SHIP-MOUNTED NITROGEN GENERATORS COULD IMPROVE OIL RECOVERY

Pumping nitrogen into oil wells would improve oil recovery and stop the seabed sinking. A ship-mounted nitrogen generator would be cost effective for this purpose and simple. In the scheme envisaged a membrane separation technique enables nitrogen to be separated from the air at a rate of up to 711000 cu.m/h. The separators would be mounted on a ship of about 52000 t displacement, of which 21000 t would be equipment and ballast. No gas would be stored on board; the continuously produced nitrogen would be fed directly into the oil well at ambient temperature and a pressure of between 250-400 bar. It would be passed via a single-leg mooring buoy and a pipeline to an existing platform for injection into the oil well. The compressors would be driven by a combination of gas and steam turbines, the waste heat from the gas turbine exhausts being used to raise steam for the second set of turbines; it is estimated this would give an overall energy efficiency of 42.3%, and is more compact and lighter in weight than the number of medium-speed diesel engines otherwise required to produce the 252 MW of power needed. Hull shape would be designed to optimise ship motions when the vessel is moored, so that a newbuilding rather than a conversion is envisaged for the ship.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Motor Ship, 67 (1986), p. 41 (June) [1 p., 1 fig.]
• Publication Date: 1986

Language

• English

Subject/Index Terms

• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00690257
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: British Maritime Technology
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 14 1995 12:00AM