Marked Improvement in H2S Scavenging, Oil Production, Separation, and Discharge Water Quality Experienced
A new environmentally acceptable H2S scavenger and corrosion inhibitor enabled higher production rates from high-H2S wells by removing more than 50% of the H2S before reaching topside facilities without modification of the chemical injection system. Overall improvement of the field’s environmental footprint also included reliable inhibition of CO2 corrosion in production tubulars, reduced H2S in the low-pressure parts of the process system to <1,000 ppm, reduced precipitation of iron sulfides, and improved water and oil separation.
An Equinor subsea field with a prioritized KPI to reduce the environmental footprint produces to the installation via a carbon steel pipeline that was adversely affected by the corrosive production. The oil-producing wells are rich in H2S, and the existing triazine-based topside H2S scavenger injection system could not treat the gas phase, resulting in
- H2S above export gas specifications
- gas phases with 2,800 ppm of H2S in the low-pressure parts of the process system that represented increased health and safety risks at the degasser, as highlighted by field management as a major occupational risk requiring mitigation.
What they tried first
Current conditions were forcing Equinor to either shut down or choke high-H2S oil production while overinjecting triazine-based H2S scavenger topside, increasing the environmental footprint of production as well as the mineral scale precipitation potential.
What SLB recommended
The SLB Production Technologies KI-3138 H2S scavenger and corrosion inhibitor was used to scavenge H2S before it reached the topside production manifold to compensate for topside treatment limitations while protecting the integrity of the carbon steel subsea pipelines.
How the synergies boosted production
The introduction of multifunctional KI-3138 scavenger and inhibitor enabled higher production rates from the high-H2S contributing wells and reduced H2S in the low-pressure parts of the process system to <1,000 ppm while maintaining corrosion protection of the carbon steel subsea production pipeline. These results were achieved without modification of the chemical injection system or the topside process system, nullifying the need for capex.
As a supplementary effect, introduction of KI-3138 inhibitor improved water quality, making a positive impact on environmental impact factor (EIF) and environmental field footprint. Limiting available sulfide in the water phase reduced the precipitation of iron sulfide, which was previously shown to stabilize emulsions in the process train, thereby eliminating the water-capacity bottleneck at the second-stage separator.
View Technical Paper.
