The Subsea Sand Management Challenge: “What to do with the ... · Slide 1/31 The Subsea Sand Management Challenge: “What to do with the sand? ... Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,

Slide 1/31

The Subsea Sand Management Challenge: “What to do with the sand?”

Hank Rawlins, PhD, [email protected]

Slide 2/31

Purpose & OutcomePurpose

• Identify drivers for subsea facilities sand management• Provide a focal point for discussion on subsea processing

with focus on “What to do with the sand?• Identify and analyze conventional, unconventional, and

unique options to reveal technology gapsOutcome

• Approaches include neutralizing effects, improving conventional design, and separation with disposal

• Investigate technology analogues from other industries• Improve hydrocarbon recovery through inclusionary

production (SPE 164645)

6th ESMF · March 26-27, 2014 H. Rawlins – The Subsea Sand Management Challenge

Slide 3/31

12 Years of ProgressTop 5 Technology Needs

1. Seabed separation & disposal2. Integrated subsurface/surface3. Sand cleaning4. More case studies/examples5. Instrumentation


Slide 4/31

Produced Solids (Sand)Inorganic, Insoluble, Particulate Material

• Not asphaltene, paraffin, wax, hydrate, or resin (organic)• Not precipitates or scale (soluble or non-particulate)• Sand - ISO 14688-1:2002 / ASTM D2487-83 (63-1700 µm)• Solid particles that are separable in facilities equipment


1 mm

Corrosion

Quartz Sand

Onshore Field, Austria

Sand

Clay

WaterOil

Deepwater South China SeaOTC Asia 24705-MS

Slide 5/31

Natural Vs. Artificial SolidsNatural Solids

• Indigenous reservoir material• High angularity, 25-150 μm

median size, ~2650 kg/m³• Low, steady-state, continuous

production• Failure mode – high

concentration burst production


Artificial Solids• From external intervention• Frac sand, proppant, drill mud, cement fines, corrosion

product, gravel pack, injection fines, etc.• Higher s.g., rounder shape factor, larger avg. particle size• Often handled as planned event

Sand and coal from Brent Delta 1996

Slide 6/31

Motivation for Sand HandlingErosion

• Pipe components and valvesFilling

• Vessels, tanks, and low velocity zonesInterference

• Instruments/valves (plugging or range of motion)Oil-in-Water Content

• May not be critical for subsea


Erosion

Filling Plugging

OIW

Slide 7/31

Sand Management PathsA. Conventional Approach

• Manage solids production or system configuration using established rules or technology

B. Solids Treatment• Modify the solids, in-situ, to reduce or eliminate their

deleterious effectsC. Solids Removal/Disposal

• Separate solids from the well fluids and manage as separate flow stream


Slide 8/31

Sand Management Paths


Downhole mechanical intervention

Reduce production below solids level

Reduce pipe velocity

CONVENTIONAL

Erosion resistance materials

Manage erosion

Design

Pass through solids

Agglomerate

Partial/full dissolve

Chemicals

Modify shape

TREAT SOLIDSCoat particles

Core laminar flow

Modify flow path

Pipe in pipe design

Desander Cyclone

Filters

Gravity

Inertia / Viscous trap

Inject into disposal well

Mechanical

Clean & Seafloor discharge

Chemical

REMOVE SOLIDS

Compress to puck

Dispose

Repackage Containerize

Adhesive / cement

Grinding attrition

Ultrasonics

Disintegrate

Electrical discharge

Solids ManagementChemical dissolution

Dedicated pipeline

New flow stream Contain / Pig line

Float to surface

Wellstream

Downhole

Slide 9/31

Technology Gaps


Reliable, known technology Required to meet subsea demands

http://www.scanadu.com/

Slide 10/31

A. CONVENTIONAL APPROACH

Manage solids production or system configuration using established rules or technology


Slide 11/31

Exclusion or Flow/Material DesignExclusionary Production

• Well completion equipment• Reduce educe well output below sand production level

Flow Design• Lower velocity in piping to minimize erosion• Increase velocity to prevent solids from settling

Material Design• Design components with manageable erosion or increase

MOC for longer erosive life (material type or thickness)Separate sand ahead of subsea system and reintroduce downstream

• Put solids back into production stream• Put solids into disposed stream (i.e. water injection)


