The best water separation and disposal location is at the wellhead, before it enters the pipeline or tie-back. Subsea tie-backs that transport water to the host platform are, therefore, inefficient. Performing water separation and disposal before fluids enter the tieback platform can significantly increase well life, the recoverable reserves and economics of the tie-back. Oilfield Innovations can provide the necessary conductor pressure and bending strength below the wellhead to perform downhole separation to, thus, improve your tie-back economics.
Water production and disposal costs are primary problems preventing development of marginal fields and decreasing profits or shorting the life of hydrocarbons fields that are economically viable.
Oilfield Innovations’ ribbed high pressure large diameter conductor-in-conductor arrangement, can provide double or triple walled downhole subsea separation for minimum production facilities and subsea wells.
Multiple independent walls provide the barriers necessary for creating a downhole high pressure vertical production separator that can knock out and dispose of water before it enters the tie-back pipeline.
Various subsea separation projects have been undertaken but, due to high cost, have only been applicable to large subsea developments.
Gravity separation causes heavier water to sink to the bottom of the separator where it can be pumped downhole.
Oilfield Innovations’ vertical separator can be installed within shallow geology where drilling is easier and double or triple walled high pressure large diameter conductor can be installed to, for example, a depth 330 feet (100m) to 660 feet (200m) below mud line.
The vertical separator can be hundreds of metres or feet in height, with a significant volume and residence time for gravity separation of water, which is taken from the bottom of the separator and pumped into a disposal annulus or well while hydrocarbons are taken from a shallower depth and exported to the tie-back pipeline.
Numerous examples of cutting disposal through annuli exist and conventional well architecture is capable of water disposal through an annulus provided the injection horizon is capable of accepting the volume of produced water.
Alternatively, Oilfield Innovations Magic Crossover can be used or a dedicated disposal well can be placed for injecting water below the production zone for re-pressurization of the reservoir in a pseudo water flood or water-sweep scenario.
A low cost vertical separator, insulated by the subterranean strata, forming part of a well architecture where water disposal and production through heat-exchanger-like casings passing through the separator to maintain hydrocarbon exports at near reservoir temperatures could provide a dramatic step-change in offshore development.
Oilfield Innovations’ Large Diameter High Pressure Conductor and Casing innovation provides the extremely simple and low cost innovation of ribbing that can provide the necessary barriers with sufficient pressure and bending capacity to be used for either subsea wells with wet production trees or dry trees on conventional or minimal facility jackets.
Conventional Subsea Productions Trees can be placed on top of an adapted conventional 18 3/4 inch wellhead casing hanger system engaged to a high pressure and bending capacity conductor system and vertical separator housing as shown above. The initial conductor housing provides the first downhole vertical separator wall with the secondary vertical separator wall driven into the conductor to create an effective wall thickness suitable for potential bending loads and pressures associated with the downhole separator.
Downhole Separation requires bending and pressure bearing capacity and space, which can be provided with Oilfield Innovations' patented large diameter high strength conductors below and/or above mud line in a platform jacket. Multiple wells can share the same conductor and act like heat exchanger tubes passing through the vertical separator to maintain the temperature of exported fluids. Read more in our large diameter conductor pages.
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