TY - THES

T1 - Casing Gas Compression: Technology, Markets, Potential, Business Cases

AU - Schweighofer, Maximilian

N1 - embargoed until 01-10-2025

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The production life cycle of an oil field can be explained as a saturated sponge which is squeezed out over time, until no more fluid flows. The reservoir pressure in an oil field depletes over time. At the beginning, the reservoir pressure is high enough to ensure the inflow. However, as the oil fields become depleted, the reservoir pressure also decreases, and the oil production becomes less, economically unviable, or technically impossible. In the petroleum industry compressing gas plays an important role. Especially in marginal oil wells with low reservoir pressure and low production rates. Often a gas column accumulates above the liquid level, which increases the wellhead pressure and consequently reduces the inflow of oil and gas from the formation. In order to counteract this effect, so-called wellhead compressors are used, which decrease the wellhead flowing pressure to improve the inflow performance. However, the number of mature and marginal fields that produce only small amounts of oil is huge and therefore, there are many of economic reasons why a conventional compressor may not be profitable for every field. For this reason, HOERBIGER has designed a low-cost casinghead gas compressor, which is to be introduced to the market especially for small, depleted oil fields on land (onshore). The functional principle is the same as for a piston compressor, which sucks in the gas, further compresses it, and finally feeds it into the pipeline system, if available. It is a double-acting version, which compresses both in the upward and downward stroke of the piston. Therefore, this diploma thesis describes the technical analysis of compression as well as the development of a business model for the product.

AB - The production life cycle of an oil field can be explained as a saturated sponge which is squeezed out over time, until no more fluid flows. The reservoir pressure in an oil field depletes over time. At the beginning, the reservoir pressure is high enough to ensure the inflow. However, as the oil fields become depleted, the reservoir pressure also decreases, and the oil production becomes less, economically unviable, or technically impossible. In the petroleum industry compressing gas plays an important role. Especially in marginal oil wells with low reservoir pressure and low production rates. Often a gas column accumulates above the liquid level, which increases the wellhead pressure and consequently reduces the inflow of oil and gas from the formation. In order to counteract this effect, so-called wellhead compressors are used, which decrease the wellhead flowing pressure to improve the inflow performance. However, the number of mature and marginal fields that produce only small amounts of oil is huge and therefore, there are many of economic reasons why a conventional compressor may not be profitable for every field. For this reason, HOERBIGER has designed a low-cost casinghead gas compressor, which is to be introduced to the market especially for small, depleted oil fields on land (onshore). The functional principle is the same as for a piston compressor, which sucks in the gas, further compresses it, and finally feeds it into the pipeline system, if available. It is a double-acting version, which compresses both in the upward and downward stroke of the piston. Therefore, this diploma thesis describes the technical analysis of compression as well as the development of a business model for the product.

KW - Gaskompression

KW - reife Ölfelder

KW - Kolbenkompressor

KW - Abfackeln und Entlüften von Gas

KW - Begleitgas

KW - Produktions-Lebenszyklus

KW - Nachhaltige Erdölförderung

KW - Optimierung der Erdölproduktion

KW - Erdölwirtschaft

KW - casing gas compression

KW - mature oil fields

KW - piston compressor

KW - flaring and venting gas

KW - associated gas

KW - production life cycle

KW - sustainable oil production

KW - petroleum production optimization

KW - petroleum economics

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -