A carbon dioxide (CO2) supply well was drilled and completed by Conoco Inc. in the Elsinore Field, Pecos County, Texas in September, 1983. The well was drilled to provide CO2 for the Ford Geraldine (Delaware Sand) Unit, Reeves and Culberson Counties, Texas. The well tested flowing 11.5 MMCFPD of saturated CO2 at a pressure above the critical.

The corrosive nature of the saturated CO2 at a pressure above the critical necessitated a careful study of pipelining and dehydration options. Ultimately, the CO2 would have to be dehydrated, since it would be moved to the Ford Geraldine Unit through an existing unprotected steel pipeline.

This paper details the design and operation of the Elsinore "73" No. 1 CO2 dehydration facility. Specific topics that will be discussed are pipelining and dehydration alternatives, molecular sieve (mol sieve) bed design, equipment and piping, metallurgy, fuel options, automation and startup.

Keywords:
heater, dehydration system, inlet separator, regeneration heater, operation, free water, mol sieve, pipeline, upstream oil & gas, stainless steel
Subjects:
Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring, Processing Systems and Design, Pipelines, Flowlines and Risers, Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Formation Evaluation & Management, Dehydration
Copyright 1984, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME
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