Transcript Steffes Engineered Flare System

Steffes Engineered Flare System
Presented by Todd Mayer, Steffes Corporation
Steffes Engineered Flare System Agenda
 Why discuss this?
• Regulations put in place last year that required operators to look
at gas being vented or burned on their production sites
• Clarification of the specific gases are we talking about
• Types of devices for burning the gases
• Types of devices required for given production levels
 How has Steffes addressed these regulations?
• Development of the Steffes Engineered Flare system that will be
3rd party tested in June 2012. This is only one option available
to operators.
• Combustor, air assist flares, gas assist flares, and multi-orfice
flares (not discussing today)
Regulations on bridge load
capacity???
What regulations were put in place
requiring operators to look at gas being
vented or burned on their production sites?
Bakken Pool Oil and Gas Production Facilities Air
Pollutions Control Permitting & Compliance
Guidance Document
• Issued by ND Department of Health, Division of
Air Quality
• Effective Date May 2, 2011
What regulations were put in place
requiring operators to look at gas being
vented or burned on their production sites?
2 Main Requirements need to be met:
• The overall well Potential to Emit (PTE) of VOC, CO,
and Nox needs to be less than 100 Tons per Year (TPY)
 Greater than 100 TPY requires a permit to construct and
Title V application.
• Oil Tank Potential to Emit (PTE) of VOCs:
 Tank PTE < 20 TPY—Ground Flare Acceptable
 Tank PTE >20 TPY—Utility Flare Required
What are VOCs?
 Volatile Organic Compounds
 Organic Compounds—Compounds containing
carbon
 One way to destroy VOCs is to burn them using
flares. One way flares are rated is their
Destruction and Removal Efficiency (DRE). A
flare with a 98% DRE is burning 98% of the VOCs
contained in the incoming gas.
Sources of VOCS on an Oil Site
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Oil/Condensate Tanks
Produced Water Tanks
Treater Flares
Heater/Burners
Truck Loading
Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (RICE)
Pneumatic Pumps
Pneumatic Controllers
Today we will focus on VOCs from tanks and
treater flares
Burning VOCs
• North Dakota specifies 3 classifications of devices
for burning VOCs:
– Ground Pit Flare (includes, but not limited to pit flares
or shop built flares). 90% DRE allowed.
– Enclosed Smokeless Combustor. 98% Destruction and
Removal Efficiency (DRE) allowed.
– Utility Flare or Other 98% DRE device
• At a minimum, all treater gas and tank gas must
be burned with a ground pit flare.
• We will be focusing on the utility flare (the Steffes
Engineered Flare is a utility flare) today.
Definition of a Utility Flare
(reference 40 CFR 60.18)
 Operates with no visible emissions (smoke)
except for periods not to exceed a total of 5
minutes during any 2 consecutive hours.
 Operates with a flame present at all times.
 Gas exits the flare at a velocity within a
specified range.
What control device is needed on a
particular site?
• The overall well Potential to Emit (PTE) of
VOC, CO, and Nox:
• Needs to be less than 100 Tons per Year (TPY). Greater
than 100 TPY requires a permit to construct and Title V
application.
• Oil Tank Potential to Emit (PTE) of VOCs:
• Tank PTE < 20 TPY—Ground Flare Acceptable
• Tank PTE >20 TPY—Utility Flare Required
• What does all this mean in terms of
production numbers?
Acceptable Combinations of Oil and Gas Flow Rates to stay below 100
TPY Limit of VOC emissions
900
Example: A well produces an average of 500
bopd during its first month of production. A
ground flare is not acceptable because flow is
greater than 118 bopd. Allowable treater gas to
be burned is 663 mscfd if burned with a utility
flare (98% DRE) or 154 mscfd if burned with a
ground flare (90% DRE).
Flared Treater Gas Flow Rate (mscfd)
800
700
600
118 bopd limit for using
a ground pit flare (90%
DRE) on tank gas.
