what are oil and gas facilities function?

there are many oil and gas facilities classification available. Some people classifying mechanical facilities into 2 large groups. Number one is Fixed equipment and the second is rotating equipment. According to this classification, mechanical engineer work in oil and gas company, sometime divided into 2 large group i.e mechanical engineer – fixed equipment and mechanical engineer – rotating equipment. Mechanical engineer- fixed equipment job is maintain the fixed equipment integrity, make sure the fixed equipment can be operated safely. these group also called as asset integrity engineer or mechanical integrity engineer. in opposite, mechanical engineer-rotating equipment job is maintain rotating equipment reliability.  This group is also known as Reliability engineer.

 

oil and gas facilities function- fixed equipment

fixed equipment example are heat exchanger, pressure vessel, Boiler, tank, vent stack, stripper, column vessel, flare stack, vent stack, piping and pipelines. There are many heat exchanger type available in oil and gas industry such as shell and tube exchanger and fin fan exchanger. TEMA – Tubular exchanger manufacturer association divide heat exchanger into many types base on the physical shape of tube and head.

Oil and gas facilities has many type and function. Below example of oil and gas facilities function for Pressure vessel.

facility name	application type	example	function
pressure vessel	separator	gas separator	separate liquid droplet in the gas system
	scrubber	gas scrubber	separate liquid droplet in the gas system
	filter	oil removal filter	remove oil in the water system
	deaerator	deaerator	reduce Oxigen content in the water system

oil and gas facilities function – rotating equipment

rotating equipment example are a reciprocating pump, centrifugal pump, reciprocating compressor and centrifugal compressor. Below example of oil and gas facilities function for pump / compressor

rotating equipment type	fluid type	example	function
pump	liquid	water transfer pump	increase liquid energy (head)
compressor	gas	air compressor	increase gas energy (pressure)

Pump type	main function
centrifugal	mostly used for high flow rate liquid, but low pressure output
reciprocating	mostly used for low flow rate liquid, but high pressure output

 

in the next article, i will explain more about oil and gas facilities like gathering station and Well Testing Station.