High Pressure - Low Pressure pipelines

[oldcowboy1836]

Is it possible to connect a low pressure oil pipeline from a wellhead to a main gathering pipeline that is at higher pressure? I.E., feeding a low pressure line into a line with a higher pressure to facilitate oil flow into the higher pressure line from the lower pressure line. I don't want to use a pump to raise the pressure of the low pressure line above the high pressure of the main gathering line. Is there some kind of a venturi valve that might do this?

 

[JLSeagull]

It sounds as though you are looking for an eductor or ejector to suck the low pressure oil into the higher pressure line.

 

[zdas04]

An eductor would work if you can afford the very high dP across the power fluid side. You didn't say what "high" and "low" mean, so it isn't possible to say if an eductor can work.

A typical bilge-pump example might be helpful. We used 65 psig water to pull 50 inH[sub]2[/sub]O vacuum (call it minus 2 psig) on the bilge and discharge into 7 psig. It probably could have discharged into 10 psig, but 15 is really unlikely.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

The harder I work, the luckier I seem

 

[Ashereng]

As David mentioned, maybe.

However, in the pipeline systems that I have seen, I have not seen what you are describing. You are trying to send your product into a higher pressure pipeline for free - I am not sure the high pressure pipeline owner would allow that. Generating pressure has a cost - in your case, a pump and electricity (or alternative power source).

Have you talked to the high pressure pipeline people? Will they allow it? I am interested to know how this works out.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[zdas04]

This isn't completely hair brained. I designed an ejector (compressible power fluid) to take excess pressure from a well that was being dumped through a choke to pull on an adjacent well--end result was the lp well was about 50 psig lower than it would have been, and both wells were making more gas than they had been making.

Another time I had excess compression hp on a well and rather than installing a second compressor on the next well down the gathering system I used the excess hp and an ejector to pull 4 ratios on the second well.

There is no reason that you couldn't do something similar with eductors (incompressible power fluid) as long as you have fluid hp that is being wasted.

David

 

[Ashereng]

Hi David,

I didn't mean to say the idea would not work.

I am stating that usually, the owners of the well and the collection system are not the same, and it is unusual for the collection pipeline owner to "help" the well owner bring product into their pipeline.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[zdas04]

It's funny, but you never know what they'll allow in a particular instance until you ask. I've negotiated a dozen or so "straddle agreements" to allow my clients to set a compressor in the middle of a third party gathering system. Sometimes these are too easy to be beleived, other times they are almost impossible (with the same gathering company!).

My second example above put an ejector on a third-party line with approximately zero push back from the system owner--he liked the idea that we could compress that well (next to housing) and nearly double production without the intrusion and noise of a wellhead compressor and no system fuel to account for. On another day he might just have said "no".

David

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

The harder I work, the luckier I seem

 

[BigInch]

Forget it! Buy a pump.

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com

 

[BigInch]

PS You can thank me know... or later for that little jewel.

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com