Production Engineering

Field Development Concept

Course outcomes

At the end of the course the students should be able:

1.

Identify and understand the different types of

facility options used in oil and gas exploration
and production.

2.

To evaluate the types of facilities required for the

efficient and economic means of producing oil
and gas while meeting the appropriate regulatory
/ statutory requirements.

Contents
1. Types of platforms
a.
Fixed platforms
b.
Manned / Unmanned
c.
Mother / Satellite platforms
d.
Platforms for marginal fields development.
2. Facilities requirements
a.
Production facility
b.
Well testing facility
c.
Water handling facility
d.
Power generation
e.
Accommodation/Living quarters
f.
IOR/EOR Water injection / Gas injection
3. Floating facilities
a.
FPSO
b.
FSO
4. Underwater facilities
a.
Wellheads & protection jackets
5. Integrated development & production system
6. Energy consumption on offshore facilities

7. Q & A
3

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Fixed platforms

Definition:
A fixed platform is a structure that is used to support
production facilities and/or other equipment
(onshore/offshore) for a specified period of time. It
may be piled or tied up to the ground /seabed or
simply placed onsite due to its gravity.

A fixed platform may be removed when it has served

its purposes or left in-situ after specific make-safe
works been done.

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Onshore platforms

i. Cable tool drilling

Lubbock, Texas

ii. Rotary drilling

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_Rig20.pdf

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Onshore platforms

i) Pumpjack (nodding donkey)

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ii) Rotating

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1.

Types of platforms

a.

Fixed offshore platforms

i) A Steel platform

ii) A TLP

iii) A concrete gravity

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Fixed platforms (deepwater)

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Fixed platforms (deepwater)

Dry & Wet Trees

Spar
TLP

Wet Trees Only

SemiFPS

FPSO (Wet)

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Fixed platforms (deepwater)

TLP
FPSO with Subsea Wells
FPSO

Tanker

Subsea
Wells

10

1.

Types of platforms

a.

Challenges for deepwater fields.

11

1.
a.

Example of platforms for deepwater

Kikeh (1300 m).

Five primary contract

packages:

FPSO
DTU - Spar
Subsea Hardware
SURF
FTL

:
:
:
:
:

MISC / SBM
Technip
AkerKvaerner
Technip
SBM

12

1.

Example of platforms for deepwater

a.

Kikeh dry tree unit (DTU).

WATER DEPTH

1,300 m

25 RISER SLOT DTU

SPAR HULL

13,921 mt
32.3 m diamtre
142 m overall length
hard tank 67m long

WELLHEAD TOPSIDES

4,355 mt

MOORING SYSTEM

10 legs
driven pile anchors
chain / JSS / chain

TAD INTERFACE

4 x moorings, springers to Spar

RISER SYSTEMS
( SUPPLY ONLY )

Top tension risers

Phase 1 : 4/1/1 prod / drill / WI
Phase 2 : 4/1 prod / WI
Phase 3 (Opt) : 6/2 prod / WI

HANDOVER

10 November 2006

13

1. Types of platforms
b.

Manned / Unmanned

Definition:
A manned platform is usually occupied 24/7 by
operators/working personnel and therefore provides
accommodation / living quarters for them to stay in.
Unmanned platforms are those which did not provide
living quarters for its working personnel and workers
come and go on daily basis or on required basis only.

14

1. Types of platforms
c.

Mother / Satellite platforms

Definitions:
A mother platform is the main platform that provides
all the main facilities e.g. Production facilities, LQ,
Power Generation, Communication Tower, etc. to the
adjacent smaller platforms in a field that requires
more than one platforms to fully develop and
produced.
These smaller platforms only housed the wellheads
for the production wells and test separators for well
testing purposes are called the Satellite platforms.

15

1. Types of platforms
d.

Platforms for marginal fields.

Definition:
Marginal fields are fields whose reserves are small
and required minimum facilities for their development
in order for them to be commercially viable. They
cannot used the conventional mega facilities &
infrastructures because of the huge cost that makes
the development and production unprofitable.

