Sample projects.

1. Process Ecology: Engineering Services

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Process Ecology: Value Proposition
Our “ProcessAdvisor”service helps operations engineers in
the Upstream Oil & Gas sector maximize the profitability of
their assets by identifying opportunities for optimization to
reduce OpEx and environmental impacts.

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Examples of Recent Engineering Studies

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Plant rating Identify bottlenecks and strategies to optimize production for
existing plants. Example: increased liquid recovery
Can the profitability of the plant be improved? Can it take additional gas sources?
What is the optimal gas/liquids balance?
• A plant-wide simulation
model coupled with
sizing/rating calculations for
all major pieces of
equipment.
• Economics- KPIs

5. 5
Flow Assurance
Pipe2a
30 KM
Pipe 1
140 KM
Compressor
Station 1
Pipe2b
50 KM
Compressor
Station 2
Elevation profile
Condensates may result in slug formation: properly
sizing slug catchers requires slug volume and duration
A conservative design would limit the
size of the vessel to around 1,000 bbl
vs the reported 3,000 bbl

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Hydrate prevention Accurate estimation of Hydrate formation
remains a high priority for oil & gas facilities
• Reduced risk of hydrates interfering with production
• Reduced CAPEX on insulation
• Reduced OPEX by reducing chemical treatment costs
Process Ecology’s
Hydrate Extension
• Compare calculation methods, including a
“FugacityMethod” tuned for systems at high pressures
containing highly non-polar components.
• Accurately calculate the effect of methanol and other
inhibitors on hydrate formation. (vs. HYSYS Standard)
• Incorporated an electrolyte activity model to account
for the effect of salinity on hydrate formation

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Relief systems Evaluate expected emergency relief scenarios given recent
changes to the plant design and operating conditions.
• Upgrade headers to larger diameters at
strategic locations.
• Upsize laterals to avoid choked flow.
• Greenhouse gases accounting
• Identify components that are
above MABP
• Backpressure constraints
• Mach number constraints
• Compressor blocked discharge
scenarios

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Gathering systems Evaluate current and future bottlenecks and risk
remediation actions such as pipe resizing, parallel
branches and network expansion
• Upgrade selected laterals to larger
diameters at strategic locations.
• Determine optimal locations for
liquids withdrawal
• Pressure drop constraints in the
pipelines
• Backpressure constraints
• Erosional velocity constraints
• Compressor power requirements
113 wells
253 pipe segments

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Cryogenic applications
Track the presence of mercury in the system and
predict whether it can precipitate and damage
equipment
• Track where mercury may deposit in the
plant to protect equipment
• Identify optimal locations for mercury
removal in the system
• HYSYS can only handle 3-phase
flash
• Developed a customized HYSYS
extension to perform a 4-phase
flash
• Phase stability test and detection
of third liquid phase

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Process hazard assessment
Design changes and new operating
conditions require a detailed evaluation of
the relief systems
Can the relief system handle emergency
scenarios?
Is the system compliant with regulatory
requirements and applicable standards?
• Flare and blowdown systems
• A plant-wide flare network
model coupled with a review of
PSV sizing
• Evaluate emergency scenarios
(ESD)

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For additional information please contact us
alberto@processecology.com
403-690-0550
www.processecology.com
CONFIDENTIAL TO PROCESS ECOLOGY INC.
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