Collins

Hello and welcome to the September 2010 issue of the SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction Journal. This is PFC's fifth year of publication, and this issue continues to show the diversity found in the journal. I believe that the SPEPFC Journal fills a critical need in the upstream industry, not only by providing cutting-edge technology but also by encouraging understanding related engineering topics in the oil and gas industry. I hope this journal will provide a better understanding of specific topics, some interesting new ideas to consider, and improved your knowledge in other areas.

The first four papers deal with fluid flow in vessels, hydrocyclones, and pipelines. I found these interesting because fluid flow affects so many aspects of facility deisgn. The motions of a ship impart movement to the fluids in separation vessels, and methods to reduce the movements are described and illustrated in CFD Verification of Engineering Options for Mitigating Liquid Sloshing in Topside Vessels on a Floating Production Facility. Mechanistic Modeling of Solids Separation in Solid/Liquid Hydrocyclones develops a mechanistic model of the solids-separation hydrocyclone. The modeling can provide good insights into the operation of these units. Prediction of Slug Frequency for High-Viscosity Oils in Horizontal Pipes highlights one reason that the multiphase-pipeline modeling has so much uncertainty. Extended Analysis for Initiation of Local, Lateral Displacements in Heated Submarine Pipelines continues in the pipeline area, but, instead of evaluating the fluid flow, the paper provides a good discussion on the buckling issues related to heated pipelines.

The final two papers are intended to provide a better understanding of full-field uncertainty and some insights into reservoir issues. A systematic uncertainty analysis can help solve the problem of screening and concept selection while recognizing the relationship of the options and the uncertainty of the estimates. This method is applied to gas storage facility design decisions in a systematic manner in Gas Storage Facility Design Under Uncertainty. Reusing O&G-Depleted Reservoirs for CO₂ Storage: Pros and Cons presents a better understanding of the use of oil and gas reservoirs for geological storage of CO₂ risks in this type of storage. Each reservoir type has its own risk profile, and understanding these issues allows the facility designers to anticipate changes and include off-design points that may not be communicated.

I look forward to working with you, hearing your thoughts, and learning of your accomplishments. We all benefit from this knowledge transfer. I welcome your suggestions to improve our journal. Please email me at James.N.Collins@ConocoPhillips.com or Chris Carpenter, managing editor of SPE's peer-reviewed journals, at ccarpenter@spe.org. Thank you very much for your continued support and participation in the PFC journal. I’m confident you’ll enjoy the September issue.