Abstract
Production fluid typically leaves a well in multiple phases, including: oil, gas, water, and solids. It is necessary to separate these components in order to recover the oil and gas, treat the water, dispose of sand, etc. In the past decade there has been a trend to move processing equipment to the seabed. As offshore production continues to be developed in deeper water, it is imperative to develop separator technology that will be designed for the hydrostatic forces and large amounts of produced water that is expected to occur over time.
This paper explores two novel subsea linear pipe designs that allow subsea processing to be accomplished more cost effectively than existing technologies. The process undertaken for designing the two novel subsea linear pipe separation technologies: (gas-liquid) and (gas-liquid-solids) is described. To validate the efficiency and effectiveness of these two systems, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and cost analysis have been performed for each separator to provide both a realistic view of the actual separation efficiency of the systems, as well as comparative cost efficiency to existing technology in use today. Separators utilizing the pipe classification can be made lighter and cheaper when compared to existing subsea separation modules. In addition, they can be fabricated out of standard pipe sizes, thus cutting costs due to high availability and ease of fabrication. These factors are made even more attractive when modularized for ease of installation and field expansion.
Applications of the process and design of these special separators are discussed along with their potential advantages in offshore deepwater seabed based developments. With continued research and testing, the gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solid linear pipe separator designs have the potential to reshape the subsea separation industry.