Bilfinger developing oil/water separation systems
The more important the commodity, the greater the resource requirements are -- oil forms the basis for numerous key industries around the world. Bilfinger has developed the “Gas Oil Separation Plant” (GOSP) system so that oil and gas from natural deposits at depths of several hundred meters can be accessed and processed. In this way, experts in industrial plant technologies for the oil sector provide the knowhow that is required to split the fluid into three phases -- oil, formation water and gas. As a result, even sources with a low proportion of oil can be tapped virtually free of any residue.
Wherever oil is produced in the world, it is accompanied by substances of different compositions on its journey to the surface and must initially undergo three-phase separation before it can be processed. Working with selected partners, Bilfinger initially performs a process engineering analysis of the samples obtained in order to help the customer maximize the efficiency of its exploration activities at the reserve in question.
The results of the analysis are used to develop the appropriate production strategy. Oil separation expertise also includes efforts to recover oil from water-rich reserves, which accounts for only a proportion in the single-digit percentage range.
Using a system to obtain high-purity oil when implementing the GOSP system, plant designers frequently make use of the offshore hydrocyclone technology. This involves splitting the fluid containing oil and gas into various basic substances under the influence of high G forces.
“As oil is a strategic commodity that will continue to play an important role for the global industry in the future, we have developed the GOSP system as a solution for water-rich oil fields,” said Klaus Kriz, head of Industrial Plant and Pipe Engineering at Bilfinger Bohr- und Rohrtechnik. “As a system provider, we are in this way able to provide the basis for developing bespoke production systems even for deposits with a low oil concentration in close consultation with our customers and partners. We then utilise the experience of an internationally active technology provider to implement the system in line with the customer requirements.”
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