Innovation to Reduce Operation Downtime in Sulfate Removal Offshore Applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Cuenca ◽  
Àngels Tejero ◽  
Supriyo Das ◽  
Daniel Brooke-Peig ◽  
Philip Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Operation Time ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Pilot Testing ◽  
The North ◽  
Sulfate Removal ◽  
Injection Water ◽  
Quality Water

Abstract Sulfate removal in injection water is standard practice to prevent scaling and souring in subsea oil reservoirs. Nanofiltration membranes have been used to this purpose since 1987, when FilmTec™ SR90-400 elements were installed in an offshore platform in the North Sea. The most pressing concern in this type of systems is membrane fouling, with the associated reduction in effective plant operation time and shorten element lifespan caused by the standard Clean-in-Place (CIP) protocols. The object of this research has been to test the latest developments in biofouling-resistant sulfate removal membranes to achieve oil and gas (O&G) industry requirements. Improved chemistry and improved module engineering have enabled the production of new membrane elements that represent the next-generation in sulfate removal nanofiltration. Next-generation sulfate removal membranes have been trial-tested. In pilot testing, target performance was validated in terms of productivity, permeate quality and fouling resistance. The results of this testing indicate that improvements in membrane chemistry and module engineering have resulted in a 63% decrease in pressure drop and a much slower fouling trend over the total of 6 elements. This significant improvement should allow an important reduction in the number of cleanings, which the authors have estimated to be of 50%. Moreover, sulfate rejection values are in the range of 99.9% (below 1 ppm of sulfate in the permeate), providing great injection- quality water. Full-scale testing in a production site in the Atlantic Ocean was done to validate pilot testing results, showing a continued operation of 100 days without any need for a clean-in-place (CIP) procedure. The results obtained in the extensive testing carried out on these new antifouling elements, show that the improvements implemented in its design have the ability to improve the operation of Sulfate Removal Units (SRU). These improvements are the results of reducing maintenance costs and downtime on offshore platforms, resulting in increased operation and improved productivity.

Benthic monitoring of oil and gas offshore platforms in the North Sea using environmental DNA metabarcoding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Mauffrey ◽  
Tristan Cordier ◽  
Laure Apothéloz‐Perret‐Gentil ◽  
Kristina Cermakova ◽  
Thomas Merzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
The North ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
The North Sea

Summary and conclusions: environmental effects of North Sea oil and gas developments

1987 ◽  
Vol 316 (1181) ◽  
pp. 669-677 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

This Royal Society Discussion Meeting has examined the total environmental impact of a whole industry in a single geographical area. Land-based developments related to the exploitation of the North Sea oilfields and their social consequences have been substantial, although neither the worst fears nor the best hopes have been realized. An accommodation has been reached with the fishing industry in the affected area. Offshore platforms are a source of chronic pollution from production water, but in recent years there has been a marked increase in the use of oil-based drilling muds and it is estimated that 20 Mt per year of petroleum hydrocarbons are added to the sea in oil-contaminated drill cuttings. The effect of these additions has been studied in the laboratory, in mesocosms and in field surveys which, together, yield a consistent picture. Within a radius of a few hundred metres of a platform there is impoverishment of the benthic fauna. Close to the platform the production of anoxic conditions through smothering and the activity of sulphide-producing bacteria is probably more significant than the toxic effect of the oil-based muds. Outside this immediate zone of impact, the oil results in organic enrichment and enhanced populations of some of the fauna. The total area affected is, in the context of the North Sea, minuscule. There is no evidence that plankton is materially affected and the success of commercial fisheries dependent upon the plankton crop is more influenced by fishery practices than by any other factor. Seabird populations, about which there was formerly much concern, have not so far been affected by oil pollution in the North Sea. There is wide fluctuation in recruitment success, but populations of species thought most vulnerable to oil pollution are generally increasing. Although marine pollution research has yielded valuable insights into the responses of individuals, populations and communities to perturbation, natural as well as man-made, it is not likely that future problems associated with oil extraction from the sea will be as stimulating to fundamental research. Different problems relating to environmental pollution should now be addressed by marine scientists.

A top-down approach for quantifying methane and speciated VOC emissions from North Sea oil and gas facilities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shona Wilde ◽  
Ruth Purvis ◽  
James Lee ◽  
James Hopkins ◽  
Alastair Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Mixed Boundary ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Uk

<p>The North Sea is home to around 200 offshore platforms that extract oil and natural gas from beneath the sea. Total offshore emissions (carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), nitrogen oxides (NO + NO<sub>2</sub> = NO<sub>x</sub>), nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O), sulphur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) and total VOCs) from upstream oil and gas production in the UK increased by 7 % from 2016 to 2017. Therefore, the accurate measurement and analysis of leakage is critical for global emissions inventories and in terms of mitigating climate change. A recent study (Riddick et al., 2019) showed that on average methane leakage during normal operations is more than double what is reported to the UK National Emissions Inventory (NAEI) for each installation. Here we provide a top-down emissions estimation methodology from which emissions of CH<sub>4</sub> and up to 30 individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be estimated for point-source platforms. We apply a direct integration technique, and use VOC measurements obtained within downwind plumes as a tool for source identification. A total of 16 research flights were conducted as part of a joint project between the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), BEIS, the UK Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) and Ricardo Energy & Environment to characterise emissions from platforms in the North Sea. The hydrocarbon to ethane enhancement ratio within downwind plumes, measured under well-mixed boundary layer conditions, was used to scale a 1 Hz ethane measurement from the aircraft to other hydrocarbons collected using whole air samplers and measured using GC-FID. This allowed individual VOC emission rates to be calculated and compared to existing inventories. This work highlights how a top down technique can be used to quantify emissions and also provide insight into specific emission sources, in contrast to existing methods which often fail to achieve both simultaneously.</p>

