Beach Energy, in alignment with their objective to reduce emissions, engaged Verbrec to conduct a study on the Kupe Production Station (KPS) Hot Oil System.
The study aimed to review the current system and develop improvement options to enhance its efficiency and contribute to Beach Energy’s emissions reduction goals.
METHODOLOGY
As plant throughput reduced, it became evident that the Kupe Hot Oil System was substantially oversized and operating inefficiently. To address this issue, our methodology involved a comprehensive evaluation of the system’s performance and configuration.
We began by analyzing the system’s configuration, including the minimum heater flowrate and required operating temperature.
This analysis revealed that the system was rejecting a significant amount of heat to a dump cooler, indicating inefficiencies in thermal management.
SOLUTION
Verbrec evaluated several options to address the inefficiencies in the Kupe Hot Oil System by focusing on reducing operating temperatures and flowrates.
The solutions proposed included:
- Flowrate adjustment: By adjusting the flowrate of the hot oil towards the safe limit for the heater, Verbrec was able to enhance system efficiency without physical modifications. This minimum in front of safe adjustment led to significant improvements in operational performance.
- Temperature optimisation: Optimising the hot oil operating temperatures further contributed to reducing heat rejection and improving overall system efficiency.
- Cost savings: These adjustments resulted in potential fuel gas savings of approximately $900k per annum, demonstrating a substantial cost-benefit ratio.
- Combustion air optimisation: A minor, additional gain was achieved by optimising the heater’s combustion air, which provided further improvements in system.