Separation failure is rarely dramatic and almost always expensive. Liquid carryover into a gas line damages compressors, floods glycol contactors and lifts relief valves. Gas blowby through a liquid outlet overpressures downstream vessels and, in the worst cases, sends gas to atmospheric equipment. Oil in produced water breaches discharge specification and can shut down disposal. Water in crude fails sales specification and incurs penalties. All of these originate in a vessel that appears to be operating normally, because a separator gives very little external indication that it has stopped separating.

Sizing is where most of this is decided. Gas capacity is governed by the terminal settling velocity of the droplet size the vessel is required to remove, which sets the maximum permissible gas velocity and therefore the vessel diameter. Liquid capacity is governed by retention time, which sets liquid depth and length. Three-phase separation adds the requirement to resolve an oil-water interface, which depends on droplet size, viscosity, density difference and the presence of surfactants, and is far less forgiving than gas-liquid separation. A vessel sized on rules of thumb without reference to the actual fluid will work at design conditions and fail when the field changes.

Internals decide whether the theoretical capacity is achieved. An inlet device that fails to reduce momentum destroys the flow distribution the sizing calculation assumed. A mesh pad operating above its flooding velocity re-entrains the liquid it captured. A vane pack fouled with wax or scale bypasses gas around itself. Internals are also the components most often damaged during upsets and most often reinstalled incorrectly after maintenance.

As fields age, separators are asked to do work they were not designed for. Rising water cut shortens the oil residence time available at the same throughput. Falling reservoir pressure reduces operating pressure and increases actual gas volume. Changing fluid chemistry stabilises emulsions that previously broke unaided. Understanding the sizing basis is what makes it possible to judge how far an installed vessel can be pushed, and what modification would recover capacity.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Explain the physical mechanisms of gas-liquid and liquid-liquid separation and the parameters that govern each
• Calculate gas handling capacity for a separator using droplet settling theory and appropriate separation constants
• Determine liquid capacity and vessel dimensions from retention time, surge and level control requirements
• Size two-phase and three-phase separators in horizontal and vertical configurations for defined process duties
• Select and specify separator internals against the separation duty, fluid properties and fouling risk
• Specify separator instrumentation and control loops including level, interface and pressure control
• Assess mechanical design and code requirements including design pressure, nozzle sizing and relief provision
• Diagnose carryover, gas blowby, foaming, emulsion accumulation, solids build-up and instrument error from operating data
• Evaluate debottlenecking and retrofit options for separators operating outside their original design basis

The training builds from separation physics through to sizing calculation and then to field behaviour, with each stage supported by worked numerical examples using representative crude, gas and water properties. Participants carry out full sizing calculations for two-phase and three-phase vessels and compare the results against installed equipment. Internals are presented with sectional drawings and performance data, including documented cases of internals failure and its operational signature. The troubleshooting module works through field case histories in which separation performance was lost, with participants identifying the diagnostic data required and the corrective action, and participants are invited to bring separator problems from their own facilities.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Recover facility capacity by identifying and correcting separation constraints rather than replacing vessels
• Reduce downstream equipment damage caused by liquid carryover into gas systems and compressors
• Improve product quality compliance for crude water content and produced water oil content
• Strengthen internal review of separator designs, vendor sizing and retrofit proposals
• Reduce upset frequency and relief events caused by gas blowby and level control failure
• Extend the useful life of installed separation equipment as field fluid properties change

Participants will:

• Size separators independently and defend the assumptions behind the calculation
• Specify internals and instrumentation appropriate to the separation duty and fluid
• Diagnose separation problems from operating data rather than by sequential adjustment
• Judge how far an installed separator can be operated beyond its original design conditions
• Review vendor separator proposals critically against the actual process requirement
• Build specialist capability in the equipment that most often limits facility throughput

• Facilities, process and production engineers
• Process design engineers responsible for vessel sizing and specification
• Operations engineers and supervisors managing facility throughput and product quality
• Production chemists and flow assurance engineers dealing with emulsion and foaming problems
• Mechanical and static equipment engineers specifying pressure vessels
• Commissioning, start-up and debottlenecking project engineers
• Technical staff reviewing separator vendor proposals and retrofit designs

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.