Claims
- 1. A method for producing a subsea well, comprising:
conveying well fluid from a subsea well to a subsea separator; separating water from the well fluid with the subsea separator to produce water with residual hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon liquids; conveying the hydrocarbon liquids directly to a subsea collector for transportation to a remote processing facility; pumping the water with the residual hydrocarbons to a vessel at the surface; and then separating the water from the residual hydrocarbons with a separator at the vessel.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising pumping the water after separation from the residual hydrocarbons to the sea.
- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising mixing the water after the separation from the residual hydrocarbons with a supply of sea water, and injecting the mixture into another subsea well.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising conveying the residual hydrocarbons after separation at the vessel to the subsea collector for conveyance to the remote processing facility.
- 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising with the separator on the vessel, separating gaseous hydrocarbons and liquid hydrocarbons from the residual hydrocarbons; and pumping the liquid hydrocarbons to the subsea collector.
- 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising with the separator on the vessel, separating gaseous hydrocarbons and liquid hydrocarbons from the residual hydrocarbons; and conveying the gaseous hydrocarbons to the subsea collector.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding sea water to the gaseous residual hydrocarbons to form a hydrate slurry, then pumping the hydrate slurry to the subsea collector for conveyance to the remote processing facility.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
separating gas from the residual hydrocarbons with the separator at the vessel; burning the gas and generating electricity with the burned gas.
- 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
providing at least one gas powered apparatus on the vessel, the gas powered apparatus having a fuel intake and is in fluid communication with the separator at the vessel; and then supplying gaseous residual hydrocarbons from the separator at the vessel to the fuel intake of the gas powered apparatus.
- 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising supplying additional hydrocarbons to the gas powered apparatus by adding gaseous hydrocarbons to the separated water after separation with the subsea separator.
- 11. A method for producing a subsea well, comprising:
separating water from well fluid produced by a subsea well with a subsea separator; then pumping the water with residual hydrocarbons to a vessel at the surface, and conveying hydrocarbons remaining after the separation of the water with the subsea separator to a subsea collector; separating the water from the residual hydrocarbons with a surface separator located at the vessel; separating liquid residual hydrocarbons from gaseous residual hydrocarbons of the residual hydrocarbons; and pumping the liquid residual hydrocarbon to the subsea collector.
- 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising pumping the water separated from the residual hydrocarbons with the surface separator to the sea.
- 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising conveying the gaseous residual hydrocarbons from the surface separator to the subsea collector.
- 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
burning the gaseous residual hydrocarbons at the vessel and generating electricity thereby; providing a riser for conveying the water and residual hydrocarbons to the vessel; and heating the riser with the electricity generated to reduce the formation of hydrates in the water and residual hydrocarbons communicating to the vessel.
- 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising compressing the gaseous residual hydrocarbons after separation with the surface separator before conveying the gaseous residual hydrocarbons to the subsea collector.
- 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising adding sea water to the gaseous residual hydrocarbons after separation by the surface separator to form a hydrate slurry, then pumping the hydrate slurry with the liquid residual hydrocarbons to the subsea collector.
- 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
burning the gaseous residual hydrocarbons at the vessel and producing electricity.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising separating the hydrocarbons flowing from the subsea well to the subsea separator into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons;
and conveying a portion of the gaseous hydrocarbons from the subsea separator to the vessel; and burning the gaseous hydrocarbons along with the gaseous residual hydrocarbons to produce electricity.
- 19. A well fluid treatment system, comprising:
a vessel; a subsea separator adapted to be located adjacent a subsea well for separating water from well fluid from a subsea well; a riser extending from a water outlet of the subsea separator to the vessel; a subsea collector which receives the hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon outlet of the subsea separator and conveys them to a facility for process; and a surface separator on the vessel for receiving the water from the riser and for separating residual hydrocarbons from the water.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Applicant claims priority to the application described herein through a United States provisional patent application titled “Subsea Well Production Facility,” having U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 60/371,217, which was filed on Apr. 8, 2002, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60371217 |
Apr 2002 |
US |