Slide 12/31

B. SOLIDS TREATMENT

Modify the solids, in-situ, to reduce or eliminate their deleterious effects


Slide 13/31

Effect of Sand Morphology on Erosion


A.K. Cousens, Fitzwilliam College, "The Erosion of Ductile Metals by Solid Particle Impact", February 1984, PhD Dissertation

B.S. McLaury and S.A. Shirazi, SPE 56812, Generalization of API RP 14E for Erosive Service in Multiphase Production, 1999.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Mas

s Lo

ss (m

g)

Mass of Erodent (g)

Spherical Glass

Crushed Glass

Erosion of mild steel with glass particles (95-105 µm) at 50 m/s in air

Slide 14/31

Effect of Particle Size on Erosion


Zhang, Y., Reuterfors, E.P., McLaury, B.S., Shirazi, S.A., Rybicki, E.F., “Comparison of computed and measured particle velocities and erosion in water and air flows,” Wear 263 (2007), 330-338.

McLaury, B.S., Wang, J., Shirazi, S.A., Shadley, J.R., Rybicki, E.F., “Solid particle erosion in long radius elbows and straight pipes,” Paper 38842 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, TX, 5-8 Oct, 1997.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Pene

tration Ra

te

Erosion Ra

tio (m

ass of partic

le/m

ass loss of target)

Particle Size (micron)

Erosion Ratio

Penetration Rate

1.0 10 E

′ ′

~ 326

.

ER=erosion ratio (mass of particle/mass loss of target)

~ ~.

h=penetration rate (m/s)

Rapid decline

Threshold particle size:20 microns methane and 100 microns water

Slide 15/31

Particle Coating


http://www.ussilica.com/products/proppants

http://www.carboceramics.com/carbobondrcs/

Coat the particles and reintroduce into production streamReduce edge sharpness and increase sphericity (0.7-0.9)Make particle soft/resilient to impactReduce net density (impact reduction and easier to carry)Tech transfer from proppant productionCoating materials: phenolic, polyurethane, epoxy, waxInorganic coatings (patent): SbO3, Bi, B2O3, CaBaF, Cu,

Graphite, In, PbO, PbS, MoS2, ZnO

Coating Method (TBD): powder, liquid, reaction, precipitation

Slide 16/31

Partial/Full Chemical DissolutionDissolve to reduced particle shape or sizeInorganic AcidNaOH

6 → 2

2 →

Organic acids (citrate, oxalate, and pyruvate) increase dissolution rate 8-10X compared with water(Bennett, P.C., Melcer, M.E., Siegel, D.I., and Hassett, J.P., The dissolution of quartz in dilute aqueous solutions of organic acids at 25°C, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 52, Issue 6, June 1988, 1521-1530)

Increasing temperature, and pressure both increase solubility of silica(Mroczek, E., and Christenson, B., Solubility of quartz in hypersaline brine – implications for fracture permeability at the bittle-ductile transition, Proceedings of the World Geothermal Congress 2000, Kyusho-Tohoku, Japan, May 28-June 10, 2000)

Increasing BET surface area or dislocation density both increase dissolution rate (i.e. grind w/ dissolution – sharp edged have higher chemical potential) (Blum, A.E., Yund, R.A., Lasaga, A.C., The effect of dislocation density o the dissolution rate of quartz, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 2, Feb 1990, 283-297 and Gautier, J-M., Oelkers, E.H., and Schott, J., Are quartz dissolution rates proportional to B.E.T. surface areas?, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 65, Issue 7, April 2001, 1059-1070)

Increasing cation concentration increases dissolution rate of quartz (Ba2+>Na+~Ca2+>Mg2+ where Ba2+ provides 114X rate compared to DI water)(Dove, P.M., The dissolution kinetics of quartz in aqueous mixed cation solutions, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 63, Issue 22, 1999, 3715-3727)


Slide 17/31

C. SOLIDS REMOVAL/DISPOSAL

Separate solids from the well fluids and manage as separate flow stream


Slide 18/31

Sand Separation TechnologiesScreen/FilterCyclonic

• Desander, Inline, AugerRotordynamicGravity SettlingPipe Trap


http://www.fmctechnologies.com/en/SeparationSystems/Solutions/SolidsHandling.aspx

Paper SPE 166118 Design of a Cyclonic Solids Jetting Device and Slurry Transport System for Production Systems

Subsea Wellhead Desander

Slide 19/31

Particle ComminutionGrind sand to particle size below critical limit or to modify morphology

