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GAS PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
FUNDAMENTALS
Introduction
The role of a production engineer is to maximize oil and gas
production in a cost-effective manner.
Reservoir
Hydrocarbon accumulations in geological traps can be classified

as reservoir, field, and pool. A ‘‘reservoir’’ is a porous and
permeable underground formation containing an individual bank
of hydrocarbons confined by impermeable rock or water barriers
and is characterized by a single natural pressure system. A
‘‘field’’ is an area that consists of one or more reservoirs all
related to the same structural feature. A ‘‘pool’’ contains one or
more reservoirs in isolated structures.
Hydrocarbon accumulations are classified as oil, gas
condensate, and gas reservoirs. Reservoir Condition is shown in
Fig. 4.2
An oil that is at pressure above its bubble point pressure is
called an “unsaturated oil” because it can dissolve more gas at
the given temperature.
An oil that is at its buuple point pressure is called a “saturated

oil” because it can dissolve no more gas at the given
temperature.
Single phase flow prevails in an undersaturated oil reservoir,

where as two-phase (liquid oil and free gas) flow exists in a
saturated oil reservoir.
The reservoirs at and above dew point are classified

as gas
Gas Reservoirs
In general, if the reservoir temperature is above the critical

temperature of the hydrocarbon system, the reservoir is classified as a
natural gas reservoir. On the basis of their phase diagrams and the
prevailing reservoir conditions, natural gases can be classified into
four categories:
•Retrograde gas-condensate
•Near-critical gas-condensate
•Wet gas
•Dry gas
Retrograde gas-condensate reservoir: If the reservoir
temperature T lies between the critical temperature Tc and
cricondentherm Tct of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is
classified as a retrograde gas-condensate reservoir. This category
of gas reservoir is a unique type of hydrocarbon accumulation in
that the special thermodynamic behavior of the reservoir fluid is
the controlling factor in the development and the depletion
process of the reservoir. When the pressure is decreased on these
mixtures, instead of expanding (if a gas) or vaporizing (if a liquid)
as might be expected, they vaporize instead of condensing.
Consider that the initial condition of a retrograde gas reservoir is
represented by point 1 on the pressure-temperature phase diagram
of Figure 4.2b.
Because the reservoir pressure is above the upper dew-point
pressure, the hydrocarbon system exists as a single phase (i.e.,
vapor phase) in the reservoir. As the reservoir pressure declines
isothermally during production from the initial pressure (point
1) to the upper dew-point pressure (point 2), the attraction
between the molecules of the light and heavy components
causes them to move further apart further apart. As this occurs,
attraction between the heavy component molecules becomes
more effective; thus, liquid begins to condense.
This retrograde condensation process continues with decreasing
pressure until the liquid dropout reaches its maximum at point 3.
Further reduction in pressure permits the heavy molecules to
commence the normal vaporization process. This is the process
whereby fewer gas molecules strike the liquid surface and
causes more molecules to leave than enter the liquid phase. The
vaporization process continues until the reservoir pressure
reaches the lower dew-point pressure. This means that all the
liquid that formed must vaporize because the system is
essentially all vapors at the lower dew point. In most gas-
condensate reservoirs, the condensed liquid volume seldom
exceeds more than 15%–19% of the pore volume.
This liquid saturation is not large enough to allow any liquid
flow. It should be recognized, however, that around the wellbore
where the pressure drop is high, enough liquid dropout might
accumulate to give two-phase flow of gas and retrograde liquid.
The associated physical characteristics of this category are:
• Gas-oil ratios between 8,000 to 70,000 scf/STB. Generally,

the gas- oil ratio for a condensate system increases with time
due to the liquid dropout and the loss of heavy components in
the liquid.
•Condensate gravity above 50° API • Stock-tank liquid is usually
water-white or slightly colored.
There is a fairly sharp dividing line between oils and
condensates from a compositional standpoint. Reservoir fluids
that contain heptanes and are heavier in concentrations of
more than 12.5 mol% are almost always in the liquid phase in
the reservoir. Oils have been observed with hep-tanes and
heavier concentrations as low as 10% and condensates as high
as 15.5%. These cases are rare, however, and usually have
very high tank liquid gravities.
Near-critical gas-condensate reservoir. If the reservoir temperature
is near the critical temperature, as shown in Figure 4.2c, the
hydrocarbon mixture is classified as a near-critical gas-condensate.
The volumetric behavior of this category of natural gas is described
through the isothermal pressure declines as shown by the vertical line
1-3 in Figure 4.2c. Because all the quality lines converge at the
critical point, a rapid liquid buildup will immediately occur below
the dew point as the pressure is reduced to point 2
This behavior can be justified by the fact that several quality lines
are crossed very rapidly by the isothermal reduction in pressure. At
the point where the liquid ceases to build up and begins to shrink
again, the reservoir goes from the retrograde region to a normal
vaporization region.
Wet-gas reservoir. A typical phase diagram of a wet gas is
shown in Figure 4.2d, where reservoir temperature is above the
cricondentherm of the hydrocarbon mixture. Because the
reservoir temperature exceeds the cricondentherm of the
hydrocarbon system, the reservoir fluid will always remain in
the vapor phase region as the reservoir is depleted isothermally,
along the vertical line A-B. As the produced gas flows to the
surface, however, the pressure and temperature of the gas will
decline. If the gas enters the two-phase region, a liquid phase
will condense out of the gas and be produced from the surface
separators.
This is caused by a sufficient decrease in the kinetic energy of
heavy molecules with temperature drop and their subsequent
change to liquid through the attractive forces between
Wet-gas reservoirs are characterized by the
molecules.properties:
following
•Gas oil ratios between 60,000 to 100,000 scf/STB

•Stock-tank oil gravity above 60° API
•Liquid is water-white in color
•Separator conditions, i.e., separator pressure and temperature,
lie within the two-phase region.
Dry-gas reservoir: The hydrocarbon mixture exists as a gas
both in the reservoir and in the surface facilities. The only
liquid associated with the gas from a dry-gas reservoir is
water. A phase diagram of a dry-gas reservoir is given in
Figure 4.2e. Usually a system having a gas-oil ratio greater
than 100,000 scf/STB is considered to be a dry gas. Kinetic
energy of the mixture is so high and attraction between
molecules so small that none of them coalesce to a liquid at
stock-tank conditions of temperature and pressure. It should
be pointed out that the classification of hydrocarbon fluids
might be also characterized by the initial composition of the
system.
From the foregoing discussion, it can be observed that
hydrocarbon mixtures may exist in either the gaseous or liquid
state, depending on the reservoir and operating conditions to
which they are subjected. The qualitative concepts presented
may be of aid in developing quantitative analyses. Empirical
equations of state are commonly used as a quantitative tool in
describing and classifying the hydrocarbon system
Wells in the same reservoir can fall into categories of oil,
condensate, and gas wells depending on the producing gas–oil
ratio (GOR).Gas wells are wells with producing GOR being
greater than 100,000 scf/stb; condensate wells are those with
producing GOR being less than 100,000 scf/stb but greater
than 5,000 scf/stb; and wells with producing GOR being less
than 5,000 scf/stb are classified as oil wells.
wells
Oil and gas wells are drilled like an upside-down telescope.
The large-diameter borehole section is at the top of the well.
Each section is cased to the surface, or a liner is placed in the
well that laps over the last casing in the well. Each casing or
liner is cemented into the well
The ‘‘wellhead’’ is defined as the surface equipment set
below the master valve. As we can see in Fig. 4.3, it includes
casing heads and a tubing head. The casing head (lowermost)
is threaded onto the surface casing. This can also be a
flanged or studded connection. A ‘‘casing head’’ is a
mechanical assembly used for hanging a casing string (Fig.
4.4). Depending on casing programs in well drilling, several
casing heads can be installed during well construction.
Most flowing wells are produced through a string of tubing
run inside the production casing string. At the surface, the
tubing is supported by the tubing head (i.e., the tubing head is
used for hanging tubing string on the production casing head
[Fig. 4.5]).
The equipment at the top of the producing wellhead is called
a ‘‘Christmas tree’’ (Fig. 4.6) and it is used to control flow.
The ‘‘Christmas tree’’ is installed above the tubing head. An
‘‘adaptor’’ is a piece of equipment used to
join the two. The ‘‘Christmas tree’’ may have one flow outlet
(a tee) or two flow outlets (a cross).
A Christmas tree consists of a main valve, wing valves, and a
needle valve. These valves are used for closing the well when
needed. At the top of the tee structure (on the top of the
‘‘Christmas tree’’), there is a pressure gauge that indicates the
pressure in the tubing. The wing valves and their gauges
allow access (for pressure measurements and gas or liquid
flow) to the annulus spaces (Fig. 4.7).
‘‘Surface choke’’ (i.e., a restriction in the flowline) is a piece
of equipment used to control the flow rate (Fig. 4.8). In most
flowing wells, the oil production rate is altered by adjusting the
choke size. The choke causes back-pressure in the line. The
back-pressure (caused by the chokes or other restrictions in the
flowline) increases the bottomhole flowing pressure.
Increasing the bottom-hole flowing pressure decreases the
pressure drop from the reservoir to the wellbore (pressure
drawdown). Thus, increasing the back-pressure in the well-
bore decreases the flow rate from the reservoir
Surface vessels should be open and clear before the well is
allowed to flow. All valves that are in the master valve and
other downstream valves are closed. Then follow the following
procedure to open a well:
1.The operator barely opens the master valve (just a crack), and
escaping fluid makes a hissing sound. When the fluid no longer
hisses through the valve, the pressure has been equalized, and
then the master valve is opened wide.
2.If there are no gas/oil leaks, the operator cracks the next
downstream valve that is closed. Usually, this will be either the
second (backup) master valve or a wing valve. Again, when the
hissing sound stops, the valve is opened wide.
3. The operator opens the other downstream valves the same
way.
4. To read the tubing pressure gauge, the operator must open the
needle valve at the top of the Christmas tree. After reading
and recording the pressure, the operator may close the valve
again to protect the gauge.
The procedure for ‘‘shutting-in’’ a well is the opposite of the

procedure for opening a well.
Flow Regimes
When a vertical well is open to produce gas/oil at production rate

q, it creates a pressure funnel of radius r around the wellbore, as
illustrated by the dotted line in Fig. 4.9a. In this reservoir model,
the h is the reservoir thickness, k is the effective horizontal
reservoir permeability to gas, μg is viscosity of oil, Bg is gas
formation volume factor, rw is wellbore radius, pwf is the flowing
bottom hole pressure, and p is the pressure in the reservoir at the
distance r from the wellbore center line. The flow stream lines in
the cylindrical region form a horizontal radial flow pattern as
depicted in Fig. 4.9b.
Transient
Flow
‘‘Transient flow’’ is defined as a flow regime where/when the
radius of pressure wave propagation from wellbore has not
reached any boundaries of the reservoir. During transient flow,
the developing pressure funnel is small relative to the
reservoir size. Therefore, the reservoir acts like an infinitively
large reservoir from transient pressure analysis point of view.
Steady-State Flow
‘‘Steady-state flow’’ is defined as a flow regime where the

pressure at any point in the reservoir remains constant over time.
This flow condition prevails when the pressure funnel shown in
Fig. 4.9 has propagated to a constantpressure boundary. The
constant-pressure boundary can be an aquifer or a water injection
well. A sketch of the reservoir model is shown in Fig. 4.10,
where pe represents the pressure at the constant-pressure
boundary.
Pseudo–Steady-State Flow
‘‘Pseudo–steady-state’’ flow is defined as a flow regime where

the pressure at any point in the reservoir declines at the same
constant rate over time. This flow condition prevails after the
pressure funnel shown in Fig. 4.9 has propagated to all no-flow
boundaries. A no-flow boundary can be a sealing fault, pinch-out
of pay zone, or boundaries of drainage areas of production wells.
A sketch of the reservoir model is shown in Fig. 4.11, where pe
represents the pressure at the no-flow boundary at time t4.
Introduction
Mooring System:
The mooring system consists of freely hanging lines connecting the surface
platform to anchors, or piles, on the seabed, positioned at some distance from the
platform.
“Often laid out symmetrically in plan view around the object in question”
Types of Mooring Lines:
1.Steel-Linked chain
2.Wire rope
3.Synthetic fiber rope
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December
2020
1. Steel-Linked chain
2. Wire rope
The above two types of catenary lines are conventionally

used for mooring floating platforms.
Each of the lines forms a catenary shape, depending on an

increase or decrease in line tension as it lifts off or settles
on the seabed, to produce a restoring force as the surface
platform is displaced by the environment.
Thus a spread of lines generates a nonlinear restoring force to

provide the station-keeping function.
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This force increases with vessel horizontal offset and
balances
quasi-steady environmental loads on the surface platform.
The equivalent restoring stiffness provided by the mooring is

generally too small to influence wave frequency motions of
the vessel significantly, although excitation by low-frequency
drift forces can induce dynamic magnification in the
platform horizontal motions and lead to high peak line
tensions.
The longitudinal and transverse motions of the mooring lines

themselves can also influence the vessel response through
line dynamics. 30
2020
3. Synthetic rope
To operate in more water depths, the suspended weight of

mooring lines becomes a prohibitive factor. In particular, steel
chains become less attractive at great water depths.
Recently, advances in taut synthetic fibre rope technology have

been achieved offering alternatives for deep-water mooring.
Mooring systems using taut fibre ropes have been designed and
installed to reduce mooring line length, mean- and low-
frequency platform offsets, fairlead tension and thus the total
mooring cost. (Still a lot of R&D in progress)
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University.
Mooring system design philosophy:
Mooring system design is a trade-off between making the

system compliant enough to avoid excessive forces on the
platform, and making it stiff enough to avoid difficulties, such
as damage to drilling or production risers, caused by excessive
offsets.
Easier to achieve for moderate water depths, but becomes more

difficult as the water depth increases.
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Single Point Mooring (SPM):
Excessive offsets are often observed due to the environmental

factors on the mooring system.
SPM have been developed to overcome this disadvantage. In
this the lines are attached to the vessel at a single point.