16

1. Types of platforms
d.

Platforms for marginal fields.

Typical Platforms used are light-weight in nature,
easy to install and requires only a few wells to be
drilled and completed.
e.g. Tripod, Monopod and Wellhead Protection
Jackets.

17

2.

Facilities requirements

a.

Production facility consists of:

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.

Production manifolds.
Piping.
Separators.
Strainers / Scrubbers.
Heat Exchangers (Heaters / Coolers).
Control Valves.
Pumps.
Instrumentation & Control.
Water Treating facility.
Gas handling facility

18

2.

Facilities requirements

19

The offshore installation process

The offshore installation process

The offshore installation process

The offshore maintenance

2.

Facilities requirements

b.

Well testing facility

On each major platform there is also a well testing
facility normally called test separator. It is functioning
as a normal separator that separates water/oil/gas but
has metering systems to measure the amount of
water, oil, and gas individually. This test separator
can be selectively tied in to the producing well for
testing and monitoring its production performance.
Connection is done through the production manifolds.

24

2.

Facilities requirements

c.

Water treating facility

The effluent water (produced together with the
hydrocarbon) need to be removed as early as
possible when it comes to surface to avoid corrosion
and worst, reducing the capacity of the production
facility. The water, before it can be thrown out to sea
has to meet regulatory requirement normally between
15mg/l 50mg/l (even lower if onshore), depending
on specific location offshore.

25

2. Facilities requirements
c. Water treating facility
Method

Equipment type

Approx. Min. Drop Size

Removal

Gravity Separation

Skimmer Tank & Vessels

API Separator, Disposal Piles
Skim Piles

100 150 Microns

Plate Coalescence

Parallel Plate Interceptors

Corrugated Plate Interceptors
Cross-flow Separators
Mixed-flow Separators

30 50 Microns

Enhanced Coalescence

Precipitators, Filter / Coalesces

Free-Flow Turbulent Coalesces

10 15 Microns

Gas Flotation

Dissolved Gas, Hydraulic and

Mechanical Dispersed Gas

15 20 Microns

Enhanced Gravity Separation

Hydro cyclones, Centrifuges

5 15 Microns

Filtration

Multi-media Membrane

1+ Micron
26

2.

Facilities requirements

d.

Power generation
Electrical power generation is also a consideration for
offshore platforms. Electrical power is required for
lighting, to power fire water pumps, control systems
and many other equipment.

27

2.

Facilities requirements

d.

Power generation
All power on offshore installations is generated locally
by gas turbines or diesel engines with low efficiency
(often as low as 20 %-25 % during the best
conditions) and high greenhouse gas emissions as a
result.
eg. The energy requirement for a BP project in deepwater
Alaska, producing 220,000 b/d (FPSO), is between 80
100MW (Compression 44% and Water injection- 32%)

28

2.

Facilities requirements

d.

Power generation

29

2.

Facilities requirements

d.

Power generation

30

2.

Facilities requirements

d.

Power generation

31

2.

Facilities requirements

e.

Accommodation/Living Quarters
For offshore platforms LQs is one important
consideration in determining the facilities required for
efficient and safe operations of the oil/gas production
systems. Although there is an additional capital cost
to be incurred for LQs requirement, the resultant
operating costs (inclusive logistics) could be saved
depending on the distance and number of people to
man the platforms for safe and continuous operations
at any one time during the fields life.

32

2.

Facilities requirements

e.

Accommodation/Living Quarters
Typical LQ capacity for Malaysian offshore operations
are between 80 120 men LQs.
During peak activities e.g. during Drilling campaign
additional space may be required to house the
essential personnel. These may be provided by the
drilling rig contractor or by hiring an accommodation
barge etc.

33

2.

Facilities requirements

e. Accommodation/Living quarters

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34

2.

Facilities requirements

f.

IOR/EOR Water Injection / Gas Injection water

Injection facility consists of pumping and water
purifying and treatment units.
Gas Injection facility consists of gas
conditioning/treating and gas compression units.
Space must be provided on the platform when these
equipment are required.

