The main objectives of a casing vapor recovery, abbreviated as CVR, system are to
- Minimize back pressure on wells
- Minimize discharge of hydrocarbons and other fugitive gasses to the environment
- Recovery of heat from casing gasses
- Collect hydrocarbon condensate in the gas streams for addition to the sales stream.
In oil fields that are on steam-flood or steam lift, there is an overt effort to maintain a low back pressure on the producing formation. This is done by keeping the wells "pumped off" and by lowering the pressure in the annulus.
In a system that has steam injected, steam vapor often times will come up through the annulus and will condense in the CVR system.
A CVR System consists of:
- collection branch and trunk lines
- Heat exchangers or condensers
- Vapor-Liquid Separators
- Water / Oil Separation
- Incineration of non-condensible gasses
Tags: Equations for Vapor