Written on July 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
In the November 2011 tip of the month (TOTM) we presented the compressor calculations of a case study. We compared the rigorous method results with the values from the shortcut methods. The rigorous method was based on an equation of state like the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) for calculating the required enthalpies and entropies. The enthalpies andContinue Reading
Written on June 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
For transportation of crude oil, the pumping power requirement varies as the crude oil viscosity changes. Increasing °API or line average temperature reduces the crude oil viscosity. The reduction of viscosity results in higher Reynolds number, lower friction factor and in effect, lower pumping power requirements. In the March 2009 tip of the month (TOTM),Continue Reading
Written on May 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by Harvey Malino
Molecular sieves are used upstream of turboexpander units and LNG facilities to dehydrate natural gas to <0.1 ppmv water content. In the natural gas industry, the molecular sieves employ heat to drive off the adsorbed water. Figure 1 shows a typical flow schematic for a 2 tower system; Figure 2 shows a 3 tower system.Continue Reading
Written on March 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by Clyde Young
In this Tip of the Month, we reflect back to December 2008, and get a reminder from the United States Chemical Safety Board (CSB) to remain focused on process safety and accident prevention during this time of lower oil prices. During the economic downturn of 2008, oil prices dropped significantly. The latest drop in crudeContinue Reading
Written on February 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by admin
In this Tip of the Month (TOTM) we will discuss how to determine CO2 solubility and flashing issues in water at pressures and temperatures commonly associated with gathering systems and production facilities. This is mainly important for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) floods as the CO2 concentration is high and the initial separation is atContinue Reading
Written on January 1, 2015 at 12:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
In the October and November 2014 Tips of the Month (TOTM), we demonstrated that Gas-Oil-Ratio (GOR) has a large impact on the capacity of crude oil gathering lines. If GOR is less than the saturation solution gas, the increase in GOR reduces the viscosity and density of crude oil which causes the pressure drop toContinue Reading
Written on December 1, 2014 at 12:00 am, by admin
One of the most common problems in Oil and Gas Processing facilities is underperforming vapor / liquid separators. The most common types of gas-liquid separators are: Slug catchers Vessel / Finger-type “Conventional” separators Vertical / Horizontal Scrubbers (i.e. Compressor Suction Scrubbers) Gas “polishers” Coalescing Filters / Filter Separators Underperforming separators generally result from either: 1.Continue Reading
Written on November 1, 2014 at 9:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
In the October 2014 Tip of the Month (TOTM), we demonstrated that Gas-Oil-Ratio (GOR) has a large impact on the capacity of crude oil gathering lines. In general as GOR increased the pressure drop increased which lowered the line capacity. In addition, at high pressures and low GOR, pressure drop was lower than the pressureContinue Reading
Written on October 1, 2014 at 9:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
The use of multiphase flow systems is common practice in the oil and gas industry. Multiphase flow is often encountered in the well tubing, flow lines and gathering systems. For transport of oil and gas (and water) to downstream processing facilities the preference is normally a single pipeline in which both phases are transported simultaneouslyContinue Reading
Written on September 1, 2014 at 12:00 am, by Dr. Mahmood Moshfeghian
In the October, November, December 2007 and February 2014 Tips of the Month (TOTM), we studied in detail the water phase behaviors of sweet and sour natural gases and acid gas systems. We also evaluated the accuracy of different methods for estimating the water content of sour natural gas and acid gas systems. The waterContinue Reading
