Separation Systems

Efficiency
Improvement and
Trouble-shooting

Efficiency Improvement
and Trouble-shooting
Separation problems can be
resolved by carefully analyzing
system performance and by
proposing improvements,
using our technology and
knowledge. In this way FMC
Technologies can eliminate
separation problems, provide
high quality products, reduce
environmental impact and
increase production.

Benefits
Important drivers to improve the efficiency of existing
plant and for trouble-shooting include:
Improving the gas quality
Improving the oil quality
Maximizing gas production
Maximizing oil production
Optimizing the produced water quality
Minimizing the environmental impact
Reducing the impact of solids
Minimizing foaming problems
Minimizing operational issues
Reducing maintenance costs

Separation Systems
The separation company major oil companies go to
with their most challenging projects
Maximum return on investment through extensive
experience and know-how
The only separation company with a proven track
record with inline separation equipment.
The leading company in subsea separation
Develops out-of-the-box solutions for the separation
challenges of tomorrow

Crucial factors for the

separation efficiency
Fluid properties (densities, surface tensions,
viscosities, etc.)
Operating properties (pressure, temperature, etc.)
Added chemicals (demulsifier, corrosion inhibitor, etc.)
Side-effects of added chemicals (e.g. a corrosion
inhibitor prevents corrosion of the equipment but it
can cause emulsions)
Plant and piping lay-out
Separator design

Main reasons for efficiency

improvement and troubleshooting
Minimize investments
With our technologies installations can be optimized and
upgraded while the main existing infrastructure remains
unchanged. Large vessels and pipes need not be changed;
only the equipment that does the actual work inside the
expensive pressure vessels is affected.
Maximize production
The throughput of existing facilities will be increased.
Thanks to the greater reliability of the system, production
uptime will be increased.
Sustainable production
Due to the more efficient separation processes, the burden
on the environment will be minimized. The oil content of
produced water will be minimal, less gas needs to be flared
and CO2 emissions will be reduced.
Size and weight reduction
For new-build applications the size and the weight of the
separator can be reduced. This also has an effect on the
total layout of the structure. If the weight of the topsides is
less, the main structure can be reduced as well. This leads
to reduced Capex, while the greater reliability reduces Opex.
Enhance production quality
A more efficient separation process improves the quality
of the oil and gas. This results in higher revenue, more
production and fewer problems.
Less maintenance
More reliable equipment can reduce the maintenance
interval, which results in more operational hours and
thus more production. This also means that the cost of
maintenance is reduced.
Easy to install
Our solutions are easy to install. They are compact enough
to pass through manholes and require no welding during
installation (no re-certification of the existing vessels
required). This also means that shutdown periods will be
shorter and, once again, more time is available for production.

Minimize problems,
maximize production

Tools for efficiency improvement and

trouble-shooting
State-of-the-art internals

State-of-the-art inline solutions

Retrofit internals: our state-of-the-art internals provide

maximum separation efficiency. Our internals are
custom-made for each application, fabricated according
to the highest quality standards, updated to the latest state
of technology and they can always be installed without
hot work at the pressure vessel.

With our inline equipment the efficiency of facilities

can be improved even if there is no space for additional
separators or when vessel entry is not possible or not
permitted.
Computational Fluid Dynamics, knowledge and R&D

For new-build applications these technologies can be combined in highly efficient, very compact separation systems.
These systems can be installed topsides and subsea.
Subsea separation

Our computational fluid dynamic modelling provides

an accurate representation of the expected flow profiles
which results in a precise prediction of system
performance.
We were the first company worldwide to install a subsea
separation unit. This opens up unlimited opportunities for
increasing oil recovery from brown fields. Today all such
projects worldwide that include subsea separation use
FMC technology.

R&D is an integral part of our approach, which involves

exploring new separation techniques. To ensure that our
designs are as robust and efficient in practice as they are
on paper, we conduct rigorous tests under operating
conditions, in-house as well as on-site.

Our approach
We first identify the needs and options for production
improvement and undertake trouble-shooting and the
required analyses and CFD studies. The resulting report
contains recommendations and a proposal for the technology
needed, including costs and expected installation time.
If the proposed solution is based on new technology, we
can test it at the customers request, using our in-house test
system. We usually run a full-scale test at high pressures
and with actual process fluids.
The benefits of our efficiency improvement and troubleshooting are considerable, as the cases on the right show.

Debottlenecking
(STATOIL Veslefrikk)

60 % gas capacity increase

Inline liquid separation

(BP Etap)

45 $MM/yr production
restored

Separator upgrade
(SHELL Mars)

1.2 $MM/year chemical

savings

System optimization
(STATOIL Asgard)

1000 ton weight reduction

Vibration reduction
(STATOIL Statfjord)

5 % production increase
reduced CO2 discharge

System Layout
1

Subsea

Bulk liquid,
gas or solids
removal

Optimized
internals and
separator design
3

Gas polishing

Oil polishing

Produced
water polishing
6

Sand handling
system
7

1. Subsea processing
Locating separation equipment on the seabed can reduce
operational problems such as slugging (caused by long pipes)
and the formation of emulsions. The lifetime of a field can
be improved because it can be operated at lower pressures.
Subsea processing makes it possible to use the existing
infrastructure for a new satellite. Remote fields in inaccessible areas can suddenly become viable. Since less topsides

To oil processing

Desanding
from sand
slurry streams

To gas processing

To oil processing

To water treatment
To water treatment

oil
gas
water
Sand

facilities are needed, the environment will benefit.

