Four EPFs across the Orinoco Belt — engineered, installed, commissioned.
Scope
Engineering and design of a series of onshore modular Early Production Facilities for the Orinoco Belt's 8° API extra-heavy crude. Depending on the facility, design capacity was 30,000–38,000 BPD of extra-heavy crude with 12,000–20,000 BPD of diluent, giving up to 50,000 BPD total blend capacity, plus around 5,000 BPD of produced water and 16.5 MMSCFD of gas — rolled across four sister PDVSA joint ventures: PetroSinovensa, PetroJunin, PetroMiranda and PetroIndependencia.
The scope also included overall installation and commissioning, together with in-country client and contractor liaison.
Engineering decisions
At 8° API, separation, diluent management, gas handling and produced-water treatment were central design considerations. The work focused on robust separator sizing, diluent injection strategy, gas handling for the produced gas-to-oil ratio, and produced-water treatment robust enough to handle the crude carryover that comes with low-API processing.
A modular approach kept fabrication off-site, where quality control is tighter, with on-site work limited to module installation, hookup and commissioning. The same engineering basis was rolled across four operator JVs, with site-specific tuning where each field's fluid composition and infrastructure demanded it.
Engagement
Engineering Lead across the four EPF deliveries — process and surface facilities design, equipment definition, and the engineering basis. Also responsible for the overall installation and commissioning scope, including client and contractor liaison in country, with regular travel to PDVSA's Maturín offices.
Outcome
A repeatable modular engineering basis was adapted across four operator joint ventures. The facilities progressed beyond design through off-site fabrication, field installation and commissioning in the Orinoco Belt.
Deliverables (per facility)
- Process design basis and basis-of-design documents
- Equipment sizing — separators, diluent injection, gas handling, produced water treatment
- Complete PFDs and P&IDs
- Equipment datasheets
- Module specifications
- Construction support and site engineering
- Installation and commissioning scope
- In-country client and contractor liaison
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