Category Archives: Process Facilities

Design and Operation of Unconventional Surface Facilities; Stabilization Issues

Written on August 1, 2018 at 11:11 am, by

This Tip of the Month (TOTM) discusses design and operational considerations of surface facilities for unconventional light oil shales. We will address the following questions: ► Are you having vapor pressure issues in the winter? (One operator had 100,000bpd shut in for a month) ► Are your tanks venting? ►Are you getting oxygen into the feed gas of yourContinue Reading

Benefits of Having Side Water-Draw in a Condensate Stabilizer Column – Part 1

Written on April 6, 2016 at 9:35 am, by

This tip will investigate the benefits of having a water-draw in a condensate stabilizer. It will use a commercial simulation software to simulate the performance of an operating stabilizer. In order to take into account the non-ideality of water, the tip will perform three-phase (vapor, liquid hydrocarbon, and aqueous phases) calculations on the trays withContinue Reading

What is the Impact of Light Hydrocarbons on the Natural Gas Hydrate Formation Conditions?

Written on March 1, 2016 at 12:56 pm, by

The December 2012 [1] and January 2016 [2] Tips of the Month (TOTM) discussed the hydrate phase behavior of natural gas mixtures containing high content hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen. Specifically, it showed nitrogen and carbon dioxide inhibit the hydrate formation slightly while hydrogen sulfide enhances hydrate formation considerably. This tip will extend theContinue Reading

Correlations for Conversion between True and Reid Vapor Pressures (TVP and RVP)

Written on February 1, 2016 at 4:02 pm, by

Accurate measurement and prediction of crude oil and natural gas liquid (NGL) products vapor pressure are important for safe storage and transportation, custody transfer, minimizing vaporization losses and environmental protection. Vapor pressure specifications are typically stated in Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) or/and True Vapor Pressure (TVP). In addition to the standard procedures for their measurements,Continue Reading

What is the impact of Nitrogen on the Natural Gas Hydrate Formation Conditions?

Written on January 1, 2016 at 12:00 am, by

The December 2012 Tip of the Month (TOTM) [1] discussed the hydrate phase behavior of sour natural gas mixtures. Specifically, it showed carbon dioxide inhibits the hydrate formation slightly while hydrogen sulfide enhances hydrate formation considerably. This tip will extend the previous study on the natural gas hydrate formation phase behavior. Specifically, it will studyContinue Reading

Improvements in the Steels Used in Oil and Gas Processing Equipment over the Last Half Century

Written on December 1, 2015 at 9:57 am, by

In the post-World war II period, the steels used in the oil and gas industry were quite different from what we use today. This tip of the month (TOTM) presents a brief overview of improvements in the steels used in oil and gas processing equipment for safer and more reliable operations. Plate was SA-285C aContinue Reading

Adsorption Dehydration: Two-Tower vs Three-Tower System

Written on November 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by

There are different process configurations for adsorption dehydration systems. The most common arrangements are two-tower and three-tower configurations. One can find the details of the adsorption dehydration process and the descriptions of equipment in Chapter 18 of John M. Campbell textbook [1]. Figures 1 and 2 present a simplified process flow diagram for two-tower andContinue Reading

What is the Impact of Feed Gas Conditions on the Adsorption Dehydration System?

Written on October 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by

Download PDF Version Adsorption dehydration units can reduce the water content of a gas stream to less than 0.1 ppmv.  The gas industry normally uses adsorption dehydration units upstream of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant or a deep natural gas liquid (NGL) extraction plant where the gas temperature reduces to less than -160 °CContinue Reading

Gas-Liquid Separators Sizing Parameter

Written on September 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by

Download PDF Version In the December 2014 tip of the month (TOTM) [1], we discussed troubleshooting of gas-liquid separators for removal of liquids from the gas stream leaving the separator. There are two methods for sizing gas-liquid separators: 1. Droplet settling theory method, 2. Souders-Brown approach. Historically the Souders-Brown equation has been employed as itContinue Reading

Effect of Relative Density (Specific Gravity) on the Saturated Water Content of Sweet Natural Gases

Written on August 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by

In the past Tips of the Month (TOTM), we discussed the phase behavior and water content of lean sweet, sour natural gases and acid gases–water systems. Specifically, in the November 2007 [1], February 2014 [2], and September 2014 [3] Tips of the Month (TOTM), we discussed the phase behavior of water-saturated sour gases and acidContinue Reading