Online sand removal – Confidential UK client

The challenge

The platform had been accumulating large volumes of sand within its gas, oil and water separator vessels leading to a significant reduction in the production of hydrocarbons. As a consequence, both plant efficiency and revenue generation were compromised. Traditionally, sand removal is undertaken during a planned shutdown which would further impact production, therefore Altrad proposed a solution which would negate the need to shutdown the plant.

The solution

Attaching the Altrad online de-sanding ‘syphonvac’ system to the high pressure (HP) and test separators, the Altrad offshore team were able to remove three tonnes of sand and associated well pack while ensuring the plant remained online and fully functional, maximising production and minimising downtime. In total, an estimated 17 days of potential lost production was mitigated.

The benefits

• No loss of production
• Reduced deferral costs
• Approximately 17 days of plant shutdown mitigated
• Reduced critical path shutdown cleaning operation
• Reduced sand carry over into adjacent process systems
• No confined space entry requirements
• Compact equipment footprint – modular system