At Typhonix facilities outside of Stavanger, the venue was packed with inspired minds, representing operators, EPCs and technology suppliers. The seminar day consisted of technical presentations, a live demonstration and a display of the latest in low shear processing equipment.
The technical session was opened by Niels van Teeffelen, discussing both positive and negative effects of shear in oil and gas production. Sources of shear, including valves and pumps, were presented and established models used to explain how process equipment can be designed with reduced droplet breaking. To support the theory, examples of test and field results of both high and low shear pumps and valves were given and system design considerations with regards to shear were discussed.
The benefits of low shear processing were discussed next. Amongst the benefits are cost-efficient separation debottlenecking and improvement of the separation efficiency, reduced need for chemicals and heat, and facilities that are more compact. To show how turbulence and shear can be used in beneficial way, examples of existing coalescing pump and upcoming coalescing valve technologies were presented.
With the low shear toolbox thoroughly introduced, Robbert Pos from TechnipFMC presented potential savings and strategies for using low shear technology. Based on a theoretical discussion of the separation process in gravitational separation equipment, he estimated significant reduction in separator size compared to a conventional separator, by the use of upstream low shear equipment and internal separator optimization. For brown fields he estimated significantly higher liquid flow rate handling capabilities, by strategically installing low shear chokes, low shear control valves, low shear booster pumps, inline phase splitters, inline dewaterers and high efficient hydrocyclone liners.
A live demonstration at Typhonix Test Center ended the technical session, showing how a coalescing centrifugal pump improves the oil removal capabilities of a hydrocyclone. The demonstration included a simulated system upset, resulting in high upstream oil concentration with small droplets. Even though the inlet oil concentration was doubled, the oil concentration downstream the hydrocyclone remained the same due to the remarkable effect of the coalescing pump compensating for the system upset.
Following this success, we have already started planning Low Shear Day 2020, and we hope all interested will take this opportunity to meet peers and discuss the future and importance of low shear processing. Thanks to everyone who took the time to attend this event; we hope to see you next year.
