Twister BV has started up the world's first commercially operated supersonic separator system in Malaysia. The system, in operation since December, is on the Shell Malaysia B11 P�A development project offshore Sarawak, East Malaysia, and is designed to dehydrate 600 MMcf/d of non-associated gas that is being supplied to the Malaysian LNG Dua plant at Bintulu.
The Twister technology treats produced gas at supersonic velocities, extracting water and hydrocarbon liquids. Compared to conventional technologies, the Twister process requires no chemicals, and hence reduces exposure to hazardous gas. It has no moving parts, facilitates unmanned operation, allows near instant start-up and allows considerable project cost reduction, particularly for offshore installations.
The B11 system comprises multiple Twister tubes in two production trains. Each train includes a multi-phase low temperature hydrate separator (LTX) that has been manufactured locally by KNM in Malaysia, in accordance with a proprietary Twister BV design. They are used for separating gas, water, and condensate while controlling hydrate formation without the use of chemicals.
(02/20/04)
