Collins

Hello and welcome to the June 2011 issue of the SPE Projects, Facilities & Construction journal. This month’s edition of PFC provides insight into both the theoretical and the practical sides of this discipline. I hope you find these papers interesting and enlightening.

The first two papers deal with the removal of impurities from gas using two completely different technologies. A Fast and Efficient Numerical-Simulation Method for Supersonic Gas Processing deals with supersonic-swirling-separation technology and the application of numerical simulation to optimize the structure of the Laval nozzle to save time and reduce development cost. Estimation of Equilibrium-Adsorption Behavior at Cryogenic Temperatures of CO₂ and N₂ Using a Simple Predictive Tool provides a new method to accurately predict carbon dioxide and nitrogen adsorption isotherms at low temperatures and pressures for application of pressure-swing-absorption technology.

The next four papers are case studies that illustrate some of the problems that can occur during production. Ready for Gas Injection: Asphaltene Risk Evaluation by Mathematical Modeling of Asphaltene-Precipitation Envelope (APE) With Integration of All Laboratory Deliverables provides lessons about typical problems found in a field with asphaltene deposition and how the evaluation can be used to determine problems in future developments. Field Improvement of Water Handling Offshore Trinidad identifies the problems with water handling and disposal offshore. Methods are presented to improve the water quality, and results are shown. Scale-Inhibitor Application in Northern Alberta: A Case History of an Ultrahigh-Temperature Scale-Inhibition Solution in Fire-Tube Heater Treaters provides insight into testing of the scale inhibitors at high temperature and the value that the correct inhibitor can bring to the operations. Sour-Gas-Reservoir Exploitation in Croatia provides almost 30 years of experience in operation of high-pressure/high-temperature gas fields with significant CO₂ and H₂S concentrations.

Comparison of Leak-Detection Technologies for Continuous Monitoring of Subsea-Production Templates highlights the latest developments in subsea-leak detection. Several direct measurement systems are discussed, and results are presented.

Thank you for taking the time to review these papers. Please email me at James.N.Collins@ConocoPhillips.com with any suggestions to improve our journal. Thank you very much for your continued support and participation in the PFC journal. I’m confident you’ll enjoy the June issue.