FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR DOWNHOLE OIL/WATER SEPARATORS

John Veil*

Argonne National Laboratory
955 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Suite 6000
Washington, DC 20024
Voice: 202-488-2450
Fax: 202-488-2413
E-mail: jveil@anl.gov

The oil and gas industry is interested in technologies that can bring oil to the surface at a lower cost or with less environmental impact. Technologies that can accomplish both of these goals are particularly attractive. Downhole oil/water separators (DOWS) have the potential to reduce operating costs while providing a greater degree of environmental protection. DOWS technology reduces the quantity of produced water that is handled at the surface by separating it from the oil downhole and simultaneously injecting it underground. A DOWS system includes many components, but the two primary ones are an oil/water separation system and at least one pump to lift oil to the surface and inject the water. Two basic types of DOWS have been developed; one type using hydrocyclones to mechanically separate oil and water and one relying on gravity separation that takes place in the well bore.

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provided funding to Argonne National Laboratory to conduct an independent evaluation of the technical feasibility, economic viability, and regulatory applicability of the DOWS technology. The results of that investigation were published in January 1999 and represent the most complete publicly available reference material on DOWS technology. Since 1999, DOWS have been used sparsely, although several new designs have been tested. This paper describes DOWS technology, how it has been used in the past, and what types of DOWS and related technology are currently being used by the industry. The paper also discusses some of the reasons why DOWS have not been more widely used, the future outlook for DOWS technology, and the steps that DOWS developers, producers, and government must follow to expand the usage of DOWS systems.