OIL AND GAS SEPARATORS

NIRBHAY MIGLANI

SEPARATORS Used to separate oil,gas and water. Used for efficient transportation and storage of oil and gas,as they

need to be stored separately. Prevent corrosion in transportation media by the removal of salts,if

present in water. Two types based on the fluid flow:

2 phase separators (Oil+Water / Oil+Gas) 3 phase separators(Oil+Water+Gas)

Two types based on the arrangement : Vertical Separatos Horizontal Separators

VERTICAL SEPARATOR

VERTICAL SEPARATOR Mainly useful for offshore wells because of limited space. Can handle foamy or sluggish fluid. Difficult to repair and clean.

HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR

HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR

Mailny used in onshore fields because they occupy large area.

Can handle high flow rates.Easy to clean and maintain.Can handle foamy fluids,muds,slugs.

COMPONENTS OF SEPATATOR

Separator has following main components :

Primary Separation Section Baffles Oil Settling Section Water Drain Section Oil,Water and Gas outlets. Mist Extractor

PRIMARY SEPARATION SECTION Present at the entry to the separator. Most of the separation takes place here, as oil entering at high

speed strikes here,and oil,gas and water separate due to inertia.

OIL SETTLING SECTION Oil settles here, and gas, if present, separates from the top of the

oil layer. At the bottom of this section, oil outlet pipe is present to extract

separated oil and is sent to transportation media.

BAFFLES Present between the oil and water settling section. Prevent backflow of fluids. Also separates particles with size between 140-300 microns.

MIST EXTRACTOR Present just before the gas outlet. Absorbs small oil molecules of size less than 140 microns. Categorised in 2 types:

Mesh type Vein type