This connection point is located on the longitudinal centre line
of the vessel.
The vessel is then free to weathervane and hence reduce

environmental loading caused by wind, current and waves.
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Single Buoy Mooring (SBM):
A typical early facility consisted of a buoy that serves as a

mooring terminal. It is attached to the sea floor either by catenary
lines, taut mooring lines or a rigid column.
The vessel is moored to the buoy either by synthetic hawsers or by

a rigid A-frame yoke.
Turntable and fluid swivels on the buoy allow the vessel to

weathervane, reducing the mooring loads.
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In order to further reduce the environmental loading on the
mooring system from the surface vessel in extreme conditions,
dis- connectable turret mooring systems have also been
developed.
Here the connected system is designed to withstand a less harsh

ocean environment, and to be disconnected whenever the sea state
becomes too severe such as in typhoon areas.
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Functional requirements for the mooring system:
1.Offset limitations
2.Lifetime before replacement
3.Install-ability
4.Positioning ability
These requirements are determined by the function of the

floater.
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Comparison of typical MODU and FPS mooring
MODU requirements: Floating Production
Design for 50-yr return period event. Designed for 100 yr return period
Anchors may fail in larger events. events.
Risers disconnected in storms Risers remain connected in storm

Slack moorings in storm events to Moorings are usually not slacked
reduce line tensions because of risk to the risers, and lack
of marine operators on board
Components designed for < 10 yr life Components designed for > 10 yr life
Fatigue analysis not required Fatigue analysis required
Life dynamics analysis not required Life dynamics analysis required
Missing line load case not required Missing line load case required
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As we shift the mounting point from A1to A4 the catenary line
laying/resting varies from a significant length at A1 to none at A4.
From a static point of view, the cable tension in the vicinity of

point A is due to the total weight in sea water of the suspended
line length.
The progressive effect of line lift-off from the seabed

due to the horizontal vessel movement from Al to A4 increases line
tension in the vicinity of point A.
This feature, coupled with the simultaneous decrease in line angle

to the horizontal, causes the horizontal restoring force on the
vessel to increase with vessel offset in a non-linear manner.
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Synthetic Lines:
For deep-water applications, synthetic fibre lines can have

significant advantages over a catenary chain or wire because
they are considerably lighter, very flexible and can absorb
imposed dynamic motions through extension without
causing an excessive dynamic tension.
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2020
Additional advantages include the
fact that there is reduced line
length and seabed footprint, as
depicted in the adjacent figure
This, causes reduced mean- and

low-frequency platform offsets,
lower line tensions at the fairlead and smaller vertical load on the
vessel. This reduction in vertical load can be important as it
effectively increases the vessel useful payload.
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Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University. December 14
2020
The disadvantages in using synthetics are that their material
and mechanical properties are more complex and not as
well understood as the traditional rope.
This leads to over conservative designs that strip them of

some of their advantages. Furthermore, there is little in-
service experience of these lines.
In marine applications this has led to synthetic ropes subject

to dynamic loads being designed with very large factors of
safety.
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Stiffness:
In a taut mooring system the restoring forces in surge, sway and

heave are derived primarily from the line stretch.
This mechanism of developing restoring forces mostly differs from

the conventional steel catenary systems that develop restoring
forces primarily through changes in the line catenary shape. This is
made possible by the much lower modulus of elasticity of polyester
compared to steel.
The stretch characteristics of fibre ropes can extend from 1.2 to 20

times as much as steel, reducing induced wave and drift frequency
forces. (Stiffness of line is a function of load & age) 30
2020
Hysteresis and heat build up:
The energy induced by cyclic loading is dissipated (hysteresis) in

the form of heat. In addition, the chaffing of rope components
against each other also produces heat.
Cases are known in which the rope has become so hot that the
polyester fibers have melted. This effect is of greater concern with
larger diameters or with certain lay types because dissipation of the
heat to the environment becomes more difficult.
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Fatigue:
The fatigue behavior of a rope at its termination is not good. In a

termination, the rope is twisted (spliced) or compressed in the radial
direction (barrel and spike or resin socket).
The main reason for this decreased fatigue life is local axial
compression. Although the rope as a whole is under tension, some
components may go into compression, resulting in buckling and
damage of the fibres.
In a slack line this mechanism is more likely to be a problem than

in a rope under tension. The phenomenon can appear at any
position along the rope.
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Other relevant issues:
Issues to consider are that the strength of a polyester rope is about

half that of a steel wire rope of equal diameter.
Additionally the creep behavior is good but not negligible (about

1.5% elongation over 20 years). Furthermore, synthetic fibre ropes
are sensitive to cutting by sharp objects and there have been reports
of damage by fish bite. A number of rope types such as high
modulus polyethylene (HMPE) are buoyant in sea water; other
types weigh up to 10% of a steel wire rope of equal strength.
Synthetic fibre lines used within taut moorings require the use of
anchors that are designed to allow uplift at the seabed.
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Loading Mechanism on Mooring
System:
There are various loading mechanisms acting on a moored floating vessel as depicted in the
previous figure are:
For a specific weather condition, the excitation forces caused by current are usually
assumed temporally constant, with spatial variation depending on the current profile and
direction with depth.
Wind loading is often taken as constant, at least, in initial design calculations, though
gusting can produce slowly varying responses.
Wave forces result in time-varying vessel motions in the 6 rigid body degrees of freedom
of
surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw.
Wind gust forces can contribute to some of these motions as well.

Mooring System Design
Static design
Quasi Static DesignDynamic Design 30
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Mooring Hardware Components
The principle components of a mooring system may consists of:
Chain, wire or rope or their combination

Anchors or piles
Fairleads, bending shoes or pad-eyes
Winches, chain jacks or windlasses
Power supplies
Rigging (e.g. stoppers, blocks, shackles)
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Chain, wire or rope or their combination:
Properties are given by “Det Norske Veritas OS-E301” codes.
Chain and wire make up the strength members for the mooring
system. There are primary 2 chain constructions:

a)Stud-Link Chain (studs provide stability to the link and facilitate
laying down of chain while handling.)
b)Stud-less Chain (removing stud reduces the weight per unit of

strength and increases the chain fatigue life, at the expense of making
the chain less convenient to handle.)
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Wire rope:
Wire rope consists of individual wires wound in a helical pattern

to form a “strand”.
The pitch of the helix determines the flexibility and axial stiffness
of the strand.
Wire rope used for mooring can be multi-strand or single-strand

construction.
Stud-link chain and six-strand wire rope are the most common
mooring components for MODUS and other “temporary”
moorings.
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Wire rope:
Multi-strand ropes are favored for temporary applications because

of
their ease of handling.
Six-strand rope is the most common type of multi-strand rope used

offshore.
Mooring line ropes typically consist of 12, 24, 37 or more wires

per strand.
The wires have staggered sizes to achieve higher strength

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Common “classes” of multi-strand rope include (Myers, 1969):
6x7 class: 7 wires per strand, usually used for standing rigging.
Poor flexibility and fatigue life, excellent abrasion resistance.
Minimum drum diameter/rope diameter (D/d) = 42.
6x9 Class: 16 to 27 wires per strand. Good flexibility and fatigue

life and abrasion resistance. Common in lifting and dredging.
Minimum D/d = 26-33.
6x37 Class: 27 to 49 wires per strand. Excellent fatigue life and

flexibility, but poor abrasion resistance. Minimum D/d = 16-26.
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Multi-strand wire ropes may contain either a fibre or a metallic
core.
The core is important for support of the outer wires, especially on a

drum, and in some applications to absorb shock loading.
Fibre core (FC) ropes are not generally used for heavy duty marine
applications.
Metallic core ropes may be one of the two types:

a)Independent Wire Rope Core (IWRC)
b)Wire-Strand Core (WSC).
IWRC is the most common core filling for heavy marine

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applications.
2020
Anchors or piles:
Anchors are basically of two types, relying either on self-weight or

suction forces.
The traditional embedment anchors, as shown in figure, are not

normally designed for vertical force components. Holding power
is related to anchor weight and type of seabed.
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Turrets:
The design of mono-hull turret structures used for single-point moorings in

floating production systems must allow for large static and dynamic loading
caused by the vessel motions in waves together with forces transmitted by the
mooring system.
The hull design in the turret region must reflect the fact that the amount of
primary steel is reduced here with an appropriate increase in the stress
concentration.
Careful selection of turret position is important because of its influence on:
Mooring line tension and riser loading.
Vessel yaw
 Rigid body oscillation in the horizontal
Dept. of Chemical Engineering,VIT University.
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December
plane 2020
Mooring System Analysis:
The mooring system is assessed in terms of three limit states

based
on the following criteria:
Ensuring that individual mooring lines have suitable strength

when subjected to forces caused by extreme environmental
loads - ultimate limit state (ULS).
Ensuring that the mooring system has suitable reserve

capacity when one mooring line or one thruster has failed -
accidental limit state (ALS).
when subject that

Ensuring to cyclic
each loading
mooring- line
fatigue
haslimit statereserve capacity
suitable
(FLS).
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Potential failure modes as given in standards:
Hysteresis heating: lubricants and fillers can be included to

reduce hotspots, creep rupture in particular this is relevant to
-
HMPE yarns, and the risks need careful evaluation.
Tension: Tension fatigue-only limited data exist, indications

being
that fatigue resistance is higher than for steel wire ropes.
Axial compression fatigue - on leeward lines during storms for

example, prevented by maintaining a minimum tension on the rope.
Particle ingress - causes strength loss by abrasion from water-

and notmaterial
borne allowing contact
such between
as sand, the rope
prevented and seabed.
by using a suitable sheath
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Process of Offshore Oil and Gas
Developments
The process of developing offshore oil and gas reserves can be divided into the following
major steps:
1.Exploration
2.Exploratory drilling
3.Development drilling
4.Production
5.Storage and offloading
6.Transportation
Dept.of Chemical Engineering, VIT

25 July 2020 2
University.
FACTORS DRIVING DEEPWATER
RUSH
1. Growing global demand for
energy.
2. Traditional fields fast exhausting.
3. Declining production & reserves.
4. Pressure to diversify supply.
5. Oil supply jitters.
6. Energy economics.
7. Technological advent.

25 July 2020 3
University.
DEEP WATER
TECHNOLOGIES
In order to meet the current demand for hydrocarbon based fuel, the scout for it is
widespread with demanding impetus on technological innovations.
Problems associated with Offshore (deep water) areas are:

1.Reservoir characterization. 7. Tidal waves
2.Reservoir management. 8. Corrosion
3.Source- rock prediction. 9. Wind
4.Formation water properties.10. Fatigue
5.Granite reservoir characterization. 11. Salinity
6. Pore pressure & temperature prediction. 12. Thermal shock (steep gradient,
seasonal
change, fluid injection)
25 July 2020 4
University.
DEEP WATER
TECHNOLOGIES
Factors affecting field services in deep water on a macro-basis can
be
given as:
1.Unconventional oil (tar sands) vs. deepwater.
2.Novel Deepwater technology trends.
3.Drilling technologies.
4.Subsea technologies.
5.Forecast for deepwater oilfield services.
6.Hydrate formation.
7.High temperature High Pressure.