35

3.

Floating facilities

a.

FPSO
(Floating processing, storage and offloading) is a ship
like vessel that is used to receive life crude oil (or
partly life) for further stabilization / separation, then
provide space for storage until a cargo ship comes to
receive the stabilized crude for export. FPSO has the
facility to pump and transfer (offload) the crude oil into
the cargo ship. An FPSO is usually anchored at a
safe distance from the platforms within a producing
field by SBM / SALM system.

36

3.

Floating facilities

a.

FPSO
(Floating processing, storage and

37

3.

Floating facilities

b.

FSO
(Floating storage and offloading) is also a ship like
vessel but only receives a stabilized crude oil that has
been processed at a platform. It functions entirely as
storage and off loading facility. It is also anchored
closed to the producing platforms (within an oil field)
by a SBM / SALM system.
All crude is transferred to the FPSO/ FSO from the
production platforms via a sub-sea pipeline.

38

3.

Mooring Systems

39

4.

Underwater facilities

a.

Wellheads & Protection Jackets

Sometimes it is uneconomical to have platforms
offshore to produce oil/gas at remote fields having
small reserves or reserves found in ultra-deep seas.
To exploit such a field individual well is drilled and
completed underwater. Special wellheads are used
for such wells and a protection jackets are used to
protect the wellheads form anchors dropped /dragged
from/by ships. The production are then hooked up to
an FPSO or the nearby platform via a sub-sea
pipeline. This type of facilities are common for deep
sea productions.

40

4.

Underwater facilities

a.

Wellheads & protection Jackets

41

4.

Underwater facilities

e.g. Kikeh (1300 m).

pigging loop

rigid jumper
HFL
(xtree to manifold)

pipelines

EFL
(xtree to manifold)

PRODUCTION
XTREE

PRODUCTION
MANIFOLD
EFL A
(SDU to SCM/xtree)
EFL B
(UTH to SDU)

SDU

EFL Tronic connectors

HFL
(UTH to SDU)

EFL B
(SDU to SCM/xtree)

HFL
(SDU to xtree)

EFL B
(UTH to SDU)

UTH

HFL connector
(cobraheads)

incoming umbilical

TYPICAL PRODUCTION CLUSTER

42

5.

Integrated development & production

system
This is a platform complex housing the required
facilities for the oil/gas production. The production
(wellheads), separations, compression, Pumping,
Power Generation, Flare boom and LQs may be
housed on a single platform (huge) or a few individual
smaller platforms but linked by bridges.

43

5.

Integrated Development & Production

System
The integrated components may be added-on later to
meet the field development requirements

44

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities
An offshore oil and gas facility provides excellent
opportunities of energy consumption studies
Not many studies have been carried out in the past
due to the lack of drive and commitment from the oil
and gas organisations
The general perception surrounding the energy
abundance of the E&P activities is partly responsible
for the lack of enthusiasm
Recent regulatory requirements have forced major oil
and gas companies to have a re-look at the energy
issues surrounding their E&P activities
45

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities

46

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities

47

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities

48

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities

49

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities
The current and anticipated future concerns with
regard to energy consumption, wastage and
efficiencies include:
Flaring
Venting
Power production
energy efficiencies
Energy consumption and wastage from the
production processes
50

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities
The energy balance of an offshore production facility
can be generally assumed as follows:

Alternative
energy??

Flaring/
venting

Diesel

Waste
heat/losses

Natural gas

Excess
supply

51

6.

Energy consumption on offshore

facilities
Solutions include:
Regulatory requirements:- CO2 taxation (Norway
introduced the worlds highest CO2 tax in 1994 @
approx. $20/barrel of oil)
New, low energy extraction and transportation
technology for E&P (gas consumption can contribute
to 83% of the emissions and flaring contributes
another 10%) ie. Electric wireline, horizontal drilling
Energy recovery from production and utility processes
ie. CHP, co-generation
Alternative energy options
Inter-platform power distribution

52

7.

Q&A

53