Chips and small fragments of rocks as the result of drilling that are brought to the surface by the flow of drilling mud as it is circulated. Cuttings are important to geologists, who examine them for information concerning the type of rock being drilled
Equipment used to remove unwanted gas from a liquid, especially from a drilling fluid
Normally oil with no volatile components, often found in geological exposures. Oil at a sufficiently low pressure that it contains no dissolved gas or a relatively thick oil or residue that has lost its volatile components. >
Cryogenic processes capitalize on the fact that methane and nitrogen change phase (from gas to liquid) at different temperatures. By manipulating and controlling the pressures and temperatures in the system, the methane is liquefied and collected as it drops out of the gas. The gas is then re-vaporized, yielding a sales stream with nitrogen levels that conform to pipeline quality standards. The excess nitrogen is either flared or vented to the atmosphere. Because of the temperatures involved (-240 to -250 degrees), the long cool down time and extensive equipment required, cryogenic systems are most often used for large projects where processing volumes exceed five million cubic feet per day and in those instances where nitrogen levels range from 30% to 40% or higher. The low temperatures allow the plant to recover over 90% of the ethane in the natural gas. Most new gas processing plants use cryogenic recovery technology.
An example of a DDCV is one used by Exxon Oil in the Gulf of Mexico and includes a cylindrical hull, buoyed with air-filled compartments in the upper portion of the hull and ballasted with seawater and fixed ballasts in the bottom compartments. On top of the steel hull, the DDCV production facilities are designed to handle 100,000 barrels per day of crude, 325 million ft³/day of gas and produce up to 60,000 barrels/day of water. A three-level deck will house separation, dehydration and treatment facilities, as well as a drilling rig. Surface trees on the DDCV are similar to trees found on traditional platforms. All valves and flowlines are at the surface, located in the wellbay area of the DDCV. In this particular application, the trees have tensioned risers that connect the surface trees to the well at the seafloor. Surface trees allow for wellbore intervention, using conventional workover technology. The deep draft caisson vessel is moored via 12 anchor lines, which extend in a radial pattern from the hull. The mooring lines will be 7,100ft long and will connect to piles driven into the sea floor, approximately 6,900ft from the DDCV (at a lateral distance of about 5,100ft). The mooring lines are taut, but will have some flexibility and form a catenary between the hull and ocean floor. Each mooring line consists of chain (in the top and bottom sections) and spiral-strand wire rope (in the middle section)
Data rooms are set up by O&G companies that wish to farm-out a part of their license. The rooms are set up with data that potential farminees can view after signing a confidentiality agreement (CA). The data rooms usually include the following data: farmout brochure on the acreage (that will contain an executive summary, seismic Interpretations, farmout terms, permit details, asset market, etc), technical evaluation, offshore exploration history, pertinent well data, workstation with 2D/3D interpretation software, regional reports, etc.
Process of removing water from oil, natural gas or natural gas liquids. It is important to remove the water content from gas to prevent corrosion of the pipelines. Water vapor can also affect the sweetening and refining process of natural gas. Dehydration of crude oil is normally achieved using emulsion breakers, while gas dehydration is accomplished using various liquid desiccants such as glycols (ethylene, diethylene, triethylene and tetraethylene) or solid desiccants such as silica gel or calcium chloride
Advantages: efficient and safe, low risk of pollution, unlimited distances, large flow rates, continuous flow independent of weather conditions, long life span. Disadvantages: relative lack of flexibility, high capital investment, need to fund working inventory (petroleum in pipeline), operational plan required, comingling of various types of petroleum
Deadweight tons are the measure, in long tons, of a tanker’s total capacity to carry cargo, bunkers, water, stores and people. A tanker’s capacity to carry crude or product cargo, in metric tons, is slightly less than its deadweight.