25 July 2020 5
University.
DEEP WATER
TECHNOLOGIES
Classification of problems encountered in general:
1.Deepwater projects take up to 10 years from discovery to first production.
2.Geology not cooperating (Like finding 100MMbl pockets when we used to find 500MMbl
to 1bln barrel fields).
3.Cluster developments are expensive (five (100MMbl) fields do not equal one
(500MMbl) field).
4.Escalating rig rates were a leading indicator for the cost increases across the sector for
deepwater developments.

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University.
DEEP WATER
TECHNOLOGIES
To solve the deepwater issues it requires blend of many
technologies
like:
1.Reservoir geophysics 6. Time-lapse seismic
2.Seismic imaging 7. Seismic litho stratiography
3.Seismic signal processing 8. Imaging while drilling
4.3D seismic characterization of reservoirs 9. Ocean sensor arrays
5.Multi-component seismology

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University.
Location Surveys for Offshore
Drilling
The offshore environment has a much more significant influence on drilling operations than
the onshore environment. It is necessary to carry out a suite of location surveys before starting
drilling operations in order to obtain data such as weather forecast during drilling operations,
bathymetric map around the location, current profiles, properties of the sea bottom soil,
topography of the sea bottom, and shallow geological hazards.
The minimum requirement of the survey includes following instruments:
1.sparkers (Acoustic signal)

2.sub-bottom profilers (Physical Properties)
3.side-scan sonar (high frequency sound pulses)
4.fathometers
5.gravity corers (Sediment Extractor)
Wind and current measurements for several months would be carried out at a proposed
location about one year ago before operations.

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University.
History of Offshore
1. 1st offshore well was drilled in 1947 in 15 feet of water in (Louisiana, USA).
2. 30 years ago, a deepwater operation implies exploring water depths up to 500 feet.
3. Today, deepwater refers to a well in up to 5,000 feet (1524m) of water .
4. Ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling now occurring in water depths over 5000 ft to 10,000
feet. i.e.,( 1524m to 3048m)
5. The challenges in ultra deep reserves are more complicated than exploring space.

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Classification of water depths
 Shallow water generally refers to a depth less than 1000ft (304.8m).
 Deep water refers to a depth greater than 1000ft (304.8m) and less than 5000ft
(1524m).
 Ultra-deepwater refers to a depth greater than 5000ft (1524m).

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Record depths achieved in
Onshore/Offshore
Onshore
1.The scientific research well “SG-3” in Russia reached the depth of 12,263 m in 1988, has
had the depth record ever since.
2.The deepest exploration drilling for hydrocarbons was carried out to the depth of 9583 m in
the United States of America in 1974.
Offshore
1. A hydrocarbon exploration well was drilled offshore Brazil in 2965 m of water in
2001.
2. A production well was completed with a subsea completion system offshore Brazil
in 1852 m of water in 1998.
The offshore technology is steadily in progress towards deeper and deeper seas to search and
produce subsea resources for the future welfare of the world.

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As per SPE publication:
“Since 1947, the offshore industry has moved from the first platform out of sight
of land to safely producing in 7,000 feet (2,100 meters) of water and safely
drilling in 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) of water.”
The industry is still learning, and there is more to

come…

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Offshore Drilling
Structures
Technical Features of Offshore Drilling
1.Because of the location remote from infrastructure, offshore rigs also carry
on board a number of service systems such as cementing, geophysical logging,
and so on.
2. In addition, there are lots of specific services on board such as divers,

meteorological measurements, helicopter, etc.
3.Accommodations and catering for crews working for 24 hours are required
on the rig.
All these factors make offshore rigs complex and sophisticated, and therefore
offshore drilling costs are higher than land drilling costs for similar depth wells.

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There are two basic types of offshore drilling
rigs:
Moveable rigs are often used for exploratory purposes because they are much cheaper
to use than permanent platforms.
Once large deposits of hydrocarbons have been found, a permanent platform is built
to
allow their extraction.

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Different types of moveable offshore
platforms:
Rigs that can be moved from place to place, allowing for drilling
in
multiple locations (Mobile bottom- supported and floating rigs).
1.Drilling Barges.
2.Jack-Up Rigs.
3.Submersible Rigs (swamp barges).
4.Semisubmersible Rigs (Anchor-stationed or dynamically positioned).
5.Drillships (Anchor-stationed or dynamically positioned ).

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Drilling structures used for developing offshore fields from
stationary
platforms are of two types:
Rigs that are permanently placed.
1.Self-contained platforms: (The large production platform equips a complete set of

drilling equipment, and is called as self-contained platform)
2.Tender or jack-up assisted platforms or well-protector jackets :The small platform

has a space only to accommodate derrick and draw works, so a kind of tender assists
the work)

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Guidelines
To choose roughly the type of offshore drilling rigs according to water depth and conditions
of
sea state and winds:
Water depth less than 25 m: Submersible rigs (swamp barges).
Water depth less than 50 m and calm sea: Tender or Jack-up assisted platforms.
Water depth less than 400 m and mild sea: Self-contained platforms. Water depth
from 15 m to 150 m: Jack-up rigs.
Water depth from 20 m to 2000 m: Anchored Drillships or Semisubmersible rigs.
Water depth from 500 m to 3000 m: Drillships or Semisubmersible rigs with
dynamic
positioning system.
Isolated area with icebergs: Drillships with dynamic positioning system.
Severe
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Mobile Bottom-supported Structures
1. Jack-up Drilling Rigs (Jack-up Rigs, Self-elevating Drilling Rigs)
2. Submersible Drilling Rigs (Submersible Rigs, Swamp Barges)
3. Tender-Assisted Platforms and Tenders

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Floating Offshore Structures
(Floaters)
Neutrally buoyant structures which are dynamically unrestrained and are allowed to have 6
degrees of freedom (heave, surge, sway, pitch, roll and yaw) are:
1.Drillships.
2.Semisubmersible Drilling Rig
3.Spars
Positively buoyant structures which are tethered to the seabed and are heave-restrained
are:
1.Tension Leg Platforms (TLPs)
2.Tethered Buoyant Towers (TBTs)
3.Buoyant Leg Structures (BLS)

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General Classification of Structures:
(I) Bottom-Supported Structures
(II)Compliant Structures
(III)Floating Structures

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(I) Bottom-Supported
Structures
1. Minimal Platforms: Field development in shallow water uses fixed
production platforms with a small deck.
Example minimal
platform concepts
(LINX, MANTIS II and
TRIPOD) for
marginal field

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Structures
2. Jacket Structures:
Fixed jacket structures (or template
structures) consist of tubular members
interconnected to form a three-dimensional
space frame

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Structures
3. Gravity Base
Structures:
Offshore structures that are placed on

the seafloor and held in place by their
weight are called gravity structures.

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Structures
4. Jack-ups:
The jack-up barges are typically three-legged structures having a deck supported on their
legs. The legs are made of tubular truss members. The deck is typically buoyant.
5. Subsea Templates:
Subsea technology covers a wide range of offshore activities. Examples are subsea Xmas
trees, manifolds, templates, flowlines and risers, control systems, well fluid boosters,
multiphase pumping and metering, water separation, water injection, remote and
diverless connections, guideline-free installations, seabed electrical power distribution
systems, interventions, etc.
6. Subsea Pipelines:
Subsea pipelines are used to transfer oil from the production platforms to storage facilities
or to the shore.

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There are two basic leg configurations of jack-up
rigs:
1.Independent-leg type for relatively firm seabed:

Each independent leg has a spud can on the end. The
leg penetrates soil below the mud line, i.e. the sea
bottom. The penetration depends on the composition
of the soil and the shape of spud can.
2.Mat-supported type for soft seabed: Legs is

connected with a mat. The mat rests on the seabed to
stably support the rig. The type is used on flat sea-
bottom in water depth of up to 50 m. The
penetration is slight.

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Structures
7. Submersible Drilling Rigs (Submersible Rigs, Swamp Barges)
Submersible drilling rigs consist of upper and lower hulls connected by a network
of posts or beams. The drilling equipment and living quarters are installed on the
upper hull deck.
The lower hull has the buoyancy capacity to float and support the upper hull and
equipment. When water is pumped into the lower hull, the rig submerges and rests
on the seabed to provide a working place for the drilling.
Movement and drilling operations proceed as that of the jack-up rig. Most submerged rigs are
used only shallow waters of 8 to 10 meters.
Ship-shaped submersible rigs are also used, which are called swamp barges.

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Structures
8. Tender-Assisted Platforms and Tenders
In regions where the weather conditions are not harsh, it is possible to use lower cost fixed
platforms that are designed to support only the derrick and the drawworks.
The tender anchored alongside the platform contains drilling equipment such as pumps and
tubular goods, and accommodation for personnel. A catwalk connects the platform and the
tender.
If weather conditions (wind, swell, and current) become too harsh, the drilling operations
must
be shut down due to excessive motion of the tender.
The tender platforms are used in Gulf of Guinea and the Persian Gulf waters where good
weather conditions prevail, resulting in low downtime less than 2% of total operation time.

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(II) Compliant Structures
Compliant structure by definition includes those structures that extend to the
ocean
bottom and directly anchored to the seafloor by piles and/or guidelines.
Typically designed to have their lowest modal frequency to be below the wave energy, as
opposed to the fixed structures, which have a first modal frequency greater than the
frequency of wave energy.
1. Articulated Platforms:
One of the earliest compliant structures that started in relatively shallow waters and slowly
moved into deep water.
“Articulated tower is an upright tower, which is hinged at its base with a cardan
joint and is free to oscillate about this joint due to the environment.”
The base below the universal joint on the seabed may be a gravity base or may be piled. The
tower is ballasted near the universal joint and has a large enough buoyancy tank at the free
surface to provide large restoring force (moment).
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(II) Compliant Structures
2. Compliant Tower:
A compliant tower is similar to a traditional platform and extends from surface to
the
sea bottom, and it is fairly transparent to waves.
Compliant tower is designed to flex with the forces of waves, wind and current. It uses less
steel than a conventional platform for the same water depth.
3. Guyed Tower:
A guyed tower is a slender structure made up of truss members, which rests on the
ocean floor and is held in place by a symmetric array of catenary guylines.

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(III) Floating Structures
Floating Platform Types:

The floating structures may be grouped as Neutrally Buoyant and
Positively Buoyant.
structures include Spars, Semi-submersible MODUS and FPSs, Ship-
shaped FPSOs and Drillships.
structures are TLPs, TLWPs and Buoyant Towers.

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(III) Floating
Structures
Production Units (FPSO and FPS)
Most floating production units are neutrally buoyant structures (which allows six-degrees
of freedom) which are intended to cost-effectively produce and export oil and gas.
1.FPSO:
The FPSO generally refers to ship-shaped structures with several different mooring
systems.
2.FPS
FPS refers to Floating Production systems which are finding application in marginal
and deepwater field development.

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3. Semi-Submersible
Platform:
Semi-submersibles are multi-legged
floating structures with a large deck.
These legs are interconnected at the
bottom underwater with horizontal
buoyant members called pontoons.
Semisubmersible Platform
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The advantages of semisubmersibles include the following:
1.Semisubmersibles can achieve good (small) motion response and, therefore, can be more
easily positioned over a well template for drilling.
2.Semisubmersibles allow for a large number of flexible risers because there is no
weathervaning system.
Disadvantages of semisubmersibles:
1.Pipeline infrastructure or other means is required to export produced oil.
2.Only a limited number of (rigid) risers can be supported because of the bulk of the tensioning
systems required.
3.Considering that most semisubmersible production systems are converted from drilling rigs,
the topsides weight capacity of a converted semisubmersible is usually limited.
4.Building schedules for semisubmersibles are usually longer than those for shipshaped
offshore structures.
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Semisubmersible (As Drilling
Rig)
Semi-submersibles are multi-legged floating structures with a large deck. These legs are
interconnected at the bottom underwater with horizontal buoyant members called pontoons.
Semisubmersibles have submerged pontoons (lower hulls) that are interconnected to the drilling
deck by vertical columns
The lower hulls provide improved stability for the vessel. Also, the open area between the
vertical columns of semisubmersibles provides a reduced area on which the environment can act.
In drilling operations, the lower hulls are submerged in the water about half-length of the
column, but do not rest on the seabed. When a semisubmersible moves to a new location, the
lower hulls float on the sea surface. Semisubmersible rigs are towed by boats, and some rigs
have self- propelled capacity.
On drilling site to keep the position, the anchors usually moor semisubmersibles, but the dynamic
positioning systems are used by new generation semisubmersibles.

