A comprehensive system for the separation and handling of sand from produced fluids was designed and installed in a Chevron facility in the Gulf of Mexico. This system involves two multicone desander systems, one on the water outlet and one on the oil outlet of an LP separator, to provide separation of sand from produced fluids. The separated solids are collected, dewatered, and transported to a unique, simple solids handling system designed for complete fluid containment and safe handling. The focus of this paper is to present the design of the separation and handling system, and discuss the various challenges encountered during and after commissioning. The topics covered include desander operation (pressure drop and separation), slurry discharge from the desander, dewatering of slurry, recycling of fluids, and transport of the collected solids from platform to shore.

Keywords:
hydrocyclone, operation, bin, sand separation, produced water discharge, concentration, pressure drop, drilling fluids and materials, water desander, flow rate
Subjects:
Drilling Fluids and Materials, Processing Systems and Design, Environment, Drilling fluid management & disposal, Separation and treating, Water use, produced water discharge and disposal
Copyright 2000, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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