Abstract
Emulsion treatment has always been a constant challenge in offshore crude production, even more so when the success of chemical treatments are critically dependant on process temperature. In the Guntong Complex operation, production from satellite platforms were cooled by sub-sea transit and made the emulsion processing of crude at the central processing platform(CPP) difficult. Emulsion is broken at the CPP using demulsifier chemical and the effectiveness is temperature dependant. Ineffectiveness of the demulsifier chemical coupled with constraints on BS&W (Basic Sediment & Water) and produced water discharge quality eventually created a production bottleneck as the satellite production water cut increased. Recognizing emulsion chemical treatment is still applicable but ineffective due to insufficient temperature, various heat addition options were evaluated while taking into account the set-up and limitations of existing facilities. The ‘hotwash’ concept, where the ‘hot’ central processing platform fluid is mixed with the incoming ‘cold’ satellite streams to raise processing temperature was implemented as it is also the most cost effective solution. As Guntong Complex is a matured field, the project has greatly increased the ability of CPP's facilities to sustain satellite production by implementing the ‘hotwash’ concept.