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Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers), which are self-buoyant, is
easier.

4. Spar:
The Spar concept is a large deep draft, cylindrical floating Caisson designed to support
drilling and production operations. Its buoyancy is used to support facilities above the
water surface.
It is, generally, anchored to the seafloor with multiple taut mooring lines.
Because of the reduced heave motion, the use of rigid risers (instead of flexible risers),
which are self-buoyant, is easier.
Types of Spars:
1.Classic spar
2.Truss spar
3.Cell spar

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(III) Floating
Structures
5. Tension Leg Platform:
A Tension Leg Platform (TLP) is a vertically moored compliant platform. The
floating platform with its excess buoyancy is vertically moored by taut mooring
lines called tendons (or tethers).
The structure is vertically restrained precluding motions vertically (heave) and rotationally
(pitch and roll). It is compliant in the horizontal direction permitting lateral motions
(surge and sway).

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(III) Floating
Structures
5.1. MiniTLPs: SeaStar and Moses
SeaStar is a deepwater production and utility mini-platform.
SeaStar is a small TLP with a single surface-piercing column.
It borrows from the concept of the tension leg platform and provides a cost-effective
marginal field application.
Moses MiniTLP appears to be a miniaturized TLP as the deck structure is supported by

four
columns and the columns are connected by pontoons.
Motion characteristics of Moses is similar to that of SeaStar and, unlike the standard TLPs,
miniTLPs need to dedicate a large percentage of their displacement (35 - 45%) for
pretension.
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Bottom-founded vs. floating structures
Function Bottom-Supported Floating
Payload support Foundation-bearing capacity Buoyancy
Well access “rigid” conduits (conductors) surface "dynamic" risers subsea wellheads
wellheads and controls subsea or surface controls
Environmental Resisted by strength of structure and Resisted by vessel inertia and

loads foundation, compliant structure stability, mooring strength.
inertia
Construction Tubular space frame: fabrication Plate and frame displacement
yards hull: ship yards
Installation Barge (dry) transport and launch, Wet or dry transport, towing to site
upend, piled Foundations and attachment to pre-installed
moorings
Regulatory and Oil Industry practices and Oil industry practices, government
design practices government petroleum regulations petroleum regulations and Coast
Guard & International Maritime
regulations
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ACID GASES REMOVAL PROCESS
Acid gases present in Natural gas
•CO2
•H2S
•Gas with out CO2 and H2O is called “ Sweet

” Otherwise “ Sour ”
•Both gases are undesirable because they
cause
 Corrosion
 Reduce Heating Value
 Reduce sale Value
SEVERAL PROCESS
Numerous processes have been developed
for acid gas removal and gas sweetening
based on a variety of chemical and physical
principles. These processes (Table 2) can be
categorized by the principles used in the
process to separate the acid gas from the
other natural gas components. The list,
although not complete, represents many of
the common available commercial
processes. Table 3 shows the gases that are
removed by the different processes. Table 4
illustrates the process capabilities of some of
the processors for gas treating.
Table 2: Acid Gas Removal
Processes
Continued
SOLID BED PROCESSES
Iron Sponge Process

•The iron sponge process utilizes the chemical reaction of
ferric oxide with H2S to sweeten gas streams. This
process is economically applied to gases containing
small amounts of H2S. This process does not remove
carbon dioxide.
•The reaction of hydrated colloidal

iron oxide and H2S produces iron sulfide and water as
follows:
• The reaction requires the presence of water
and a temperature below 49°C (120°F).
When temperatures exceed 49°C (120°F),
careful control of pH must be maintained. If the
gas does not contain sufficient water vapor,
water may need to be injected into the inlet
gas stream. A pH level of 8 to 10 can be
maintained through the injection of caustic
soda, soda ash, lime, or ammonia with the
water. pH control should be avoided
whenever possible. Although the presence of
free alkalies enhances H2S removal, it creates
potential safety hazards, promotes formation
of undesirable salts and adds to capital costs.
• The ferric oxide is impregnated on wood chips,
which produce a solid bed with a large ferric oxide
surface area. Several grades of treated wood chips
are available, based on iron oxide content. They are
commonly available as 6.5, 9.0, 15.0, and 20 lb iron
oxide/bushel. The chips are contained in a vessel,
and sour gas flows downward through the bed and
reacts with the ferric oxide. Figure 2 (Iron oxide
acid gas treating unit) shows a vessel for the iron
sponge process.
• The ferric sulfide can be oxidized with air to
produce sulfur and regenerate the hydrated
ferric oxide. The regeneration step must be
performed with great care since the reaction
with oxygen is exothermic (i.e., gives off heat).
Air must be introduced slowly so the heat of
reaction can be dissipated. If air is introduced
quickly, the heat of reaction may ignite the bed.
For this reason spent wood chips should be
kept moist when removed from the vessel.
Otherwise, the reaction with oxygen in the air
may ignite the chips and cause them to smolder.
• Some of the elemental sulfur produced in the
regeneration step remains in the bed. After
several cycles this sulfur will cake over the ferric
oxide, decreasing the reactivity of the bed and
causing excessive gas pressure drop. Typically,
after ten cycles the bed must be removed from
the vessel and replaced with a new bed
• It is possible to operate an iron sponge with
continuous regeneration by the introduction of
small amounts of air in the sour gas feed. The
oxygen in the air regenerates the iron sulfide and
produces elemental sulfur. Although continuous
regeneration decreases the amount of operating
labor, it is not as effective as batch regeneration
and it may create an explosive mixture of air and
natural gas. Because of the added costs associated
with an air compressor, continuous regeneration
generally does not prove to be the economic
choice for the typically small quantities of gas
involved.
• Cooler operating temperatures of the natural gas
during the winter creates the potential for hydrate
formation in the iron sponge bed. This can cause
high pressure drop, bed compaction and flow
channeling. Where the potential for hydrates exists,
methanol can be injected to inhibit their formation;
however, if insufficient water is present to absorb
the methanol it may coat the bed, forming
undesirable salts.
• Hydrocarbon liquids in the gas tend to accumulate
on the iron sponge media, thus inhibiting the
reactions. The use of a gas scrubber upstream of the
iron sponge and a gas temperature slightly less
than that of the sponge media may prevent
significant quantities of liquids from condensing
and fouling the bed.
• There has been a recent revival in the use of iron

sponges to sweeten light hydrocarbon liquids. The
sour liquids flow through the bed and are contacted
with the iron sponge media and the reaction
proceeds as above.
SULFA-TREAT PROCESS
•This process is similar to

the iron sponge
ferric oxide utilizing
process with H2S tothe sweeten gas
chemical
streams. This process isreaction
economicallyof
applied to gases containing small amounts
of H2S. Carbon dioxide is not removed in
the process.
•Sulfa-Treat utilizes a proprietary iron oxide
co-product mixed with inert powder to form
a porous bed. Sour gas flows through the
bed and forms a bed primarily of pyrite. The
powder has a bulk density of 70 lbs/ft3and
ranges from 4 mesh to 30 mesh.
• The reaction works better with saturated
gas and at elevated temperature up to
54.4°C (130°F). No minimum moisture or
pH level is required. The amount of bed
volume required increases as the velocity
increases and as the bed height decreases.
Operation of the system below 4.4°C
(40°F) is not recommended.
• The beds are not regenerated and must be

replaced when the bed is spent.
MOLECULAR SIEVE PROCESS
•Molecular sieve processes use synthetically

manufactured crystalline solids in a dry bed to
remove gas impurities. The crystalline structure
of the solids provides a very porous material
having uniform pore size. Within the pores the
crystalline structure creates a large number of
localized polar charges called active sites. Polar
gas molecules such as H2S and water vapor,
which enter the pores, form weak ionic bonds at
the active sites. Non-polar molecules such as
paraffin hydrocarbons will not bond to the active
sites.
• Molecular sieves are available with a variety of pore sizes.
A molecular sieve should be selected with a pore size that
will admit H2S and water while preventing heavy
hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds from entering the
pores. Carbon dioxide molecules are about the same size as
H2S molecules, but are non-polar. Thus, CO2 will enter the
pores but will not bond to the active sites. Small quantities
of CO2 will be removed by becoming trapped in the pores
by bonded H2S or H2O molecules blocking the pores. More
importantly, CO2 will obstruct the access of H2S and H2O to
the active sites, decreasing the overall effectiveness of the
molecular sieve. Beds must be sized to remove all H2O and
provide for interference from other molecules in order to
remove all H2S.
• The adsorption process usually occurs at moderate
pressure. Ionic bonds tend to achieve an optimum
performance near 3100 kPa (450 psig), but the
system can be used for a wide range of pressures.
• The molecular sieve bed is regenerated by flowing

hot sweet gas through the bed. The hot stripping
gas breaks the ionic bonds and removes the H2S
and H2O from the sieve. Typical regeneration
temperatures are in the range of 150°C to 200°C
(300°F to 400°F).
• Molecular sieve beds can suffer chemical and
mechanical degradation. Care should be taken to
minimize mechanical damage to the solid crystals as
this may decrease the bed's effectiveness. The main
causes of mechanical damage are the sudden pressure
and/or temperature changes that may occur when
switching from adsorption to regeneration cycles.
Proper instrumentation can significantly extend bed
life.
• Molecular sieves are generally limited to small gas

streams operating at moderate pressures. Due to these
operating limitations, molecular sieve units have seen
limited use for gas sweetening operations. They are
generally used for polishing applications following
one of the other processes.
ZINC OXIDE PROCESS
• This process is similar to the iron sponge process in

the type of equipment used. The zinc oxide process
uses a solid bed of granular zinc oxide to react with
the H2S to form zinc sulfide and water as shown
below.
• The rate of reaction is controlled by the diffusion process,
as the sulfide ion must first diffuse to the surface of the
zinc oxide to react. Temperatures above 120°C (250°F)
increase the diffusion rate and are normally used to
promote the reaction rate. The strong dependence on
diffusion means that other variables such as pressure and
gas velocity have little effect on the reaction
• Zinc oxide is usually contained in long thin beds
to lessen the chances of channeling. Pressure drop
through the beds is low. Bed life is a function of
gas sulfide content and can vary from six months
to over ten years. The beds are often used in series
to increase the level of saturation prior to change
out of the catalyst. The spent bed is discharged by
gravity flow through the bottom of the vessel. The
process has seen decreasing use due to increasing
disposal problems with the spent bed, which is
classified as a heavy metal salt.
CHEMICAL SOLVENT PROCESSES
•Chemical solvent processes use an aqueous solution of a

