Energy Conservation and Oil Production Opportunities in the Oil Field

Abstract

Energy conservation is a key aspect to reduce high power consumption in a Gas Oil Separation Plant (GOSP) where oil is separated from water and gas, then shipped. Saudi Aramco is putting a lot of effort into producing large fields, such as the oil field at optimized energy consumption; especially in the summer time, which is always a high demand peak period for power.A swing line network has been constructed between major field plants to provide flexibility for meeting required production targets by reallocating oil production and reduce energy consumption. The swing lines were designed and constructed in late 2005. Presently, they are in use and emerged as a proven tool to lower operating expenditure (OPEX) for plants. This has not only reduced the cost of power but also minimized the environmental impact to some extent by reducing CO 2 emissions.Also, as part of the field production strategy, several oil producers with high water cut were shut-in adding a very remarkable power consumption reduction at their respective plants. This reduction in water production was reached by shutting some of the disposal pumps and/or deferral of forecasted upgrading of the disposal systems. It's worth mentioning that the shut-in of such marginal producers is not solely meant to reduce energy consumption, it's a part of the reservoir production strategy. This paper will focus on energy conservation opportunities that have been realized by utilizing swing lines and controlled water production strategy in part of the oil field.