Oil Production and Processing Facilities: Where Oil Comes to Life
Oil production and processing facilities — also called well sites, production pads, or gathering stations — are where the oil from the wells is collected, processed, and prepared for transport. Every oil and gas field has these facilities, and they come in all sizes — from a single well with a small tank battery, to a huge processing plant that handles hundreds of wells. Let's look at where these facilities are, and what they do.
Where Oil Production Facilities Are Found
Oil production and processing facilities are found everywhere there's oil and gas production:
- Onshore oil fields: This is the most common place. Every onshore oil well has some kind of production facility — at least a tank battery and a separator.
- Offshore platforms: Offshore oil platforms have big production facilities on board. They process the oil and gas right on the platform, before it's sent to shore by pipeline.
- Remote locations: In very remote areas, production facilities have to be completely self-contained. They have their own power, water, and living quarters for the crew.
- Urban areas: Believe it or not, there are oil production facilities in urban areas too — like in Los Angeles, where there are oil wells pumping right in the middle of the city. These facilities are small and well-hidden.
What Happens at a Production Facility
At a typical onshore production facility, here's what happens:
- Oil comes out of the well: The well produces a mixture of oil, gas, water, and sand. It comes up the wellhead, and into the facility.
- Separation: The mixture goes into a separator, which splits it into oil, gas, and water. The gas goes to a gas gathering system, the water goes to water disposal, and the oil goes to the next stage.
- Processing: The oil goes through heater treaters, dehydrators, and other equipment, to remove water, salt, and impurities. The end result is clean crude oil, ready for transport.
- Storage: The clean oil is stored in storage tanks, until it's picked up by a pipeline or a tanker truck.
- Metering: At every stage, the oil is metered, so you know exactly how much you're producing. That's important for accounting and for revenue.
How Big Are Production Facilities?
Production facilities come in all sizes:
- Single well pads: The smallest facilities serve just one well. They have a small separator, a couple of tanks, and not much else.
- Multiple well pads: Most pads serve 4-20 wells. They have bigger separators and tanks, and they handle the production from all the wells on the pad.
- Gathering stations: These are bigger facilities that handle production from a whole field, or a part of a field. They have bigger processing equipment, and they send the oil to a main pipeline.
- Processing plants: These are the biggest facilities. They handle production from hundreds of wells, and they do more advanced processing — natural gas processing, NGL recovery, sulfur recovery, and more.
FAQ
Q: How much does an oil production facility cost?
A: It depends on the size. A single well pad costs $100,000 to $500,000. A multiple well pad costs $1-5 million. A gathering station costs $10-50 million. A big processing plant costs hundreds of millions, or even billions.