The Current Challenges

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As production volumes fall as the result of natural production declines, older conventional wells near the end of their economic lives. The economic limit of a well is the point at which a well's lease operating expense (LOE) equals its net revenue, or when the net operating cash flows from the well or project becomes negative. This point marks the end of a project's economic life.

A significant component of LOE is the ongoing cost of operating, maintaining, and repairing surface production equipment. Heater-treaters, separators, boilers, Vapor Recovery Units, ECD’s, VRUs, most compressors, and other mechanical equipment are mechanical devices that require ongoing maintenance and repair. Additionally, by replacing fired equipment the ECT can eliminate the potential for unlit pilot flames to generate fugitive emissions and/or require flaring to avoid accumulation of raw methane on the well site or production pad.

Additionally, mechanical separation is inefficient, leading to loss of oil and gas product that could otherwise be sold and/or require the need for additional processing and an increase in cost.

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Pioneer Energy’s Solution​

 

The Emission Control Treater (ECT) for marginal wells is a proven solution that extends the life of the well by reducing the economic limit. There are two ways to extend the economic limit of a well – increase net revenue and/or reduce operating costs. The ECT does both.

The Emission Control Treater (ECT) for marginal wells is a fully integrated, electrical, prefabricated, zero emissions production facility designed specifically for wells producing approximately 40 barrels of oil per day or less.

It receives wellhead fluid and separates the liquid phase from the gas phase. The gas is sent to the gas sales line while the liquid crude is stabilized on board, eliminating flash gas, and it is stored in a lightly pressurized vessel eliminating VOC emissions.

The result is a fully autonomous production facility that has a smaller footprint than your existing separator/atmospheric tank configuration. Being all electric, the ECT for marginal wells eliminates gas burners and pilots, both are prone to cause fugitive emissions of methane.

Improved separation of oil and gas enables an incremental increase in crude yield, increasing oil volumes and revenue. Importantly, the ECT for marginal wells can increase uptime by eliminating mechanical equipment including heater-treaters, VRUs, compressors, and other units prone to frequent maintenance and repair.

The available automation package enables crude optimization, remote management and recording of historical performance and emissions data.

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ECT Features & Advantages for Crude Oil Desulfurization

 

• Extends the Life of the Well – By both reducing operating costs and increasing oil yields, the ECT can reduce the economic limit and extend the life of marginal wells.
   

• Lower Operating Expenses – Replaces your existing surface production equipment with a highly reliable unit having no reciprocating or mechanical parts to wear out. Because of the reduced maintenance, reduced field operations intervention, and elimination of most compression - leasehold operating expenses are greatly reduced.
   

• Increases Crude Volume by ~10% – By separating the produced hydrocarbons more effectively, the ECT allows the producer to integrate more light naphtha into the crude. This can increase produced crude volume by 5%-15% versus traditional processing methods. Oil production is maximized through active RVP management.
   

• Eliminates Tanks – Produced crude has been stabilized and cooled by the ECT. Oil tanks are no longer required if a crude evacuation line is available. If crude is trucked off site, no off gassing will occur while the crude remains in the tanks, even on a hot day.
   

• Eliminates Compression – The ECT operates above the midstream evacuation pressure. No low-pressure streams or tank vapors are generated, eliminating the need for VRUs. Assuming the wellhead pressure is kept above the gas midstream evacuation pressure, sales gas compression is also no longer required.
   

• Eliminates Flaring – Flaring is usually the result of crude off-gassing and midstream evacuation constraints. The ECT solves these problems. The stabilized, cooled crude produced by the ECT generates no vapors that would need to be flared.
   

• Electric Powered, No Open Flame – Replaces fired equipment and the potential for unlit pilot flames to generate fugitive emissions and methane plumes.
   

• Increases Uptime – By eliminating many of the components which typically require regular maintenance and repair (heater treaters, compressors, VRUs, ECDs, etc.), the ECT can significantly increase production uptime.
   

• Autonomous – Leveraging Pioneer's sophisticated control software, the ECT is designed for complete autonomy, minimizing the required attention of field operations personnel. The system will autonomously adapt to changing wellhead fluid compositions and flow rates.
   

• Remote Monitoring, Remote Control and Reporting – Real time status and diagnostic information provided from the onboard SCADA system is made available via cellular or local area network connection. Customer or Pioneer technicians can log in remotely for control, diagnostics and troubleshooting, and status and alerts can be set to automatically push to relevant stakeholders via text message and email. Robust history collection enables real time and historical production reporting.
   

• Safe – Built for full compliance with all relevant oilfield equipment standards, including all ASME code stamped vessels and Class 1 Div 2 compliance. The unit design has also been subjected to a rigorous HAZOP process. The unit is connected on each site with the customer's systems for permissives and emergency stop controls.