Wellhead Platforms are small platforms. Wellhead platforms mostly four legs unmanned platforms. Wellhead platforms consist of four decks in which all the piping, equipment, instrumentation, electrical apparatus and Christmas tree are arranged. The common names of these four decks are spider deck, cellar deck, main deck and heli-deck. These name may be varies as per the customer requirements.
A typical wellhead platform may have around thirty wellheads located on the platform and directional drilling allows reservoirs to be accessed at both different depths and at remote positions up to 5 miles (8 kilometres) from the platform. Many platforms also have remote wellheads attached by umbilical connections, these may be single wells or a manifold centre for multiple wells.
Wellhead Platforms are designed to operate remotely under normal operations, only to be visited occasionally for routine maintenance or well work Or personnel visit the platform for well testing and other maintenance activities. Wells are drilled normally by Jack up Rigs that dock with the platform. Well servicing is done either by Jack up rigs or by Modular Rigs that are assembled over the platform. You can also check Central Processing Planforms (CPP) here for enhance you knowledge about oil and gas.
Wellhead platforms contains following Facilities
- Wells
- Production Manifold to receive well fluid from all the wells
- Lift gas Manifold for feeding lift gas to well along with Injection gas regulation/Control and measurement system.
- Christmas Tree
- Pig Launcher
- WI manifold for feeding injection water to WI wells along with metering system.
- Test manifold and Test separator and associated measurement system for Oil, Gas and Water.
- Well control Panel (SDP)
- Instrument gas system
- Battery pack, Solar power panel.
- Subsea lines carry well fluid from the platform to the Process platform
- Also, Lift gas and Injection water is brought in by subsea lines from Process Platform.
- Emergency Gen‐set.
- Fire water pumps and Fire fighting system.
- HC Gas detectors
- ESD/FSD system
- Crane.
Well Control
Wells close by SSV (Surface Safety Valve) and SSSV (Sub‐surface Safety Valve) when abnormal conditions exist. Abnormal conditions may be Higher Pressures in the flow lines, Fire. Wells can also be closed remotely from Process platforms/Shore through SCADA with the help of RTU.
Well control Panel (SDP)
Pneumatic control panels are designed to monitor crucial wellhead safety parameters. They provide sequential start up and safe shutdown of production wells. In remote unmanned wellhead platforms produced gas is used as the medium inside the control panel. Easy availability of pneumatic power source makes pneumatic controls a desirable choice. The pneumatic shutdown panel is designed as a central protection unit for overall protection of the installation. Three levels of protection for personnel, production wells and surface facilities are envisaged. Thus a panel consists of;
a) Fire and gas leakage protection system: Any gas leakage is automatically detected and appropriate shutdown action initiated to prevent formation of combustible mixture. All sources of ignition are also shutdown. Any eruption of fire is detected and appropriate shutdown and suppression action initiated.
b) Surface Facility Protection: A safety analysis or hazardous operability analysis of surface facilities including rotary and process equipment is carried out. All possible hazards, interrelation between various parameters are identified and listed. The functional chart thus evolved is the SAFE (Safety Analysis and Function Evaluation) chart. The SAFE chart forms the basis for design of panel in surface safety protection.
c) Well control & Protection: A major function of the wellhead shutdown panel is to control the well through the surface and sub surface safety valves. The interrelations between various valves are well defined and their sequential operation established.
SMART Wellhead platforms
This day SAMRT well head platforms are used due to enhancement of the technology. in which these wellhead platforms can operate remotely from onshore without the help of plant operators. These smart wellhead platforms make the easy life of the plant operators. Operators has only to be visited occasionally for routine maintenance or well work Or personnel visit the platform for well testing and other maintenance activities.
SMART Wellhead platforms functions
- Provides Well head real time data.
- Provide Real time Monitoring and Control of Unmanned Platforms and wells.
- Provides minimum Human Intervention in day to day operations
- Provide Stabilized production and Transportation process along with Optimizations
- Provide real time data Consolidation, Recording and storage for the analysis for future evaluations.
- Reduce the delay in decision making via online measurements of critical parameters such as Water cut, Gas Rates etc.
Major Elements of SMART platform
- Instrumentation on well head.
- Automated Well testing using Remotely Operated Multi Selector Valve in well platform.
- Automation system to Monitor and Optimise Production.
- Remote Lift Gas optimization.
- Integration of different automation system to ensure data consolidation at central facilities.
- WAN Communication: Radio, V‐sat at offshore wellhead platform
Types of well
- Producers: Self flow, Gas lifted and ESP.
- Injectors
- Subsea wells: Dry Tree, Wet Tree wells.
- Directional wells
- Horizontal wells
- ERD Wells
- Multilateral wells
- Intelligent wells
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