This three-phase centrifuge at Frenchie Draw near the Natrona-Fremont County line allows EnCana to separate recoverable oil or was fluids from tanks, other storage containers, and even soil.
EnCana photo
The power of centrifugal force
EnCana centrifuge separates waste fluids, saves barrels of oil
From staff reports
If you’ve ever shaken a kethcup bottle to get the last bit out of the bottom, you’ve employed a rudimentary centrifuge.
EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) uses one just a bit bigger than that.
In fact, EnCana is one of the only companies in the U.S. to use a centrifuge to separate oil from tanks, reserve pits and other storage containers that otherwise could be lost to productive use or pose a long-term storage and environmental problem.
By using the centrifuge in the Frenchie Draw gas field, EnCana has an environmentally friendly way to eliminate storing fluids in tanks, and has reclaimed close to 12,000 barrels of oil.
In July 2006, EnCana engaged Casper-based Centech International to bring in its one-of-kind, three-phase centrifuge to help reduce stored fluids.
Stored fluids come from skimming reserve pits, emulsions resulting from well completion operations, cleaning of operation vessels and other miscellaneous fluids found in gas field operations.
How it works
Emulsions are hauled to a feed tank to be processed by the centrifuge, which can handle a wide range of feedstock, while centrifugal force separates oil, water and solids in a controlled feed slurry.
Water is pumped into a lined pit and solids are discharged into a storage trough. The centrifuge improves the quality of the separated water, allowing it to be released at surface discharge points
The solids are tested, and then placed into an approved “land farm” in Frenchie Draw to be used as beneficial soil for landowners or EnCana operations.
The pipeline spec oil is continuously monitored for basic water and sediment, while it is being pumped into one of the two oil sales tanks.
Two heated tanks are used so the processed high paraffin oils can be blended with the lighter oils for ease of transportation.
In addition to improving water quality and producing treated soil, the centrifuge process also allows drilling reserve pits to be reclaimed at a faster pace, because fluids are no longer stored in the pits.
Since working with Centech, 21 storage tanks with a 400-barrel capacity have been processed and eliminated, including numerous barrels of emulsions.
EnCana also plans to relocate the centrifuge to eliminate stored fluids in the Muddy Ridge, Pavillion and Sand Mesa fields.
CO2 inject installation tops Devon priority list for 2008
By Christina Gould
Staff Writer
Devon Energy is one of the world’s leading independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, producing about 3e percent of the gas consumed in North America every day.
And a lot of it comes from Wyoming.
The more than 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas produced everyday by the Oklahoma City-based company is helped by the 27 million cubic feet produced a day by one of the company’s productive Wyoming fields, the Beaver Creek field just outside Riverton.
Under the company’s Rocky Mountain operations, Beaver Creek is one of five fields in Wyoming.
The other Devon natrual gas production fields fields are Worland, Powder River, Washakie and Jonah.
The Beaver Creek field has seen tremendous growth over the past year in various aspects of the business, foreman Bill Skelton said.
The average volume of gas pumped out of the ground a day has increased since last year, to 2 million cubic feet.
On the oil side of Devon Energy, Skelton said an increase also has taken place.
“We are probably up 10 percent in oil production in 2008 compared to 2007,” Skelton said.
Roughly 170 producing wells on 26,000 acres makes up the Beaver Creek field.
Skelton said several more wells are currently being drilled.
In the past year, he said, about a dozen new wells have been drilled.
A pilot project consisting of five coal-bed natural gas wells is in the works, as well as a horizontal phosphoria well.
There were nine wells drilled this past year in the
q Please see “Devon,” page B-8 productive Madison formation, with two more in the process.
The major project Skelton said the company has been working on is a 46-mile pipeline that will bring carbon dioxide into the Beaver Creek field from Crooks Gap near Jeffrey City.
“Beginning July 1 we will start injecting carbon dioxide to enhance oil recovery in the Madison,” Skelton said.
The carbon dioxide will help push the remaining oil over to producing wells.
“It will go through formation better than any other process,” plant foreman Craig Shaw said.
The new process will replace the current process called water flood, which uses water to help push the excess oil over to producing wells.
A facility for the carbon dioxide injection is currently under construction and will be on line and operational soon, Skelton said.
With the new carbon dioxide injection process, the plant will undergo some additions to help facilitate the changes, including adding some bypass compressors.
“We will also have to increase some vessel sizes,” Shaw said.
Other additions to the plant will include a new acid gas injection process, which will replace a 14-year-old one.
This process uses hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, which are saturated with water, to dispose unwanted by-product.
In the field, Skelton said two to three drilling rigs and five work completion rigs are always operating. A rig called a Neighbor M40 rig, is another new addition to Beaver Creek.
Skelton said the new technology is the first of its kind to drill in the Beaver Creek area.
“It is pretty much automotive, so it can move itself and you don’t have to tear it down when you move holes,” Skelton said. “It has hydraulic legs that it moves on.”
Skelton said the new technology, which is run by diesel and/or electric, is a great labor saver, is more cost efficient, and is safer for the operators.
“A guy sits in a lounge-like chair in a box and operates everything with buttons,” Skelton said. “It helps keep them out of harm’s way.”
Other additions at Beaver Creek include a new 22,000-square-foot office facility that is under construction and should be ready to be moved into next month.
“We’ve outgrown this one,” Skelton said.
The new facility is four times the size of the current office.
Looking out into the field at Beaver Creek, one may notice a herd of 750 goats grazing. This new addition to the field has the purpose of speeding reclamation and restoration of the site, Skelton said.
“It is kind of like new technology,” he said. “It is the first time Devon has used it. We are doing this instead of using herbicides and spraying.”
Skelton said the goats, which have been on-site since May 1, help fertilize the soil and destroy unwanted seeds.
The goats’ hoofs also help aerate the soil. The goats will help clear pipeline rights-of-way and well pads.
With all of the projects in the works at Beaver Creek, Skelton said there can be more than 200 people working throughout the site — 40 of which are Devon Energy employees.
Fortune magazine recently ranked the corporation amount its “100 Best Companies to Work for.” Coming it at No. 48, Devon Energy was the highest-ranked energy producer on the list.
“It was quite an honor to hear this,” Skelton said.
The business has hired eight new people in the past year and is on the lookout for more hires.
Beaver Creek field’s safety record also is something Skelton said it is proud of. Office administrator Lana Hanson said Beaver Creek had gone 868 days (through May 31) days without an incident.
“With the amount of work we are doing out here, it is a very good record,” Skelton said.
