EnergyBC

Production (more...)

During production, the goal is to maximize the recovery of oil and/or gas from a particular well. This can be achieved using numerous methods ranging from large gravity based concrete structures to a mobile FPSO vessel. There are primary and secondary stages of recovery, with the secondary stage involving the use of special chemicals or equipment within the well to increase porosity and fluid flow.

Facilities

- in an offshore environment, if a well receives the go-ahead for production the next step involves the construction of a platform (rig) capable of supporting hundreds of workers over a long period of time

- most oil and gas platforms offshore of Britain and Nova Scotia are constructed on steel "jackets" pinned to the sea floor while the Hibernia platform in Newfoundland is made of concrete designed to withstand extreme storm conditions and sea ice

- as an alternative to platforms, oil and gas may be collected using sub sea collection systems linked to Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels which offer advantages in areas with deep water, strong ocean currents or fields that will only be exploited for a few years

There are considered to be two main stages of hydrocarbon recovery (CFE Brochure):

Primary Recovery	- first production casing is cemented into the well
	- then production tubing, which is a length of steel pipe, is lowered down into the hole and set to hang from the wellhead (a series of remotely operated valves and chokes designed to control the flow of oil and gas)
	- the casing is then perforated with explosives and oil and gas begin to flow into the well due to pressure differences
Secondary Recovery	- additional oil may be brought to the surface by pumping fluid back into the surrounding rocks to increase the pressure differential
	- recovery can also be enhanced by increasing the porosity and permeability of the rock by both physical and chemical means
Transportation	- once oil and gas have been collected they must be treated for safe transport
	- when FPSO's are not used, hydrocarbons are usually stored in large tanks on the platform and then transported to land
	- gas tends to be transported from offshore sites by sub sea pipelines, while tanker ships are used to transport the oil and gas condensates
	- when the oil or gas reaches the shore it is refined again to yield products that can be sold commercially such as gasoline and other petrochemicals

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