Technical upgrading of light hydrocarbon recovery process in Kekeya Initial Gathering Station

The light hydrocarbon produced in Kekeya Initial Gathering Station will enter the storage tank along with crude oil. Under the conditions of normal temperature and pressure (NTP), the C₁-C₄ components in light hydrocarbon are very likely to evaporate and cause losses, leading to oil/gas waste and environmental pollution. Considering the current production of gas fields and the results of analysis on composition of light hydrocarbon at the initial station, technical upgrading is proposed for existing devices. A recovery process which can recover light hydrocarbon in a closed manner and enable the production in the vicinity have been developed. Light hydrocarbon and crude oil are recovered separately. Crude oil will flow into the storage tank and light hydrocarbon flows into the gas processing plant to produce liquefied gas. After upgrading, the production of liquefied gas and total utilization ratio of light hydrocarbon have been increased greatly; oil/gas losses in storage tank are reduced, thus alleviating the environmental pollution; the proportion of gas-phase flow of crude oil in long-distance pipeline is decreased, which helps to improve the transportation safety of crude in pipeline. As the national requirements for safety and environment protection become increasingly stringent, the benefit-oriented policy of PetroChina has changed. In the development of oil/gas fields, recovery and utilization of light hydrocarbon, which is safety and environment oriented, can lower the environmental protection, improve the overall benefits of oilfields, and thus will have a very good prospect for application.