Abstract
This work involved developing a solution to handle 200,000 BWPD of produced water in the middle of the Yasuni National Park, which is an important and sensitive area as it has the greatest biodiversity per square meter on Earth.
The exploitation block is the third oil producer field in Ecuador with 58,000 BOPD and 200,000 BWPD and it is located more than 200 km away from the main production facilities. It is not economically feasible to transport this high volume of water, therefore, the water must be reinjected in disposal wells.
To enhance the water injection process, a horizontal pumping system (HPS) on a skid package including full instrumentation, valves, and piping was designed to have one piece of equipment for easy transportation and relocation. To perform the correct formation water disposal, a set of HPS was designed. Each HPS system can handle up to 17,000 BWPD with 2,700 psi in differential pressure.
The integrated proposed solution simplifies installation, operation, and maintenance, especially in remote locations. To handle the full amount of formation water, 20 HPS systems for the injection process were installed in two locations in the Block. All the systems are working together to reinject formation water in disposal wells.
The HPS on the skid package has added additional advantages:
Minimized onsite civil and mechanical construction: As the entire system is assembled in the shop, only the suction and discharge pipelines are connected in the field. Health, safety, and environmental (HSE) risks are also minimized.
Savings in river transportation: Up to 60% savings in transportation costs were achieved. In addition, the boat trip reduction avoided 320 t of CO2 emissions to the environment for the 20 HPS on skid package systems acquired.
Minimized footprint: The on-skid system avoided causing permanent damage to 1700 m2 in the field as all the traditional required civil constructions activities were avoided.
Easy installation and relocation: The designed system has a plug-and-play setup and can be relocated easily due to its flexible and mobile design.
Cost reduction: The HPS on skid system has reduced the cost by up to 30% compared with a traditional HPS system installed over a civil foundation in this remote field.
This work introduced a solution to manage considerable amounts of daily produced water in remote and environmentally sensitive locations by using the integrated plug-and-play HPS with a skid package.