• Ultra-fine grinding, attrition mill, vibratory tumbler• Employ methods from mining, ceramic, paint, paper,

pharmaceutical, or other fine particle industriesMechanical comminution

• Ring & puck mill, disc pulverizer, oscillating mill, micro-powder mill, high-press grinding mill

Media methods• Planetary, vibratory, or stirred mill

Non-moving parts methods• Jet mill, ultrasonic wet-milling, electric pulse discharge


Slide 20/31

Comminution Equipment


Metso Stirred Media Detritor

Hielscher ultrasonic processor

Sturtevant Micronizer® Jet Mill

Ring & Puck Mill Disc Pulverizer

Slide 21/31

Particle ConsolidationConsolidate particles into solid or semi-solid shape, for ease of carrying or “contained” seafloor disposal

• Compress into puck (mechanical densification)• Add adhesive polymer an extrude• Add cement to make brick

6th ESMF · March 26-27, 2014 H. Rawlins – The Subsea Sand Management Challenge6th ESMF · March 26-27, 2014

http://www.mechanicalengineeringblog.com/tag/cement-extrusion/

Carver® Hydraulic Press

Slide 22/31

ContainerizeCollect into…

• bag/tube/flexible-container• pig and send up pipeline• vessel/bin and retrieve by ROV or wireline• vessel/bin and float to surface


http://freeassociationdesign.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/21st-century-sand-bags/

http://www.subsalve.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

Sand bagging and lifting equipment Paper OTC Asia 24705-MS

Slide 23/31

Sand CleaningMechanical (agitation)

• Recirculation loop with cyclones, slop oil slurry cleaning, beach sand cleaning

Chemical• Dispersant, biological, detergent

Thermal


http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726761

Sand cleaning system for BP Venezuela 1997

Inlet and sand/water outlet from cleaning loop along with analysis method

Slide 24/31

Slurry Fracture Injection

Solids injection into disposal reservoir• Used significantly for drill cuttings• OnePetro papers and SPE Monograph• Typically batch process http

://ww

w.id

s-environm

ent.com/C

omm

on/Pap

er/Pap

er_123/An%

20Introd

uction%20to%

20Slurry%20Injection%

20Technology.htm


Deoiler/desander system with solids disposal via slurry fracture injection for Chevron on Barrow Island (2008)

Slide 25/31

INSTALLED SYSTEMS SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

RPSEA Report 09121-3100-01, 24-Apr-12, RPSEA Ultra Deep Water Disposal of Produced Water &/or Solids at the Seabed


Slide 26/31

RPSEA ReportRated solids handling for subsea at TRL 3

• Used 100 ppm inlet design at 700 lbs/dayDisposal requirements

• Selected locations at 1 wt.% oil on dry solids• U.S. does not allow solids discharge• Water injection quality at <5 ppmv and < 2 microns

Recommendations• Put sand into retrievable containers (7.8.3)• Add back to oil stream (7.10.2)• Manage through velocity


Slide 27/31

RPSEA: Installed Systems SummaryPetrobras Marimba, Congro, Malhado, Corvina, Canapu and Shell BC-10, Perdido

• G/L, sand flows with liquid to surfaceTotal Pazflor

• G/L, sand flows with liquids, backup sand flushing arrangement

Statoil Troll C• Sand flows with injection water

Statoil Tordis• Sand jetting to desander to injection well (after pump), but

changed to flowing to surfacePetrobras Marlim

• Sand removed pre-separator, sand jetting, produced water desander, sand put back into oil line


Slide 28/31

ConclusionsSubsea Processing Requires Sand Management

• All wells produce sandNo New Equipment Required for Separation

• Proven equipment available topsides• Packaging for deepwater use needed

Solids Handling Main Concern• Erosion, filing, interference, or oil-in-water• Neutralize, improve conventional design, separate/disposal• Primarily manage through velocity• Separation with injection: flow-line, w/water, or discrete reservoir• Containerize a viable option

Closing Technology Gaps• Coordination between major stakeholders• Cooperative development approach• Qualified experienced innovative partners


Slide 29/31

THANK YOU / QUESTIONS?

www.eprocess-tech.comFacilities Sand Management Solutions


Documents

The Subsea Sand Management Challenge: “What to do with the ... · Slide 1/31 The Subsea Sand Management Challenge: “What to do with the sand? ... Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,