weak base to chemically react with and absorb the acid
gases in the natural gas stream. The absorption driving
force is a result of the partial pressure differential
between the gas and the liquid phases. The reactions
involved are reversible by changing the system
temperature or pressure, or both. Therefore, the
aqueous base solution can be regenerated and
circulated in a continuous cycle. The majority of
chemical solvent processes utilize either an amine or
carbonate solution.
AMINE PROCESSES
•Several processes have been developed
using the basic action of various amines.
These amines can be categorized by the
number of organic groups bonded to the
central nitrogen atom, as primary,
secondary or tertiary. For example:
• Primary amines form stronger bases than
secondary amines, which form stronger bases
than tertiary amines. Amines with stronger base
properties will be more reactive toward CO2 and
H2S gases and will form stronger chemical
bonds. This implies that the acid gas vapor
pressure will be lower for a given loading as
amine reactivity increases and a higher
equilibrium loading may be achieved.
.
• The sour gas enters the system through an inlet
scrubber to remove any entrained water or
hydrocarbon liquids. Then the gas enters the bottom
of the amine absorber and flows countercurrent to the
amine solution. The absorber can be either a trayed or
packed tower with conventional packing usually used
for 500 mm (20 in) or smaller diameter towers, and
trays or structured packing for larger towers. The
sweetened gas then leaves the top of the tower. An
optional outlet scrubber may be included to recover
entrained amine from the sweet gas. Since the natural
gas leaving the top of the tower is saturated with
water, the gas will require dehydration before entering
a pipeline.
• The amine solution leaves the bottom of the absorber.
This solution containing the CO2 and H2S is referred to
as the rich amine. From the absorber, the rich amine
flows to the flash tank to remove most of the dissolved
hydrocarbon gases or entrained hydrocarbon
condensates. A small amount of the acid gases will
also flash to the vapor phase in this vessel. From the
flash tank the rich amine proceeds to the rich
amine/lean amine heat exchanger. This heat exchanger
recovers some of the sensible heat from the lean amine
stream to decrease the heat duty on the amine reboiler
and the solvent cooler. The preheated rich amine then
enters the amine stripping tower where heat from the
reboiler breaks the bonds between the amine and acid
gases. The acid gases are removed overhead and lean
amine is removed from the bottom of the stripper.
• The hot lean amine flows to the rich amine/lean
amine heat exchanger and then to additional coolers,
typically aerial coolers, to lower its temperature to
approximately 5.5°C (10°F) above the inlet gas
temperature. This reduces the amount of
hydrocarbons condensed in the amine solution when
the amine contacts the sour gas. Typically, a side
stream of approximately 3 percent of the amine flow
rate is taken off after the rich/lean amine heat
exchanger and is flowed through a charcoal filter to
clean the solution of contaminants. The cooled lean
amine is then pumped up to the absorber pressure and
enters the top of the absorber. As the amine solution
flows down the absorber it absorbs the acid gases.
The rich amine is then removed at the bottom of the
tower and the cycle is repeated.
• The most common amine processes are
monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine
(DEA). Both processes will remove CO2 and H2S
to pipeline specifications. Among the newer
processes, which have been developed is
methyldietha-nolamine (MDEA). It can be used for
selective removal of H2S in the presence of CO2 and
significantly reduces treating costs when CO2
reduction is not necessary.
MONOETHANOLAMINE SYSTEMS (MEA)
•Monoethanolamine (MEA) is a primary amine,
which has had widespread use as a gas sweetening
agent. This process is well proven, can meet pipeline
specifications, and has more design/operating data
available than any other system. MEA is a stable
compound and in the absence of other chemicals
suffers no degradation or decomposition at
temperatures up to its normal boiling point.
• These reactions are reversible by changing the
system temperature. The reactions with CO2 and
H2S shown above are reversed in the stripping
column by heating the rich MEA to approximately
118°C at 69 kPa (245°F at 10 psig). The acid gases
evolve into the vapor and are removed from the still
overhead. Thus the MEA is regenerated.
• A disadvantage of MEA is that it also reacts
with carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon
disulfide (CS2) to form heat stable salts, which
cannot be regenerated at normal stripping
column temperatures. At temperatures above
118°C (245°F) a side reaction with CO2 exists
which produces oxazolidone-2, a heat stable
salt, which consumes MEA from the process.
• The normal regeneration temperature in the still
will not regenerate heat stable salts or
oxazolidone-2. Therefore, a reclaimer is often
included to remove these contaminants. A
sidestream of from 1 percent to 3 percent of the
MEA circulation is drawn from the bottom of the
stripping column. This stream is then heated to
boil the water and MEA overhead while the heat
stable salts and oxazolidone-2 are retained in the
reclaimer. The reclaimer is periodically shut in
and the collected contaminants are cleaned out.
When the contaminants are removed from the
system, any MEA bonded to them is also lost.
• MEA is usually circulated in a solution of 15 percent to 20 percent
MEA by weight in water. From operating experience it has been
found that the solution loading should not be greater than 0.3 to 0.4
moles of acid gas per mole of MEA. Both the solution strength and
the solution loading are limited to avoid excessive corrosion. The
solution concentration and loading is largely determined by the
H2S/CO2 ratio. The greater the ratio (i.e., the higher the concentration
of H2S relative to CO2), the higher the allowable loading and amine
concentration. This is due to the reaction of H2S and iron (Fe) to form
iron sulfide (Fe2S3 and FeS), which forms a protective barrier on the
steel surface. This barrier can be stripped away by high fluid
velocities and may lead to increased corrosion on the exposed steel.
• The acid gases in the rich amine are
corrosive, but the above concentration
limits may hold corrosion to acceptable
levels. The corrosion commonly shows up
on areas of carbon steel that have been
stressed, such as heat affected zones near
welds, in areas of high acid gas
concentration, or at a hot gas and liquid
interface. Therefore, stress relieving all
equipment after manufacturing is
necessary to reduce corrosion, and special
metallurgy is usually used in specific areas
such as the still overhead or the reboiler
tubes.
• MEA systems foam rather easily resulting in excessive
amine carryover from the absorber. Foaming can be
caused by a number of foreign materials such as
condensed hydrocarbons, degradation products, solids
such as carbon or iron sulfide, excess corrosion
inhibitor, valve grease, etc. One of the more effective
methods of foam control is to use a coalescing filter
separator at the gas inlet to the MEA contactor. This
removes many of the contaminants before they enter the
system. Hydrocarbon liquids are usually removed in the
flash tank. Degradation products are removed in a
reclaimer as described above.
• MEA storage tanks and surge vessels must have an
inert blanket gas system to prevent the oxidation of
MEA. Sweet natural gas or nitrogen can be used as
the blanket gas.
• MEA has the lowest boiling point and the highest
vapor pressure of the amines. This results in MEA
losses of 16 to 48 kg/MMm3 (1 to 3 lbs/MMSCF)
of inlet gas.
• In summation, MEA systems can effectively treat
sour gas to pipeline specifications. However, care
in the design and material selection of MEA
systems is required to minimize equipment
corrosion.
Diethanolamine Systems (DEA)
• Diethanolamine (DEA) is a secondary amine also used

to treat natural gas to pipeline specifications. As a
secondary amine, DEA is less alkaline than MEA.
DEA systems do suffer the same corrosion problems,
but not as severely as those using MEA. Solution
strengths are typically from 25 to 35 percent DEA by
weight in water.
• These reactions are reversible.
• DEA has significant advantages over MEA when COS

or CS2 are present. DEA reacts with COS and CS2 to
form compounds which can be regenerated in the
stripping column. Therefore, COS and CS2 are
removed without a loss of DEA.
• High CO2 levels have been observed to cause DEA
degradation to oxazolidones. Typically, DEA systems
include a carbon filter but do not include a reclaimer.
• The stoichiometry of the reactions of DEA and MEA
with CO2 and H2S are the same. The molecular weight
of DEA is 105 compared to 61 for MEA. The
combination of molecular weights and reaction stoichiometry means
that approximately 0.77 kg (1.7 lbs) of DEA must be circulated to
react with the same amount of acid gas as 0.45 kg (1.0 lbs) of MEA.
The solution strength of DEA ranges up to 35 percent by weight
compared to 20 percent for MEA. Loadings for DEA systems range
from 0.35 to 0.65 moles of acid gas per mole of DEA without
excessive corrosion. The result of this is that the circulation rate of a
DEA solution is slightly less than in a comparable MEA system.
•The vapor pressure of DEA is approximately 1/30 of the vapor
pressure of MEA. Therefore, amine losses are much lower than in
an MEA system
DIGLYCOLAMINE® SYSTEMS (DGA)
•The Fluor Econamine Process uses diglycolamine® (DGA) to

treat natural gas. The active DGA reagent is 2-(2-
aminoethoxy) ethanol, which is a primary amine as follows:
•The reactions of DGA with acid gases are the same as those
for MEA. Unlike MEA, degradation products from reactions
with COS and CS2can be regenerated.
• DGA systems typically circulate a solution of 50
to 70 percent DGA by weight in water. At these
solution strengths and a loading of up to 0.3
moles of acid gas per mole of DGA, corrosion in
DGA systems is slightly less than in MEA
systems. The advantages of a DGA system are
that the low vapor pressure decreases amine
losses, and the high solution strength permits
lower circulation rates.
DIISOPROPANOLAMINE SYSTEMS (DIPA)
•Diisopropanolamine (DIPA) is a secondary amine
used in the Shell "ADIP®" process to sweeten
natural gas.
•DIPA systems are similar to DEA systems but
offer the following advantages:
•Carbonyl sulfide (COS) can be removed and the
DIPA solution regenerated easily
•The system is generally non-corrosive
•Lower energy consumption
• One feature of this process is that at low
pressures DIPA will preferentially remove
H2S. As pressure increases, the selectivity of
the process decreases, and DIPA removes
increasing amounts of CO2. Therefore, this
system can be used either to selectively
remove H2S or to remove both CO2 and H2S.
METHYLDIETHANOLAMINE SYSTEMS (MDEA)
•Methyldiethanolamine is a tertiary amine,
which like the other amines, is used to treat acid
gas major
streams.advantage,
The which MDEA offers over other
amine processes, is its selectivity in
presence of CO2. Ifforthe gasH2isS contacted at pressures
ranging from 5500 to 6900 kPa (800 to 1000 psig), the
H2S levels can be reduced to the very low
concentrations required by pipelines, while at the same
time 40 to 60 percent of the CO2 present flows through
the contactor, unreacted.
• In cases where a high CO2/H2S ratio is present,
MDEA can be used to improve the quality of the
acid gas stream to a Claus recovery plant, but the
higher CO2 content of the treated residue gas
must be tolerated.
• Solution strengths typically range from 40 to 50
percent MDEA by weight. Acid gas loading
varies from 0.2 to 0.4 or more moles of acid gas
per mole of MDEA depending on supplier.
MDEA has a molecular weight of 119. MDEA
solution makeup is dependent upon the supplier.
It can be adjusted to optimize treatment for a
particular gas inlet composition.
• Higher allowable MDEA concentration and acid
gas loading results in reduced circulation flow
rates. Significant capital savings are realized due
to reduced pump and regeneration requirements.
MDEA has a lower heat requirement due to its
low heat of regeneration. In some applications,
energy requirements for gas treating can be
reduced as much as 75 percent by changing from
DEA to MDEA.
INHIBITED AMINE SYSTEMS
• These processes use standard amines that have been

combined with special inhibiting agents which minimize
corrosion. This allows higher solution concentrations
and higher acid gas loadings, thus reducing required
circulation rates and energy requirements.
CARBONATE
PROCESSES
• Hot Potassium Carbonate Systems
• Carbonate processes generally utilize hot potassium
carbonate to remove CO2 and H2S. As a general
rule, this process should be considered when the
partial pressure of the acid gas is 138 kPa (abs) (20
psia) or greater. It is not recommended for low
pressure absorption, or high pressure absorption of
low concentration acid gas.
• The main reactions involved in this process
are:
• These reactions are reversible based on the partial

pressures of the acid gases. Note that potassium
bicarbonate (KHCO3) solutions are not readily regenerable in the absence of CO 2, so that these
processes are only employed for H2S removal when quantities of CO2 are present. Potassium
carbonate also reacts reversibly with COS and CS2.
.
• The gas to be treated enters the bottom of the
absorber and flows countercurrent to the potassium
carbonate. The sweet gas then exits the top of the
absorber. The absorber is typically operated at
110°C (230°F). Therefore, a gas/gas exchanger may
be included to cool the sweet gas, recover sensible
heat, and decrease the system's utility heat
requirements.
• The rich potassium carbonate solution from the
bottom of the absorber flows to a flash drum
where much of the acid gas is removed. The
solution then proceeds to the stripping column,
which operates at approximately 118°C (245°F)
and near atmospheric pressure. The low pressure,
combined with a small amount of heat input,
strips the remaining acid gases. The lean
potassium carbonate from the stripper is pumped
back to the absorber. The lean solution may or
may not be cooled slightly before entering the
absorber. The heat of reaction from the
absorption of the acid gases causes a slight
temperature rise in the absorber.
• The solution concentration for a potassium carbonate
system is limited by both the solubility of potassium
carbonate in the lean stream and the solubility of the
potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) in the rich stream.
The reaction with CO2 produces two moles of
KHCO3 per mole of potassium carbonate reacted. For
this reason the KHCO3 in the rich stream normally
limits the lean solution potassium carbonate
concentration to 20 to 35 percent by weight.
• Potassium carbonate works best on gas streams with
a CO2 partial pressure of 207 to 620 kPa (30 to 90
psi). When CO2 is not present, H2S removal will be
limited because the regeneration of the potassium
carbonate requires an excess of KHCO3. The
presence of CO2 in the gas provides a surplus of
KHCO3 in the rich stream. Note that pipeline quality
gas often requires secondary treating using an amine
or similar system to reduce H2S level to 4 ppm.
• The entire system is operated at high
temperatures to increase the solubility of
carbonates. Therefore, the designer must be
careful to avoid dead spots in the system where the
solution could cool and precipitate solids. If
solids do precipitate, the system may suffer from
plugging, erosion, or foaming.
• The hot potassium carbonate solutions are
corrosive. All carbon steel must be stress
relieved to limit corrosion. A variety of
corrosion inhibitors, such as fatty amines or
potassium dichromate, are available to decrease
corrosion rates.
PROPRIETARY CARBONATE SYSTEMS
•Several proprietary processes have been developed

