INTRODUCTION

Produced water refers to water from a producing reservoir that comes to the surface along with
hydrocarbon. It may contain a number of chemicals such as salt, oil, additives, naturally occurring
radioactive materials, heavy metals, as well as chemical or biological oxygen demand materials which
must be removed prior to disposal or injection.

The production of large volumes of water in a hydrocarbon field can be costly to operators. Capital
costs may be increased as treatment plants, disposal facilities and various equipment is required to
handle the water. During field production, operating costs may escalate as there are requirements for
chemical additives and utilities, transportation costs, among others. Improper water management can
lead to costly clean-up exercises and significant damage to the environment.

For the management of produced water, water may be minimised, treated and disposed at surface, or
separated from oil downhole. DOWS could greatly reduce the handling cost of produced water as
surface facilities may be better utilised for handling hydrocarbons thereby avoiding produced water
entirely. This could allow for increased production while keeping the fluid capacity at gathering centres
unchanged.

Downhole oilwater separation (DOWS) technology is an emerging technology that

separates oil and gas from produced water at the bottom of the well, and re-injects most of the produced
water into another formation which is usually deeper than the producing formation, while the oil and
gas rich stream is pumped to the surface. DOWS effectively removes solids from the disposal fluid and
thus avoids injectivity impairment caused by solids plugging. Simultaneous injection using DOWS
minimizes the opportunity for the contamination of underground sources of drinking water (USDWs)
through leaks in tubing and casing during the injection process. A DOWS system is installed at the
bottom of an oil well, it separates oil and water in the wellbore. The oil rich stream is brought to the
surface while the water rich stream is pumped into an injection formation without ever coming to the
surface.
TYPE OF DOWNHOLE SEPERATION

Three types of separators are generally available from manufacturers: vertical, horizontal, and
spherical separators. Horizontal separators are further classified into two categories: single tube and
double tube. Selection of separator type is based on several factors including characteristics of
production steam to be treated, floor space availability at the facility site, transportation, and cost.

1.0 Vertical Separators

Figure 1 shows a vertical separator. The inlet diverter baffle is a centrifugal inlet device making the
incoming stream spin around. This action forces the liquid droplets to stay together and fall to the
bottom of the separator along the separator wall due to gravity. Sufficient surge room is available in
the settling section of the vertical separator to handle slugs of liquid without carryover to the gas
outlet. A mist eliminator or extractor near the gas outlet allows the entrained liquid in the gas to be
almost eliminated. Vertical separators are often used to treat low to intermediate gasoil ratio well
streams and streams with relatively large slugs of liquid. They handle greater slugs of liquid without
carryover to the gas outlet, and the action of the liquid level control is not as critical. Vertical
separators occupy less floor space, which is important for facility sites such as those on offshore
platforms where space is limited. Because of the large vertical distance between the liquid level and
the gas outlet, the chance for liquid to revaporize into the gas phase is limited. However, because of
the natural upward flow of gas in a vertical separator against the falling droplets of liquid, adequate
separator diameter is required. Vertical separators are more costly to fabricate and ship in
skidmounted assemblies.

FIGURE 1 : Vertical seperator

2. HORIZONTAL SEPERATOR

Figure 2 presents a sketch of a horizontal separator. In horizontal separators, gas flows horizontally
while liquid droplets fall toward the liquid surface. The moisture gas flows in the baffle surface and
forms a liquid film that is drained away to the liquid section of the separator. The baffles need to be
longer than the distance of liquid trajectory travel. The liquid-level control placement is more critical
in a horizontal separator than in a vertical separator because of limited surge space. Horizontal
separators are usually the first choice because of their low costs. They are almost widely used for high
gasoil ratio well streams, foaming well streams, or liquid-from-liquid separation. They have much
greater gasliquid interface because of a large, long, baffled gasseparation section. Horizontal
separators are easier to skid-mount and service and require less piping for field connections. Individual
separators can be stacked easily into stage-separation assemblies to minimize space requirements.
Figure 3 demonstrates a horizontal double-tube separator consisting of two tube sections. The upper
tube section is filled with baffles, gas flows straight through and at higher velocities, and the incoming
free liquid is immediately drained away from the upper tube section into the lower tube section.
Horizontal double tube separators have all the advantages of normal horizontal single-tube
separators, plus much higher liquid capacities.

FIGURE 2: Horizontal one phase separator

FIGURE 3: Horizontal two phase separator

3.0 Spherical Separators

A spherical separator is shown in Fig. 5. Spherical separators offer an inexpensive and compact means
of separation arrangement. Because of their compact configurations, this type of separator has a very
limited surge space and liquid settling section. Also, the placement and action of the liquid-level
control in this type of separator is very critical.

FIGURE 4: Spherical Separator