Above this limit, VOC
emissions would be
greater that 20 TPY.
500
400
Included in analysis (default values
from state):
• Treater Flare Gas, Tank Vent Gas,
Treater Burner
• And Truck Loading
300
200
100
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Average Oil Flow Rate (bopd)
98% DRE Tank Gas, 90% DRE Treater Gas
98% DRE Tank Gas, 98% DRE Treater Gas
90% DRE Tank Gas, 90% DRE Treater Gas
90% DRE Tank Gas, 98% DRE Treater Gas
1000
What is a Steffes engineered flare?
• One system to burn both tank and treater gas. Both burners qualify as
utility flares (98% DRE).
– Also possible to use each burner as a stand alone system
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Includes ignition system and monitored standing pilot
Handles a wide range of gas flow rates
Open Flare
Meets all requirements of EPA 40 CFR 60.18
– Smokeless
– Flame present at all times
– Exit Velocity Requirements
• Simple, Reliable, Easy to Maintain, and Safe
– A flare that does not run destroys 0% of VOCs
• Easy to set-up. Everything is included to make the system work.
• Options to log or communicate with existing SCADA systems.
Overview of the Flare System
Ignition, Data Logging, and Monitoring
Optional pressure
gages for system
monitoring
Thermocouple
Data Logger or
SCADA interface
High
Temperature
Insulated
Stainless Steel
Conductor
Powder
Coated Steel
Stands
Electric Fencer or
Burner
Management
System to provide
high voltage pulse
to igniter
Overview of Flare System
Flare and Pilot Tips
Low Pressure Tank
Gas Tip. 4 osi
High Pressure
Treater Gas Tip.
3-8 psi.
Standing
Pilot 8-10 psi
All tips are modular meaning
that it is possible to configure
to only burn treater gas or to
only burn tank gas.
High Pressure Flare Tip
The high pressure flare tip is a pressure assisted flare. When gas exits under pressure at a
higher velocity than a typical pit flare, it burns with a pale orange smokeless flame.
3. Gas exits through the
annular gap and is guided
upward by the plunger
radius. As the gas is
guided around the radius,
significant combustion air
is drawn in prior to
ignition.
1. Gas fills main barrel of flare
and builds to a pressure of 3
psi. This pressure is based on
the weight of the plunger and
preload of spring pack.
2. Plunger lifts a distance
proportional to the
gas flow.
Low Pressure Flare Tip
Similar operation to the high pressure
flare tip, but needs to operate at a much
lower pressure to handle tank vent gas.
3. Gas exits through the annular gap
and is guided upward by the
plunger radius. As the gas is
guided around the radius,
significant combustion air is
drawn in prior to ignition.
1. Gas fills main barrel of flare
and builds to a pressure of 4
osi. This pressure is based on
the weight of the plunger only.
2. Plunger lifts a distance
proportional to the
gas flow.
Standing Pilot Overview
High Temperature
Ignition Rod
Looking in end of pilot nozzle
Pilot System
High Temperature
Thermocouple
Thermocouple
Ignition
Conductor
Pilot Gas
Steffes Engineered Flare
Low Pressure Tank Gas
Pilot
High Pressure Treater Gas
Engineered Flare System
Flare Tips in Berm
Electric Fencer
High Pressure Flare Tip Burning
Approximately 800 mscfd
Very Low Gas Flow
Low Pressure Flare Tip Burning
Approximately 30 mscfd
Pilot
Low Pressure Tank
Vent Gas Flare Tip
Summary
• Today we have discussed regulations that are in place
guiding operators on what needs to be done with gas
emitted from production oil sites.
• The Steffes Engineered Flare is one tool that is
available to help operators meet these regulations.
The system will be 3rd party tested in June 2012.
• Steffes is working with customers to develop other
flaring technologies such as air assist flares, gas assist
flares, and multi-orifice flares. More technologies will
be introduced as regulations continue to evolve.
QUESTIONS?