A Survey of Traffic Passing Offshore Installations in the North Sea

1984 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-263
Author(s):  
M. A. F. Pyman ◽  
P. R. Lyon ◽  
G. Rowe May
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
The North ◽  
Offshore Installations ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Uk

Since drilling for oil and gas began in the North Sea in the mid 1960s, the possibility of merchant ships colliding with offshore platforms or rigs, has been of concern to both government and operators. There are nearly 100 fixed and floating installations in the UK sector of the North Sea; they vary in size, location and type of construction, but in all cases, collision would pose serious risks to life, pollution and loss of production. Some platforms are near busy shipping lanes and some have several hundred personnel on them at certain times.

Geothermal condition and outlook for oil and gas deposits in the north-west Black Sea shelf

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 206-208
Author(s):  
V.G. Osadchyi ◽  
◽  
O.A. Prykhod'ko ◽  
I.I. Hrytsyk ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
West Black Sea

A method of technical diagnostics for offshore structures

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Do Son
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Method ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Residual Life ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Technical Diagnostics ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
South Vietnam ◽  
Local Destruction

This paper describes the results of measurements and analysis of the parameters, characterizing technical state of offshore platforms in Vietnam Sea. Based on decreasing in time material characteristics because of corrosion and local destruction assessment on residual life time of platforms is given and variants for its repair are recommended. The results allowed to confirm advantage of proposed technical diagnostic method in comparison with others and have been used for oil and gas platform of Joint Venture "Vietsovpetro" in South Vietnam.

Field guide to Laramide basin evolution and drilling activity in North Park and Middle Park, Colorado

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-329
Author(s):  
Marieke Dechesne ◽  
Jim Cole ◽  
Christopher Martin
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Geologic Mapping ◽  
The West ◽  
Field Guide ◽  
Coal Resources ◽  
The North ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
North Park ◽  
Park Area

This two-day field trip provides an overview of the geologic history of the North Park–Middle Park area and its past and recent drilling activity. Stops highlight basin formation and the consequences of geologic configuration on oil and gas plays and development. The trip focuses on work from ongoing U.S. Geological Survey research in this area (currently part of the Cenozoic Landscape Evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains Project funded by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program). Surface mapping is integrated with perspective from petroleum exploration within the basin. The starting point is the west flank of the Denver Basin to compare and contrast the latest Cretaceous through Eocene basin fill on both flanks of the Front Range. The next stop continues on the south end of the North Park–Middle Park area, about 60 miles [95km] west from the first stop. A general clockwise loop is described by following U.S. Highway 40 from Frasier via Granby and Kremmling to Muddy Pass after which CO Highway 14 is followed to Walden for an overnight stay. On the second day after a loop north of Walden, the Continental Divide is crossed at Willow Creek Pass for a return to Granby via Highway 125. The single structural basin that underlies both physiographic depressions of North Park and Middle Park originated during the latest Cretaceous to Eocene Laramide orogeny (Tweto, 1957, 1975; Dickinson et al., 1988). It largely filled with Paleocene to Eocene sediments and is bordered on the east by the Front Range, on the west by the Park Range and Gore Range, on the north by Independence Mountain and to the south by the Williams Fork and Vasquez Mountains (Figure 1). This larger Paleocene-Eocene structural basin is continuous underneath the Continental Divide, which dissects the basin in two approximately equal physiographic depressions, the ‘Parks.’ Therefore Cole et al. (2010) proposed the name ‘Colorado Headwaters Basin’ or ‘CHB,’ rather than North Park–Middle Park basin (Tweto 1957), to eliminate any confusion between the underlying larger Paleocene-Eocene basin and the two younger depressions that developed after the middle Oligocene. The name was derived from the headwaters of the Colorado, North Platte, Laramie, Cache La Poudre, and Big Thompson Rivers which are all within or near the study area. In this field guide, we will use the name Colorado Headwaters Basin (CHB) over North Park–Middle Park basin. Several workers have described the geology in the basin starting with reports from Marvine who was part of the Hayden Survey and wrote about Middle Park in 1874, Hague and Emmons reported on North Park as part of the King Survey in 1877, Cross on Middle Park (1892), and Beekly surveyed the coal resources of North Park in 1915. Further reconnaissance geologic mapping was performed by Hail (1965 and 1968) and Kinney (1970) in the North Park area and by Izett (1968, 1975), and Izett and Barclay (1973) in Middle Park. Most research has focused on coal resources (Madden, 1977; Stands, 1992; Roberts and Rossi, 1999), and oil and gas potential (1957, all papers in the RMAG guidebook to North Park; subsurface structural geologic analysis of both Middle Park and North Park (the CHB) by oil and gas geologist Wellborn (1977a)). A more comprehensive overview of all previous geologic research in the basin can be found in Cole et al. (2010). Oil and gas exploration started in 1925 when Continental Oil's Sherman A-1 was drilled in the McCallum field in the northeast part of the CHB. It produced mostly CO2 from the Dakota Sandstone and was dubbed the ‘Snow cone’ well. Later wells were more successful finding oil and/or gas, and exploration and production in the area is ongoing, most notably in the unconventional Niobrara play in the Coalmont-Hebron area.

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