. Removing the sand is important, particularly in high pressure situations, as the sand acts as an abrasive and can erode equipment. Yet another separator is the water/oil separator, which separates the oil and water phases present in the liquid phase, such as a free water knockout tank.
  • the separation scheme and separators that are used will generally depend on the composition of the produced fluid, such as the relative proportion of each phase, and the way in which the production fluids will be transported, such as the fluids being stored in a production tank for future transport by a tanker truck, or transported by pipeline.
  • the presently described method was primarily designed for high pressure applications, however, it will be understood that it may be applied in a variety of other applications.
  • the presently described method relates to enhancing the initial separation of water and oil from the production stream by injecting microbubbles at the initial stage.
  • the microbubbles may be injected in various ways and the actual position of the separator may vary depending on the configuration of the wellhead separator equipment. Some examples are given below.
  • the microbubbles are injected upstream of, the first separator that is used to separate the water phase and the oil phase. It will be understood that this includes the scenario shown in FIG. 3, where the microbubble diffusion tower 18 is contained within the water/oil separator 16, as in this case the fluid flow is still passing through microbubble diffusion tower 18 prior to entering separator 16.
  • the first water/oil separator may be downstream of a three phase separator, a sand knockout tank, or other type of separator, or may be integrated within the separator.
  • the first separator where this occurs will be described herein as a water/oil separator. It should be kept in mind that, while the process may be discussed in terms of injecting the entire water and oil phases into the oil/water separator, there may be some ancillary, inherent removal of water or oil when separating the gas phase or the solid phase, as the gas phase may entrain water or oil droplets, and the sand may be wet with water or oil, as each phase is removed from a separator.
  • the water/oil separator is the first separator that is designed to separate water from oil, and has separate outlets for outputting the water phase and the oil phase from the separation vessel.
  • the fluid entering the water/oil separator will also likely include some sand, as it is difficult to fully remove the solid phase without more robust separation techniques. As such, even if water/oil separator is downstream of a sand separator (such as a three phase separator, sand knockout tank, etc.), there will likely still be some solids content in the fluid entering the water/oil separator.
  • FIG. 1 there is shown an example of a separation scheme in which there is a separator 16 downstream of a microbubble diffusion tower 18.
  • Diffusion tower 18 injects microbubbles of a gas into the stream of production fluids.
  • the gas is a gas that is non-reactive with the oil in the fluid stream, such as methane, nitrogen, or the like.
  • An example of a suitable diffusion tower for injecting the microbubbles includes the diffusion systems produced by Seair Inc. of Alberta, Canada. Some of these systems apply shear forces to the fluids when injecting microbubbles, which may help destabilize any oil/water emulsions, i.e. emulsions that may exist in a "rag layer" at the oil/water interface, and may also help separate any entrained or emulsified sand.
  • the system is used in situations where the oil content is between 30 - 70%, and preferably 40 - 60%, but may also used with production flows having an oil content of down to 2% or less, or up to 80% or more. Generally speaking, for higher concentrations of oil, more gas will be required, and the impact of the diffused gas is more noticeable.
  • Separator 16 is a water/oil separator that has a production fluid inlet 20, an oil outlet 22 and a water outlet 24. Separator 16 may vary and may be selected from among commercially available separators, or custom manufactured based on known design principles, that are known able to separate oil from water. A further example is shown in FIG. 2, where diffusion tower is connected in a circulation loop 26 of separator 16, which draws fluid out of separator 16, aerates the liquid using diffusion tower 18, and reintroduces the fluid into separator 16. Referring to FIG. 3, another example is shown, where diffusion tower 18 is positioned within separator 16.
  • separator 16 may require some modifications to be able to handle the gas that will be injected into the production fluid.
  • separator 16 may be provided with an additional gas outlet or vent (not shown), or may be designed to allow the gas to exit through one of the existing liquid outlets.
  • the method is accomplished by passing all of the oil phase and the water phase of the production fluids from wellhead 12 through separator 16 for separating the water phase from the oil phase, while injecting microbubbles into the production fluid upstream of oil outlet and water outlets 22 and 24.
  • the production fluid is passed directly from wellhead 12 to separator 16.
  • the production fluid is passed directly from wellhead 12 to a series of phase separators, with the microbubbles being injected upstream of the first phase separator that separates the water phase from the oil phase.
  • additional separator 28 may represent multiple separators in series or parallel, connected between wellhead 12 and water/oil separator 16.
  • diffusion tower 18 may also be used prior to additional separator 28.
  • the fluid flow may pass through diffusion tower 18 prior to entering a three phase separator at 28, which separates the gas, liquid, and sand phases, after which the fluid enters separator 16.
  • microbubbles have been commonly injected to treat or separate fluids in separation tanks, this is generally seen as a polishing step. Contrary to current industry practice, it has been found that the efficiency of the separation of oil and water in this initial separator can be enhanced by injecting microbubbles at the initial stage, where the gross separation occurs, and where other solids may also be present.
  • diffusion tower 18 By passing the fluid through diffusion tower 18, the shearing force and the microbubbles serve to break up these excursions and aid in separation of the oil and water. It has also been found that by passing fluid flows with high concentrations of oil through diffusion tower 18 prior to separation, the oil tends to collect, and the small remaining amounts of oil in the water is reduced relative to fluid flows with low concentrations of oil. As such, applying diffusion tower 18 to the fluid flow early in the separation process is more effective in separating the oil and water phases than if diffusion tower 18 is used later in the process.

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  • Geology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé de séparation d'huile et d'eau d'un flux de production, ayant les étapes consistant à produire un fluide de production à partir d'un puits de production d'hydrocarbures, le fluide de production ayant une phase gazeuse, une phase aqueuse, une phase huileuse et une phase sableuse, à faire passer le fluide de production directement depuis le puits de production d'hydrocarbures à travers une série de séparateurs, la série de séparateurs ayant au moins un séparateur eau/huile qui sépare au moins la phase aqueuse et la phase huileuse, et à injecter des microbulles dans la production en amont ou dans le premier séparateur eau/huile par rapport au puits de production d'hydrocarbures.
PCT/CA2016/051509 2015-12-17 2016-12-19 Séparation d'eau et d'huile d'un flux de production Ceased WO2017100949A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA3008916A CA3008916A1 (fr) 2015-12-17 2016-12-19 Separation d'eau et d'huile d'un flux de production

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201562268957P 2015-12-17 2015-12-17
US62/268,957 2015-12-17

Publications (1)

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WO2017100949A1 true WO2017100949A1 (fr) 2017-06-22

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Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120285892A1 (en) * 2011-05-10 2012-11-15 Process Group Pty. Ltd. Separation Process

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120285892A1 (en) * 2011-05-10 2012-11-15 Process Group Pty. Ltd. Separation Process

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