Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City Society of Petroleum Engineers


September 2006




Abstract

Having mercury in produced fluids can be more than a mere nuisance. Prediction, early detection and accurate quantification of mercury are necessary to ensure equipment integrity, to comply with regulations and to establish policies for worker safety. High concentrations of mercury in natural gas and crude oil are found in several regions of the world, in particular Southeast Asia where operators have developed measures to cope with the major ramifications, but all such measures benefit from early recognition of potential problems and are assisted by tools that allow reliable prediction of impacts. Routine maintenance and inspection activities become non-routine when mercury is present in fluids above a few ppb and become especially problematic when mercury concentrations reach approximately 100 ppb. Mercury in crude oil or gas affects the quality and price of products in proportion to the measured concentrations of the chemical species of mercury that may be present. In rare cases, mercury can be present in sufficient quantity to interfere with the normal function of heat exchangers, separators and conditioning systems (amine, glycol, membranes, etc.).

The presentation will discuss several aspects of field development, each important to prevent problems associated with mercury in reservoir fluids:

Prediction of mercury from geological characteristics.

Early recognition of mercury as a component of reservoir fluids.

Prediction of the distribution of mercury to topside processes.

Equipment and process design to avoid complications.

Planning for mercury's effect on product quality.

For each topic, the variation in approach caused the distribution of mercury species will be highlighted.