In a conventional separator, with the exception of mist elimination, separation is usually achieved by allowing the fluids to have a few minutes retention time under the influence of gravity. Separation equipment can be reduced in size bythe application of a centrifugal force, which is many times gravity. The result of this is that centrifugal separators can be manufactured as a very compact unit. One step further is to fabricate the equipment according to pipeline design codes so as to avoid the complexities associated with the use of pressure vessels. Inline separators are based on cyclonic technology and can be regarded as mono-cyclones. At the moment two types of separators are available and qualified for the market. The first one is a Degasser where the aim is to separate gas from a liquid continuous flow. The second type is a Deliquidiser acting in the opposite way namely separating liquid from a continuous gas stream. Besides this, liquid/liquid inline separators are in development at the moment. Besides the compactness of these inline separators, the flexibility in terms of turndown, pressure drop and efficiency is a significant benefit compared to conventional separation equipment. The paper describes several types of newly developed inline separators and inline separator-systems. In addition current installations, namely those on Statoil Statfjord B and Sleipner T platform and on the BP ETAP platform, along with their specific benefits and cost savings are discussed. It will be shown that inline technology can and has played a major role in the de-bottlenecking and upgrading of existing top-side facilities. Besides this several sub-sea applications on new and existing oil and gas fields are currently being assessed for the application of this inline technology. Introduction The inline technology described in this paper is a result of a joint development program between CDS and Statoil. Recently, inline technology has received a lot of attention due to the considerable weight and space savings that can be achieved. In addition to new build topside and sub-sea applications, inline technology can and has played a major role in the de-bottlenecking and upgrading of existing production facilities.In a conventional separator, with the exception of mist elimination, separation is usually achieved by allowing the fluids to have a few minutes retention time under the influence of gravity alone. Therefore a way in which the size of this equipment can be reduced is by the application of a centrifugal force with a magnitude that is many times gravity. The result of this is that the system can be manufactured as a very compact unit. One further step is to manufacture the equipment in accordance with pipeline design codes so as to avoid the complexities associated with the use of pressure vessels. This paper describes several types of newly developed inline separators and inline separator- systems. In addition current installations, namely those on Statfjord B, Sleipner T and ETAP, along with their specific benefits and cost savings are discussed. Inline Technology Inline separators are based on cyclonic technology and can be regarded as mono-cyclones. At the moment two types of separators are available and qualified for the market. The first one is a Degasser where the aim is to separate gas from a liquid continuous flow. Whereas the second type is a Deliquidiser acting in the opposite way, separating liquid from the gas continuous stream.

Robert W. Chin, Padden Engineering; Victor van Asperen, FMC Technologies; J. M. Riesenberg, Chevron ETC; and Graham McVinnie, Shell Exploration and Production Co. October 2015 • Oil and Gas Facilities 23A n underperforming scrubber that was suffering from too much oil carry-over is described and the consequences of this carry-over for the processing system are explained. A brief analysis of the scrubber design is presented and the potential causes for the underperformance are listed. Several options for resolving the problem are discussed, and the selected option is summarized along with a comparison of the separation performance data obtained before and after the modification.

In this sixth article of the Oil and Gas Facilities Savvy Separator series, underperforming gas scrubbers are discussed, and a case study is used to illustrate how an inadequate sizing methodology hinders scrubber performance.

Inline separation technology has attracted the attention of oil and gas field operators due to the considerable weight, space and cost savings that can be achieved. In addition, inline separation technology can play a major role in de-bottlenecking and upgrading of existing production facilities. In this regard, inline separation technology has been evaluated in separation efficiency and its contribution to an upstream wet gas field development, to unlock the restricted/shut down wet gas wells.The FMC/CDS InLine DeLiquidiser (Ultra-Compact Cyclonic Gas-Liquid Separator) was trial tested in a remote location of a Saudi Aramco mature gas field to unlock production from restricted or shut-in gas wells currently suffering from high water cut, which was resulting in limited gas production. More importantly, this technology will significantly contribute in developing Saudi Aramco gas fields already restricted or unexploited due to water production increase associated with gas production.This paper discusses the concept, objectives and results of the commissioning of the Inline Separator application in the Saudi Aramco wet gas field. Furthermore, during the commissioning, noise measurements were executed to determine the noise level of the Inline Separator in the field, which will also be highlighted.