based on the hot carbonate system with an activator
or catalyst. These activators increase the
performance of the hot potassium carbonate system
by increasing the reaction rates both in the absorber
and the stripper. In general, these processes also
decrease corrosion in the system. The following are
some of the proprietary processes for hot potassium
carbonate:
SPECIALTY BATCH CHEMICAL SOLVENTS
•Several batch chemical processes have been developed and have

specific areas of application. Among these processes are Zinc Oxide
slurry, caustic wash, Sulfa- Check, Slurrisweet, and Chemsweet. In
general, gas is flowed into a vessel and contacted with the solvent.
The acid components are converted to soluble salts, which are non-
regenerable, limiting the life of the solution. Once saturation levels are
reached, the solution must be replaced. For some of these processes,
the spent solutions are not hazardous, but for others, the spent
solutions have been labeled hazardous and, if used, must be disposed
of as Class IV materials.
• These units have a wide operating range, with acid gas
concentrations ranging from as low as 10 ppm to as
high as 20 percent. Operating pressures range from
near atmospheric to greater than 7000 kPa (1000 psig).
Units have been designed to handle from several
hundred cubic meters per day to more than 420,000
m3 per day (from several thousand cubic feet per day
to more than 15 MMSCFD).
• Typical among these processes is the Sulfa-Check
process. This is a single step process that converts H2S
to sulfur in a bubble tower filled with a proprietary
solution of oxidizing and buffering agents. The
oxidizing agent is a proprietary formulation of chelated
nitrite ions. The reaction chemistry involved is as
follows:
• Reaction rate is independent of the concentration of the oxidizing
agent. Although there is no limit to the concentration of H2S treated,
the process is most economical for acid gas streams containing from
1 ppm to 1 percent H2S. It is important to hold pH above 7.5 to
control selectivity and optimize H2S removal. Four liters (one gallon)
of oxidizing solution can remove up to 1 kg (2 lbs) of H2S when the
system is operated at ambient temperatures less than 38°C (less than
100°F). If gas temperatures exceed 38°C (100°F), the solubility of
sulfur in the oxidizing agent decreases. An operating pressure of at
least 138 kPa (20 psig) is required for proper unit operation to
maintain bubble flow through the column. Bubble flow is necessary
to produce intimate mixing of the gas and liquid.
• The oxidizing solution will eventually become
saturated and require replacement. Disposal of this
slurry poses no environmental problem, as the
reaction produces an aqueous slurry of sulfur and
sodium salt.
PHYSICAL SOLVENT
PROCESSES
• Physical solvent systems are very similar to chemical
solvent systems but are based on the gas solubility
within a solvent instead of a chemical reaction. The
partial pressure of the acid gases and the system
temperature both affect the acid gas solubility. Higher
acid gas partial pressures increase the acid gas
solubility. Low temperatures have a similar effect, but,
in general, temperature is not as critical as pressure.
• Various organic solvents are used to absorb the acid gases
based on partial pressures. Regeneration of the solvent is
accomplished by flashing to lower pressures and/or
stripping with solvent vapor or inert gas. Some solvents
can be regenerated by flashing only and require no heat.
Other solvents require stripping and some heat, but
typically the heat requirements are small compared to
chemical solvents.
• Physical solvent processes have a high affinity for heavy
hydrocarbons. If the natural gas stream is rich in C3+
hydrocarbons, then the use of a physical solvent process
may result in a significant loss of the heavier mole
weight hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are lost
because they are released from the solvent with the acid
gases and cannot be economically recovered.
• Under the following circumstances physical solvent
processes should be considered for gas sweetening:
• The partial pressure of the acid gases in the
feed is 345 kPa (50 psi) or higher
• The concentration of
heavy hydrocarbons in
the feed is low
• Only bulk removal of acid
gases is required
• Selective H2S removal is required
A physical solvent process is shown in
Figure 5 (Typical flow schematic of a physical
solvent process).
Figure 5
• The sour gas contacts the solvent using
countercurrent flow in the Rich
absorber.from the absorber bottom is flashed in
solvent
stages to near atmospheric pressure. This
causes the acid gas partial pressures to
decrease, and the acid gases evolve to the
vapor phase and are removed. The regenerated
solvent is then pumped back to the absorber.
• The example in Figure 5 (Typical flow schematic of a physical
solvent process) is a simple one where flashing is sufficient to
regenerate the solvent. Some solvents require a stripping
column just prior to the circulation pump. Some systems
require temperatures below ambient, thus refrigeration using
power turbines replaces the pressure reducing valves. These
turbines recover some of the power from the high pressure rich
solvent and thus decrease the utility power requirements for
refrigeration and circulation
• The majority of the physical solvent processes are proprietary
and are licensed by the company that developed the process.
Four typical processes are discussed below.
FLUOR SOLVENT
PROCESS
• The Fluor Solvent process uses propylene carbonate as
a physical solvent to remove CO2 and H2S. Propylene
carbonate also removes C3+ hydrocarbons, COS,
SO2, CS2 and H2O from the natural gas stream. Thus,
in one step the natural gas can be sweetened and
dehydrated to pipeline quality. In general this process
is used for bulk removal of CO2 and is not used to
treat to less than 3 percent CO2 as may be required
for pipeline quality gas. The system requires special
design features, larger absorbers and higher circulation
rates to obtain pipeline quality and usually is not
economically applicable for these outlet requirements.
• Propylene carbonate has the following characteristics,
which mHaigkhe 2
gases
ditesgu iteaboheat
reLow lfesaof
ossolution
luabsioliltfor
vyeCO
fno2trfCorOacidangdaso
Low vapor pressure at operating temperature
ttrheearting
Low solubility for light hydrocarbons (C1,
C2)
Chemically non-reactive toward all natural
gas components
Low viscosity
Non-corrosive toward common metals
• These characteristics combine to yield a system
that has low heat and pumping requirements, is
relatively non-corrosive, and suffers only minimal
solvent losses, (less than 1 lb/MMSCF).
• Solvent temperatures below ambient are usually
used to increase solvent gas capacity, and,
therefore, decrease circulation rates. The expansion
of the rich solvent and flash gases through power
turbines can provide the required refrigeration.
Alternately, auxiliary refrigeration may be included
to further decrease circulation rates.
SULFINOL® PROCESS
• The Sulfinol®process, developed and licensed by
Shell, employs both a chemical and a physical
solvent for the removal of H2S, CO2, mercaptans,
and COS. The Sulfinol®solution is a mixture of
tetrahydrothiophene dioxide (Sulfolane®), which is
the physical solvent; a secondary amine,
diisopropanolamine (DIPA); and
water. previously discussed,is the DIPA
chemical range from 25 ,to 40
Typical solution concentrations
percent Sulfolane®, 40 to 55 percent DIPA, andsolven
20
t. and
to 30 percent water, depending on the conditions
composition of the gas being treated.
• The presence of the physical solvent,
Sulfolane®, allows higher acid gas loadings
compared to systems based on amine only.
Typical loadings are 1.5 moles of acid gas per
mole of Sulfinol® solution. Higher acid gas
loadings, together with a lower energy of
regeneration, can result in lower capital and
energy costs per unit of acid gas removed as
compared to the ethanolamine processes.
• Other features of the Sulfinol® process include:
 Essentially complete removal of mercaptans
 High removal rate of COS
 Lower foaming tendency
 Lower corrosion rates
 Ability to slip up to 50 percent CO2
• The process design of a Sulfinol® unit is similar to that of the
ethanolamines. However, the degradation of DIPA to
oxazolidones (DIPA-OX) usually necessitates the installation of a
reclaimer for their removal. As with the ethanolamine processes,
aromatics and heavy hydrocarbons in the feed gas should be
removed prior to contact with the Sulfinol® solution to minimize
foaming.
• Although the relative merits of the Sulfinol® process as
compared to the ethanolamine processes appear to be
many, there are other factors which must be considered
before selecting the appropriate gas treating process for a
particular application. The payment of a licensing fee,
while not necessary for the ethanolamine processes, is
required for the Sulfinol® process. In addition, solvent
costs are generally higher for Sulfinol®than they are for
DEA. A less tangible disadvantage of the Sulfinol®
process, is that operators are more familiar with DEA
and the typical problems associated with this process.
Finally, in cases of low acid gas partial pressure, the
advantage of a lower circulation rate for the Sulfinol®
process diminishes as compared to DEA.
SELEXOL® PROCESS
•Selexol® is a process using the dimethylether of
polyethylene glycol as a solvent. It was
developed by Allied Chemical Company and is
licensed by the Norton Company. This process
is selective toward removing sulfur compounds.
Levels of CO2 can be reduced by approximately
85 percent. This process may be used
economically when there are high acid gas
partial pressures and an absence of heavy ends in
the gas. The Selexol® process will not normally
remove enough CO2 to meet pipeline gas
requirements. DIPA can be added to the solution
to remove CO2 down to pipeline specifications.
This process also removes water to less than
0.11 g/stdm3 (7 lb/MMSCF). This system then
RECTISOL PROCESS
• The German Lurgi Company and Linde A. G. developed

the Rectisol process to use methanol to sweeten natural
gas. Due to the high vapor pressure of methanol this
process is usually operated at temperatures of -34°C to -
74°C (30°F to -100°F). It has been applied for the
purification of gas for LNG plants and in coal gasification
plants, but is not commonly used to treat natural gas
streams
DIRECT CONVERSION PROCESSES
•Direct conversion processes use chemical reactions to oxidize

H2S and produce elemental sulfur. These processes are
generally based either on the reaction of H2S and O2 or H2S
and SO2. Both reactions yield water and elemental sulfur.
These processes are licensed and involve specialized catalysts
and/or solvents.
STRETFORD PROCESS
• An example of a process using O2 to oxidize H2S

is the Stretford process, which is licensed by the
British Gas Corporation. In this process the gas
stream is washed with an aqueous solution of
sodium carbonate, sodium vanadate and
anthraquinone disulfonic acid. Figure 6 (Stretford
Process) shows a simplified diagram of the
process.
Figure 6
• Oxidized solution is delivered from the pumping
tank to the top of the absorber tower where it
contacts the gas stream in a countercurrent flow.
The bottom of the absorber tower consists of a
reaction tank from which the reduced solution
passes to the solution flash drum, which is situated
above the oxidizer. The reduced solution passes
from here into the base of the oxidizer vessel.
Hydrocarbon gases, which have been dissolved in
the solution at the plant pressure are released from
the top of the flash drum. Air is blown into the
oxidizer and the main body of the solution, now re-
oxidized, passes into the pumping tank.
• The sulfur is carried to the top of the oxidizer
by froth created by the aeration of the solution
and passes into the thickener. The function of
the thickener is to increase the weight percent
of sulfur which is pumped to one of the
alternate sulfur recovery methods of filtration,
filtration and autoclaves, centrifugation or
centrifugation with heating.
• The chemical reactions involved are:
• Sodium carbonate provides the alkaline solution

for initial adsorption of H2S and the formation of
hydrosulfide (HS¯
). The hydrosulfide is reduced in a reaction with
sodium
meta vandate to precipitate sulfur.
• Anthraquinone disulfonic acid (ADA) reacts with 4-
valent vanadium and converts it back to 5-valent.
• Oxygen from the air converts the reduced ADA

back to the oxidized state.
• The overall reaction is:

IFP PROCESS
•The Institute Francais du Petrole has
developed a process for reacting H2S
with SO2 to produce water and sulfur.
The overall reaction is:
Figure 7 (IFP is a simplified diagram of