And, finally, major savings can be made by re-injecting
produced water at the seabed.
Statoil Tordis: three-phase separation and boosting in 220m
water depth, 12km step-out. We were the first company
worldwide to install subsea processing units for subsea
separation. Right now all operating units in the world with
subsea separation have been designed and delivered by us.

2. Bulk Liquid, Gas or Solids Removal

One phase (solids, oil, water or gas) is separated
upstream of the separator and will not flow through
the vessel. This means that the existing vessel can
be used to separate the other phases more efficiently.
No vessel entry is needed (less shutdown time, less
risk for personnel).
Much less installation time needed than for retrofit
internals (more production time).

High-pressure liquid-gas separation

We have found that the efficiency of a vane pack demister
is substantially less at higher pressures. This why we only
use Spiraflow cyclones as mist eliminators in medium to
high-pressure conditions where high separation efficiency
is required.
The cyclone mist eliminator
Spiraflow is the most efficient
device for separating liquid
mist from gas.

Gas dehydration problems on

BP Etap (North Sea): glycol
losses 20 tonnes per month,
frequent filter changes,
production restriction of
30MMSCFD, gas dewpoint
-20C. Solution: an InLine
Deliquidiser was installed
upstream of an existing
scrubber. Results: gas
dewpoint -52C, glycol
efficiency up from 26% to
97%, no significant glycol
losses after the first month.

3. Optimized Internals and Separator design

More efficient separation
More flow through existing equipment
Design can be adjusted for new flow data

Debottlenecking a vertical separator

Example of trouble-shooting a scrubber: the compressor
was damaged by liquid in the feed gas. A CFD study
identified the problem areas (inlet device, mist eliminator
configuration and type of mist eliminator).
Spiraflow
Agglomerator

High Efficiency Internals

Inlet devices

Proposed solution with

Evenflow HE vane type inlet
device, mesh agglomerator
and Spiraflow cyclones.
A CFD study showed efficiency
improvements and production
at the ConocoPhillips Hang
Tuah platform was increased
by a factor of three. Payback
time for this investment was
less than one week.

We use Evenflow HE and Inlet cyclones.

Evenflow HE
Inlet devices are used to
reduce incoming momentum
and prevents the formation of
small droplets.

4. Gas polishing

6. Produced water polishing

Example of trouble shooting a scrubber without entering

the vessel: the Evenflow HE inlet device can be installed
through the inlet nozzle. The Spiraflow mist eliminating
cyclones are placed in a small pipe spool outside the
vessel.

The regulations for the quality of the produced water that is

discharged into the environment are getting more stringent.
Alternatively the produced water can be re-injected into
the well. In both cases, the oil content should be as low as
possible, for economical and environmental reasons and
for not plugging up the well.

Stop liquid carry-over

Retrofit, but no manhole
External mist-eliminating section
Bayonet-type Evenflow

I nLine DeWaterer is designed for efficient separation

of bulk oil from water which combines high efficiency
with low pressure drop in a compact design.
The optimized HydroCyclone provides high separation
efficiency with a low pressure drop. Worlds first
subsea InLine HydroCyclone will be installed at the
Petrobras Marlim Subsea Separation Project.
Improving produced water quality is very important both for
environmental and for economic reasons.

7. Desanding

5. Oil Polishing
InLine DeWaterer
Operating range 5-50% WiO
Removal efficiency 90%
Gas load up to 30% GVF
Low pressure drop

Sand and solids removal results in less damage to vessels,

pipes and equipment. Theres less risk of plugging and less
risk of filling up the vessel with solids and sand.
Removing solids results in
less maintenance and shorter
shutdown time.

The InLine ElectroCoalescer

enhance rate of droplets coalescence
enhance separation performance
breaks down emulsions

Other solutions by
Separation Systems
InLine tools used to remove water from the oil:
InLine DeWaterer for oil continuous flows.

Production Improvements
Compact Total Separation Systems
Heavy Oil production
Solids Handling
Produced Water

The InLine- DeGasser, DeSander, PhaseSplitter, DeWaterer and DeLiquidiser are patented by Statoil and FMC have exclusive worldwide
license to sell this technology.

 Copyright February 2011 | FMC Technologies

www.fmctechnologies.com/separation

FMC Technologies
1777 Gears Road
Houston TX 77067
USA
Phone: +1 281 591 4000

FMC Technologies
CDS Separation Systems
Delta 101
6825 MN Arnhem
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)26 7999100