Optimising the gas-oil ratio for enhanced production

Arinze JohnPaul Chukwu 1, Obumneme Okwonna 2 and Peter Muwarure 1, *

1 Centre for Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
2 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
 
Research Article
Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, 2025, 22(03), 131-142.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gjeta.2025.22.3.0052
Publication history: 
Received on 03 February 2025; revised on 12 March 20215 accepted on 14 March 2025
 
Abstract: 
The Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR) in oil and gas production is the focus of this study. The objective of this research is to maximise the GOR in order to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and maximise resource utilisation. Under the conditions of the simulation, light crude oil was used, the API gravity was set to 17, the temperature was set to 66 °C, the pressure was set to 3447 kPa, and the feed flow rate was set to 37 kgmole/hr. Version 11 of Aspen HYSYS was used in order to carry out the simulation project. A three-phase separator was used for the goal of understanding how the GOR, flowrates, capital costs, and energy requirements are affected by the various High-Pressure (HP) gas pressures. The results suggested that there is a direct link between the pressure of the HP gas and the GOR, with a decrease in GOR being identified when the pressure of the HP gas that corresponded to it increased. The fact that there was a shift towards a production stream that was more liquid-rich was brought to light by this trend, which resulted in a decrease in both the amount of energy that was used and the amount of money that was spent on operational expenditures. After careful consideration, it was established that the best range for GOR is between 814.4 and 905.5. This range achieves a compromise between the efficiency of production and the management of costs. When it comes to the optimisation of manufacturing processes, the findings shed light on the usefulness of simulation tools such as Aspen HYSYS. The usual methods of GOR estimation are replaced by these technologies, which provide a reliable alternative.
 
Keywords: 
Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR); Oil and Gas Production; Aspen HYSYS; Optimum GOR; Cost management
 
Full text article in PDF: