As part of the ongoing development of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession, the Libra and Taurus fields will be tied-in to the offshore WDDM subsea infrastructure for onshore processing at Idku. This pre-FEED study assessed the impact on the onshore facilities when producing from the Taurus and Libra fields alongside WDDM fluids for a number of plant operating modes throughout field life.
The Situation
The Idku gas plant processes well fluids from the WDDM field. Well fluid composition and flowrate have changed over time and flowrate has reduced. The more recent Taurus and Libra fields will be routed to the Idku plant, making up around 40% of light fluids to the original inlet flow rate.
This brownfield project established modifications to the Idku terminal in coastal Egypt in order to receive 700 MMScfd of light gas and fluids from the Taurus and Libra fields with minimal downtime and particular attention to operational and process safety. The scope included concept development and pre-FEED.
Approach
The modifications were based around the metering of BP’s Taurus-Libra gas prior to mixing with gas from bg-group’s WDDM field at the inlet to the Idku facility as well as bringing in the gas at different pressure levels within the plant whilst maintaining excellent plant safety and integrity throughout field life. The study scope included the following
- Interface with subsea modifications
- Verification of the suitability of existing equipment including MEG recovery equipment
- Risk management
- Fluid compatibility
- Produced water handling
- Overpressure protection
- Flare verification
- Fire-stress analysis
- Site survey to establish brownfield tie-ins
- Capital cost estimate for all modifications
Results
Integration of the subsea and onshore elements was ensured through close cooperation of the offshore and onshore teams. Metering of BP’s incoming Taurus and Libra gases was achieved at sufficient accuracy for contractual approval.
Process safety was a high priority and the inclusion of overpressure protection and flare verification studies within the scope satisfied BG Group’s stringent safety standards.
Fluid compatibility and produced water handling studies over field life at this early project stage reduced the risk of unexpected operational difficulties in later life.
A full suite of deliverables was provided to the client to satisfy the requirements of an evaluate phase project to pass their decision gate.