Process) the
process.
Figure 7
• This process involves mixing the H2S and
SO2 gases and then contacting them with a
liquid catalyst in a packed tower. Elemental
sulfur is recovered in the bottom of the tower. A
portion of this must be burned to produce the
SO2 required to remove the H2S. The most
important variable is the ratio of H2S to SO2 in
the feed. This is controlled by analyzer
equipment to maintain the system performance.
LO-
CAT®/SULFEROX®
• Developed by ARI Technologies and Shell Development,
respectively, these processes employ high iron concentration
reduction-oxidation technology for the selective removal of
H2S to less than 4 ppm in both low and high pressure gas
streams. The acid gas stream is contacted with the solution
where H2S reacts with and reduces the chelated-iron and
produces elemental sulfur. The iron is then regenerated by
reaction with the oxygen in air. The reactions involved are
exothermic:
• The features of these processes are high allowable iron
concentration in solution, reduced degradation rates of
the chelated-iron, and no heat requirements.
Figure 8 (LO-CAT) illustrates the process design
for the LO-CAT® process.
Figure 8
• The SulFerox® process uses the patented pipeline
contactor with co-current flow to minimize sulfur
plugging. The system has a high turndown capability.
•These units are relatively small per unit of acid gas
treated. The technology of these processes has many
potential applications such as:
 Treatment of sour produced or recycled CO2
 Remote, single well streams
 Tail Gas treatment
 Offshore installations
• Although suitable for several applications, these processes have
disadvantages, which must be considered prior to selecting this type of
process for a specific gas treating application. Because CO2 is not
removed and only partial removal of mercaptans is achieved, gas
streams containing these components in excess of pipeline
specifications will require additional treatment. Gas streams above
49°C (120°F) can cause excessive chelated-iron degradation, resulting
in costly make-up rates. Certain components in gas streams, such as
HCN, can "poison" the solution, rendering it non-regenerable, while
other components, such as NH3, can raise the pH of the solution,
resulting in the precipitation of iron. The licensors should be contacted
to determine what incompatibilities between the solution and gas
components may exist.
DISTILLATION PROCESS
•The Ryan-Holmes distillation process uses cryogenic

distillation to remove acid gases from a gas stream.
This process is applied to remove CO2 for LPG
separation or where it is desired to produce CO2 at
high pressure for reservoir injection or other use.
The process consists of two, three or four
fractionating columns. The gas stream is
dehydrated and then cooled with refrigeration and/or
first
pressure reduction.
• The three-column system is employed for gas streams
containing less than 50 percent CO2. The first column
operates at 3100 to 4500 kPa (450 to 650 psig) and separates
a high quality methane product in the overhead. Temperatures
in the overhead are from -18°C to -95°C(0°F to -140°F). The
second column operates at a slightly lower pressure, and
produces a CO2 stream overhead, which contains small
amounts of H2S and methane. The bottom product contains
H2S and the ethane plus components. The third column
produces NGL liquids, which are recycled back to the first
two columns. It is this recycle that allows the process to be
successful. The NGL liquids prevent CO2 solid formation in
the first column and aids in the breaking of the ethane/CO2
azeotrope in the second column to permit high ethane
recoveries.
• A four-column system is used where
CO2 feed concentration exceeds 50
percent. The initial column in this
scheme is a de-ethanizer. The
overhead product, a CO2/methane
binary, is sent to a bulk
CO2 removal column and de-
methanizer combination. CO2 is
produced as a liquid and is pumped
to injection or sales pressure.
• The two-column system is used when a
methane product is not required and is thus
produced with the CO2. Very high propane
recoveries may be achieved; however, little
ethane recovery is achieved.
• These processes require feed gas preparation in

the form of compression and dehydration,
which add to their cost. They are finding
applications in enhanced oil recovery projects.
Gas Permeation Process
•Gas permeation is based on the mass
transfer principles of gas diffusion through a
permeable membrane. There are two types
of membranes used. The first is a hollow
tube membrane resembling a shell and tube
exchanger. The second is a polymeric film
envelope wound on a mandrel.
•The permeation through a membrane
involves both the diffusivity and solubility
of a given component. The driving force for
the separation is differential pressure; thus,
operations can take place over a wide range
of temperatures and pressures, as
determined by the physical limitations of the
membrane.
• In its most basic form, a membrane separation system consists of a
vessel divided by a membrane into a high and a low-pressure section.
Feed entering the high-pressure side selectively loses the fast
permeating components to the low pressure side. Where gas
permeability rates of the components are close, or if high product
purity is required, the membrane modules can be arranged in series or
streams may be recycled.
• CO2 tends to diffuse quickly through membranes, and, thus, can be
removed from the bulk gas stream. Permeation separation works well
on gases with a high CO2 partial pressure. The CO2is produced at 1/5
to 1/10 the feed pressure. H2S is a problem with membranes, as it will
usually be found in both the high and low-pressure streams. This may
require further treatment for one or both of the streams.
• The main drawback of membrane separation for
removal of CO2 is that some methane will also
permeate through the membrane and be lost with
the CO2. The permeate stream can contain as
much as 10 percent of the methane that was in the
feed stream.
• The permeate typically contains enough methane
that it can be burned for fuel. If there is
insufficient need for fuel, this stream can be
compressed and fed to another membrane to
recover most of the methane.
• Membranes are susceptible to rapid
deterioration if the feed contains liquid
droplets or solids, and, thus, a good filter-
separator is required upstream. In addition,
the feed should be heated after separation to
assure that the gas stays above its dew point.
Claus
•The Claus process is used to treat gas streams
containing high concentrations of H2S. The chemistry
of the units involves partial oxidation of hydrogen
sulfide to sulfur dioxide, and the catalytically
promoted reaction of H2S and SO2 to produce
elemental sulfur. The reactions are staged and are as
follows:
• The first stage of the process converts H2S to sulfur
dioxide and to sulfur by burning the acid gas stream with
air in the reaction furnace. This provides SO2 for the next
phase of the reaction. Multiple reactors are provided to
achieve a more complete conversion of the H2S.
Condensers are provided after each reactor to condense
the sulfur vapor and separate it from the main stream.
Conversion efficiencies of 94 to 95 percent can be attained
with two catalytic stages while up to 97 percent
conversion can be attained with three catalytic stages. As
dictated by environmental concerns the effluent gas is
either vented, incinerated or sent to a "tail gas treating
unit."
Tail Gas Treating
•There are many different processes used in tail gas
treating today. These processes can be grouped into two
categories: the first category is an extension of the Claus
reaction in a dry or a liquid system. Leading among these
processes are the Sulfreen and the Cold Bed Absorption
(CBA) processes. These are similar processes, using two
parallel Claus reactors in a cycle, where one reactor
operates below the sulfur dew point to absorb the sulfur,
while the second is regenerated with heat to recover the
absorbed sulfur. Even though recoveries are normally 99
to 99.5 percent of the inlet sulfur stream, incineration of
the outlet gas is required to meet environmental air
quality.
• The second category of tail gas processes involves the
conversion of the sulfur compounds to H2S and then
the absorbing of the H2S from the stream. The SCOT
process appears to be the leading choice among this
type of process. The SCOT process uses an amine to
remove the H2S, which is usually recycled back to the
Claus plant. Other types of processes oxidize the
sulfur compounds to SO2 and then convert the SO2 to
a secondary product such as ammonium thiosulfate, a
fertilizer. These plants can remove more than 99.5
percent of the sulfur and may eliminate the need for
incineration. Costs of achieving tail gas cleanup are
high; typically double the cost of a Claus unit.
PROCESS SELECTION
Each of the acid gas treating processes has

advantages relative to the others for certain
applications; in selection of the
appropriate
therefore, process, the following facts should be
•cTohnesitdyepreedo:f acid contaminants present

in the gas stream
• The concentrations of each contaminant
and
degree
of removal required
• The volume of gas to be treated and
temperature and
pressure at which the gas is available
• The feasibility of recovering sulfur
• The desirability of selectively
removing one
or more of the contaminants without removing
the others
• The presence and amount of heavy
hydrocarbons and aromatics in the gas
• The environmental conditions
required at
the plant site.
Removal of H2S to Meet Pipeline Qualities (4 ppm)
•For feeds with small acid gas loadings, one of the

batch processes should be considered for removal of
H2S. The most common are: iron sponge, Sulfa-Treat,
and Sulfa- Check.
•As acid gas loadings increase, the disposal and
replacement costs become high, and it becomes
necessary to choose a process that can be regenerated.
The amine systems are most often used for these
installation systems. DEA is the most common amine
system.
• The end product of an amine system is an acid gas
stream off the stripper, which must be flared. As acid
gas loadings increase, environmental constraints
require that this acid gas stream be converted to
sulfur. One of the processes that converts acid gas to
sulfur, such as LO-CAT®, SulFerox®, Claus, or
Stretford, must be added downstream of the amine
system. In some cases, it may be feasible to contact
the gas stream to be treated directly with LO- CAT®
or SulFerox® solution and eliminate the need to
separate the acid gas components from the gas stream
with an amine unit.
• When a Claus unit is used, it
may be necessary to add tail
gas cleanup downstream of the
Claus unit if acid gas loadings
are very high.
Removal of CO2
•Removal of CO2 to meet pipeline

quality specifications can be
accomplished with an amine-based
system since the acid gas from the
stripper can be vented (assuming
levels of H2S in the gas being
treated are very low).
•Removal of CO2 with gas
permeation may be attractive for
low volume gas streams in remote
areas where the loss of methane is
not critical. Permeation systems
with a second stage recycle may be
competitive with amine systems.
Removal of H2S and CO2
•Most commonly, both H2S and CO2 are present

and must be removed to meet pipeline quality
requirements. In most cases, essentially all of the
H2S will have to be removed, while only a
fraction of the CO2 will have to be removed. Use
of a non-selective solvent such as MEA or DEA
will require that the equipment be sized to
essentially remove all the CO2 so that the H2S
specification can be achieved. This procedure
may be the most economical solution for streams
with low CO2 concentrations.
• As CO2 concentrations in the feed increase, it becomes more
economical to use a selective process such as MDEA,
Sulfinol®, Selexol®, etc., which will remove a higher
percentage of H2S than CO2 from a stream.
• Another alternative is to use gas permeation or a carbonate
system for bulk removal of CO2 upstream of a non-selective
amine unit.
• Finally, it may be economical to remove both H2S and CO2 to
a level where the CO2 content is acceptable with either a
selective or non-selective process, and use a sulfur removal
process (iron sponge, Sulfa-Treat, Sulfa-Check, LO-CAT®,
SulFerox®) for final treating of the residue gas.
• These graphs are not meant to supplant engineering judgment nor
to cover every possible contingency. New processes are
continuously being developed. Modifications to existing
proprietary products will change their range of applicability and
relative cost. The graphs do enable a first choice of several
potential candidates, which could be investigated to determine
which is the most economical for a given set of conditions.
• To select a process, determine flow rate, temperature, pressure,
concentrations of the acid gases in the inlet gas, and allowed
concentrations of acid gases in the outlet stream. With this
information, calculate the partial pressure of the acid gas
components.
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
• This refers to the trajectory of a well when at some point it is swayed from the
vertical to drill
at an angle to reach a target some way laterally from the wellhead.
• Increasing the exposed section length through the reservoir by drilling through the
reservoir at an angle.
• Drilling into the reservoir where vertical access is difficult or not possible. For
instance an
oilfield under a town, under a lake, or underneath a difficult-to-drill formation.
• Upcoming video will have a clear visualise on it.
LOGGING TECHNIQUES
Mainly logging techniques are
comprised of
1.Electric Logging
2.Radioactive logging
3.Gamma ray logging
4.Nuclear magnetic resonance logging
5.Acoustic logging
1. ELECTRIC LOGGING
• Resistivity logging measures the subsurface electrical resistivity, which is the
ability to impede the flow of electric current.
• This helps to differentiate between formations filled with salty waters (good
conductors of electricity) and those filled with hydrocarbons (poor conductors of
electricity).
• As oil does not conduct electricity, it shows higher resistivity and it differentiate
between water and oil presence..
• Resistivity and porosity measurements are used to calculate water saturation.
2. RADIOACTIVE LOGGING
• There are those that measure the natural radiation generated by the formation,
such as the total and spectral gamma ray logs.
• Those that measure the response of the formation to radiation generated by the
tool, such as the neutron, density and litho-density logs.
• Radioactivity is a fundamental property of the structure of all matter.
• The atoms of all elements have a nucleus which contains different numbers of
protons and neutrons, which is surrounded by a sheath of electrons that are
arranged in different energy levels.
3. GAMMA RAY LOGGING
• Gamma ray logs reflect naturally occurring radiation in rocks penetrated by the
borehole.
• Although several types of rays are emitted, only gamma rays have enough
penetration to be of practical use in logging the natural radioactivity of rocks.
• All natural rocks contain some radioactive material.
• However, compared to that of uranium or radium ore, even of low grade, the
radioactivity of most rocks is very small.
• The radioactivity of a rock is usually expressed in terms of equivalent amount of
radium per gram of rock required to produce the same gamma ray intensity.
Effect of Casing
•Most of the gamma rays emitted by the formation can penetrate casing, so that a
gamma ray curve can be obtained in cased holes, although the amplitudes of the
curve are somewhat reduced. For example, a 5/16 inch thickness of steel reduces
the gamma ray intensity about one fourth.
Effect of Mud
•It absorbs a small percent of the radiation and therefore reduces the log amplitude;
unless the
hole diameter is very large (more than 24") this effect is very small and can be
ignored.
Effect of Hole Size
•The larger the hole, the smaller the gamma ray intensity reaching the probe.
However, this
effect is small and can generally be neglected.
APPLICATION OF GAMMA RAY LOGS
Gamma ray logs are used in the following instances.
1.To log cased holes (no electric log can be obtained in cased holes).
2.To log dry holes (no electric log can be obtained in holes that do not contain water or
mud).
3.To log holes containing salt water or salty mud (the electric logs obtained in such holes
are
generally poor).
4.To supplement the information given by the electric log (identification of formations,
estimating the amount of clay in sands, etc.)
5.To locate radioactive ores, uranium in particular.
6.To help locate lignite and coal beds.
7.To help locate clay and fresh water sands.
4. NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
LOGGING
• In petroleum industry this technology is used in petro physical laboratory research
and subsequently developed downhole logging tools for in-situ reservoir evaluation.
• A subcategory of electromagnetic logging.
• NMR effectively responds to the volume, composition, viscosity, and distribution of
these fluids, for example:
– Oil
– Gas
– Water
• Provide information about the quantities of fluids present, the properties of these
fluids, and the sizes of the pores containing these fluids.
– The volume (porosity) and distribution (permeability) of the rock pore space
– Rock composition
– Type and quantity of fluid hydrocarbons
– Hydrocarbon producibility
• Provides measurements of a variety of critical rock and fluid properties in varying
reservoir conditions (e.g., salinity, lithology, and texture), some of which are
unavailable using conventional logging methods and without requiring radioactive
sources .
• Disadvantages:
– the most complex logging service introduced to date
– requires extensive pre-job planning to ensure optimal acquisition of the
appropriate data needed to achieve the desired objectives.
5. ACOUSTIC LOGGING
• Provides a measure of a formation’s capacity to transmit

