GEA has delivered two centrifuges for monoethylene glycol (MEG) purification at BP’s West Nile Delta offshore natural gas field in Egypt
The project represents an important new customer for GEA in its expanding MEG treatment business. MEG is used to protect gas pipelines from corrosion and blockage.
The centrifuge package was delivered to BP’s gas treatment plant near the port of Alexandria. Its two WSD 200 centrifugal separators run in parallel 24 hours a day to deliver excellent separation performance and reliable operation on a single skid measuring 12 x 7 x 6 meters.
Overcoming challenges to deliver on schedule
GEA started work on the project at the end of 2015 and supplied the centrifuges on schedule in around 65 weeks.
The complete MEG regeneration project was handled by the Wellstream Processing group, which is part of the Process and Flow Technologies business unit within National Oilwell Varco, LP (NOV). NOV’s head office is in Houston, Texas, USA. This is GEA’s fourth project with NOV, on this occasion working with the company’s office in Oslo, Norway.
“The GEA centrifuge technology in the NOV MEG Regenerations Units has been subject to varying process conditions, interfaces and client requirements,” said Bruno Sersante, senior mechanical engineer, Wellstream Processing group.
Centrifuge manufacturing and project management were done at GEA’s facility in Oelde, Germany. GEA’s Dubai office assisted with front-line contact. The centrifuge skid was assembled in Hereford, UK, by KGD, a trusted partner of GEA.
West Nile Delta: a strategic project
The West Nile Delta is a strategic project that is set to eventually supply almost 1.3 bcf per day of gas, equivalent to about 30 per cent of Egypt’s current production. All this gas will feed into the Egyptian grid.
The complete development consists of five gas fields in water depths up to 750 meters. BP holds an 83 per cent stake, with the balance owned by German oil and gas company DEA AG. Production started in March 2017, with the remaining fields expected on stream in 2019.
As well as natural gas, wellhead pipelines typically transport hydrocarbon liquids (condensate), water, corrosive salts, and sand. Within the pipeline, there is a constant threat of erosion, corrosion and scale formation.
On the West Nile Delta project, MEG purified by GEA’s equipment protects a 42km pipeline carrying gas ashore from nine wells in the Taurus and Libra fields.
GEA makes a range of centrifuges optimized for MEG purification. For smaller projects, the group offers several models in its WSE series. GEA’s largest MEG centrifuge, as used in the West Nile Delta project, is the WSD 200. This self-cleaning centrifugal separator has a direct drive, which yields maximum flexibility within a compact footprint.
