Case study 05 / EPF & extra-heavy crude
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 API 8° extra-heavy crude. Each facility processed up to 30,000–38,000 BPD of extra-heavy crude with 12,000–20,000 BPD of diluent, 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 went beyond design: overall installation and commissioning was also on the table, with client and contractor liaison in country.
Approach
Extra-heavy crude is a fluid that wants to defeat your design. The work focused on robust separator sizing, diluent injection strategy, gas handling for the produced gas-to-oil ratio, and produced water treatment hardy 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 Maturin offices.
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
- Client and contractor liaison in country
Heavy crude on the brief? Let's talk.
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