seismic waves
• Varies with
– Lithology
– Rock texture
– Decreases with increase in effective porosity.
NATURAL GAS LIQUIDS RECOVERY
INTRODUCTION
•Most natural gas is processed to remove the heavier hydrocarbon

liquids from the natural gas stream.
•These heavier hydrocarbon liquids, commonly referred to as natural

gas liquids (NGLs), include ethane, propane, butanes, and natural
gasoline (condensate).
•Recovery of NGLcomponents in gas for dew point control & yields a

source of revenue.
• Lighter NGL fractions, such as ethane, propane,and butanes, can

be sold as fuel or feedstock to refineries and petrochemical
plants, while the heavier portion can be used as gasoline-
blending stock.
Gas Condensate Reservoirs
• Gas condensate reservoirs have been defined as those hydrocarbon

reservoirs that yield gas condensate liquid in the surface separator(s).
• A retrograde gas condensate reservoir is one whose temperature is below

the cricondentherm (the maximum temperature at which liquid and vapor
phases can coexist in equilibrium for a constant-composition multicomponent
system).
• As pressure decreases below the dew point due to production, a liquid

phase develops within the reservoir, which process is called retro grade
condensation.
Options of Phase Change
• To recover and separate NGL from a bulk of gas stream, a

change in phase has to take place. In other words, a new phase
has to be developed for separation to occur. Two distinctive
options are in practice depending on the use of ESA or MSA.
Energy Separating Agent
(Refrigeration)
(Distillation)
Mass Separating Agent
•To separate NGL, a new phase is developed by using either a

solid material in contact with the gas stream (adsorption) or a
liquid in contact with the gas (absorption).
Parameters Controlling NGL Separation
•Operating pressure, P
•Operating temperature, T
•System composition or concentration, x and y
To obtain the right quantities of specific NGL constituents, a control of

the relevant parameters has to be carried out:
1. For separation using ESA, pressure is maintained by direct control.

Temperature, on the other hand, is reduced by refrigeration using one
of the following techniques:
(a)Compression refrigeration
(b)Cryogenic separation; expansion across a turbine
(c)Cryogenic separation; expansion across a valve
2. For separation using MSA, a control in the composition or the
concentration of the hydrocarbons to be recovered (NGL); y and x is
obtained by using adsorption or absorption methods.
In Summary
•The efficiency of condensation, hence NGL recovery, is a function of

P, T, gas and oil flow rates, and contact time. Again, absorption could
be coupled with refrigeration to enhance condensation.
•A proper design of a system implies the use of the optimum levels of

all operating factors plus the availability of sufficient area of contact for
mass and heat transfer between phases.
Mechanical Refrigeration
Mechanical refrigeration is the simplest and most direct process

for NGL recovery. of condensate are expected. This process may
also lead to the recovery of liquified petroleum gas, where for
LPG recovery up to 90%, a simple propane refrigeration system
provides refrigeration at temperatures to −40o F.
Flow sheet of a mechanical refrigeration process

Salient Features
•propane as the refrigerant
•gas-to-gas heat exchanger recovers additional refrigeration
•The temperature of the cold gas stream leaving this exchanger

“approaches” that of the warm inlet gas
•The chiller in is typically a shell and tube, kettle-type unit

•The refrigerant (often propane) boils off and leaves the chiller
vapor space essentially as a saturated vapor.
•The thermodynamic path followed by the gas in an external

refrigeration process is shown as line ABC in Figure 2. From A to B
indicates gas-to-gas heat exchange; from B to C, chilling.
•Hydrate formation is prevented either by dehydration of the gas or

by injection of a hydrate inhibitor.
Choice of Refrigerant
•Any material could be used as a refrigerant. The ideal refrigerant is nontoxic,
non-corrosive, has Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) and physical
properties compatible with the system needs, and has a high latent heat of
vaporization.
•The practical choice reduces to one, which has desirable physical properties
and will vaporize and condense at reasonable pressures at the temperature
levels desired.
Cascade Refrigeration
• Cascade refrigeration refers to two refrigeration circuits thermally
connected by a cascade condenser, which is the condenser of the low-
temperature circuit and the evaporator of the high-temperature circuit.
• A cascade system utilizes one refrigerant to condense the other primary
refrigerant, which is operating at the desired evaporator temperature.
This approach is usually used for temperature levels below −90◦F, when
light hydrocarbon gases or other low boiling gases and vapors are being
cooled.
Mixed Refrigerants
•An alternative to cascade refrigeration is to use a mixed refrigerant. Mixed

refrigerants are a mixture of two or more components. The light components
lower the evaporation temperature, and the heavier components allow
condensation at ambient temperature.
•The evaporation process takes place over a temperature range rather than at
a constant temperature as with pure component refrigerants. The mixed
refrigerant is blended so that its evaporation curve matches the cooling curve
for the process fluid.
• Heat transfer occurs in a countercurrent exchanger, probably an

aluminum plate fin, rather than a kettle-type chiller. Mixed refrigerants have the
advantage of better thermal efficiency because refrigeration is always being
provided at the warmest possible temperature.
Self-Refrigeration
In this process, the nonideal behavior of the inlet gas causes the
gas temperature to fall with the pressure reduction, as shown by
line ABC’ in Figure2. The temperature change depends primarily
on the pressure drop.
Flow sheet of a self-refrigeration system

• If the objective is to recover ethane or more propane than
obtainable by mechanical refrigeration, a good process can be
self-refrigeration, which is particularly applicable for smaller gas
volumes of 5 to 10 MMCFD.
• The self-refrigeration process is attractive if the inlet gas pressure

is very high. It is important that the reservoir pressure remain high
for the intended life of the plant.
• Low-pressure inlet gas favors a cryogenic refrigeration plant or

straight refrigeration process
Cryogenic Refrigeration
• Cryogenic refrigeration processes traditionally have been used for

NGL recovery.
• These plants have a higher capital cost but a lower operational cost.
• In the cryogenic or turboexpander plant, the chiller or Joule–Thomson

(JT) valve used in two previous processes is replaced by an expansion
turbine.
• The expansion process is indicated as line ABC” in Figure 2.
• The turbine can be connected to a compressor, which recompresses

the gas with only a small loss in overall pressure.
Typical flow sheet of a cryogenic refrigeration plant
Schematic of Ortloff gas subcooled process
Schematic of Ortloff residue split-vapor process
Simplified flow diagram of an oil absorption plant
Schematic of a solid bed adsorption plant
NATURAL GAS PROCESSING
Lecture by,
M.Aslam Abdullah
VIT University,
Vellore.
FIGURE 1 Schematic of conventional turboexpander process with no recycle to
demethanizer. Note that the one heat exchanger represents a network of exchangers.
(Adapted from Engineering Data Book, 2004e.)
FIGURE 2 Cold-residue recycle process for maximizing ethane
recovery.
Three basic methods are used for removal of nitrogen
from natural gas:
Cryogenic distillation
Adsorption
Membrane separation
TABLE 1 : Comparison of Nitrogen Removal
Processes
FIGURE 3 NRU by use of two-column cryogenic distillation. Valves are
J- T valves.
FIGURE 4 Simple pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system.
FIGURE 5 Separating N2 from natural gas by use of membranes.
FIGURE 6 Schematic of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system.

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GAS PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Hydrocarbon accumulations in geological traps can be classified

An oil that is at its buuple point pressure is called a “saturated

Single phase flow prevails in an undersaturated oil reservoir,

The reservoirs at and above dew point are classified

In general, if the reservoir temperature is above the critical

• Gas-oil ratios between 8,000 to 70,000 scf/STB. Generally,

•Gas oil ratios between 60,000 to 100,000 scf/STB

The procedure for ‘‘shutting-in’’ a well is the opposite of the

When a vertical well is open to produce gas/oil at production rate

‘‘Steady-state flow’’ is defined as a flow regime where the

‘‘Pseudo–steady-state’’ flow is defined as a flow regime where

The above two types of catenary lines are conventionally

Each of the lines forms a catenary shape, depending on an

Thus a spread of lines generates a nonlinear restoring force to

The equivalent restoring stiffness provided by the mooring is

The longitudinal and transverse motions of the mooring lines

To operate in more water depths, the suspended weight of

Recently, advances in taut synthetic fibre rope technology have

Mooring system design is a trade-off between making the

Easier to achieve for moderate water depths, but becomes more

Excessive offsets are often observed due to the environmental

SPM have been developed to overcome this disadvantage. In

this the lines are attached to the vessel at a single point.

The vessel is then free to weathervane and hence reduce

A typical early facility consisted of a buoy that serves as a

The vessel is moored to the buoy either by synthetic hawsers or by

Turntable and fluid swivels on the buoy allow the vessel to

Here the connected system is designed to withstand a less harsh

These requirements are determined by the function of the

Risers disconnected in storms Risers remain connected in storm

From a static point of view, the cable tension in the vicinity of

The progressive effect of line lift-off from the seabed

This feature, coupled with the simultaneous decrease in line angle

For deep-water applications, synthetic fibre lines can have

This, causes reduced mean- and

This leads to over conservative designs that strip them of

In marine applications this has led to synthetic ropes subject

In a taut mooring system the restoring forces in surge, sway and

This mechanism of developing restoring forces mostly differs from

The stretch characteristics of fibre ropes can extend from 1.2 to 20

The energy induced by cyclic loading is dissipated (hysteresis) in

The fatigue behavior of a rope at its termination is not good. In a

In a slack line this mechanism is more likely to be a problem than

Issues to consider are that the strength of a polyester rope is about

Additionally the creep behavior is good but not negligible (about

Wind gust forces can contribute to some of these motions as well.

The principle components of a mooring system may consists of:

Chain, wire or rope or their combination

Properties are given by “Det Norske Veritas OS-E301” codes.

system. There are primary 2 chain constructions:

b)Stud-less Chain (removing stud reduces the weight per unit of

Wire rope consists of individual wires wound in a helical pattern

Wire rope used for mooring can be multi-strand or single-strand

Multi-strand ropes are favored for temporary applications because

Six-strand rope is the most common type of multi-strand rope used

Mooring line ropes typically consist of 12, 24, 37 or more wires

The wires have staggered sizes to achieve higher strength

6x9 Class: 16 to 27 wires per strand. Good flexibility and fatigue

6x37 Class: 27 to 49 wires per strand. Excellent fatigue life and