Title: Inclined Gravity Downhole Oil-Water Separator: Using Laboratory Experimental Results for Predicting the Impact of Its Application in High Rate Production Wells
Abstract:Abstract As an oilfield goes mature, an increased water cut can significantly decrease the maximum fluid production rate or even stop the production entirely. Therefore, separating produced water from...Abstract As an oilfield goes mature, an increased water cut can significantly decrease the maximum fluid production rate or even stop the production entirely. Therefore, separating produced water from the wellstream as early as possible is a potential way to maximize oil production. A novel inclined gravity downhole oil-water separator concept has been introduced and patented by ABB Research Ltd., which combines gravitational separation with distributed water tapping along the incline separator tube. The concept depicts that the downhole separator can be installed somewhere above the production packer and below SCSSV (surface-controlled subsurface safety valve). Gravitational forces create a separated water or water rich layer at the lower side of the pipe. This segregated water rich layer is drained using distributed tapping points along the separation tube and then flow to surface via annulus, whilst the oil rich layer flow through the tubing continue up to surface. Several experimental tests have been performed and this paper describes how to use the experimental results into a well performance simulator to predict how the inclined gravity downhole oil-water separator modifies the performance of high production rate wells. The study includes the well performance effect of separator setting depth, setting inclination, tubing size and tubing configuration. Well performance sensitivity due to water cut and separation efficiency is also discussed. The simulation results show that inclined downhole oil-water separation is very beneficial and able to increase oil production up to 82% for the selected wells with 81–87% water cut.Read More
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-08-04
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 8
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