Elf first to use 'green' gas flare burner

Silent Enclosed Burner [30536 bytes]

Oil and gas companies in the Netherlands are planning to use a new low-emission gas burner during well testing in an environmentally sensitive inshore area.

The silent enclosed burner was developed by Expro North Sea Ltd., Aberdeen, in association with Dutch firm F.G. Detectie Technieken BV, to burn 50,000-1.5 million cu m/day of gas.

Expro said the unit has been tested for Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM), but Elf Petroland BV is likely to be the first user with a well in Europe's largest bird sanctuary in the Waddenzee area.

The burner is enclosed in a 4 m tall cylinder and is said to reduce noise, heat, and smoke emissions when gas and condensate are being burned off during well testing.

Expro claims the noise level when burning 1.5 million cu m/day of gas reaches 90 decibels at 50 m, while ground temperature remains at ambient levels during operation.

Graeme Coutts, Expro's director of marketing and development, said, "For operators it translates into considerable cost savings in areas with daylight flaring constraints, as the well test can now take place 24 hr/day with this burner.

"For the first time, well tests can be carried out with no visible flame at significantly reduced noise levels compared with ambient surface process equipment that, until now, featured open flames.

"In addition, it permits operators to dispose of hydrocarbon gases in sensitive terrains such as arctic tundra regions and tropical rain forests, because there is no significant infrared heat radiation."

The burner incorporates a patented flame pipe and start-up system. Wellstream gas is fed into the flare unit via a 12-in. pipe, which is split into four branches with independent gas nozzles.

Combustion air is drawn through vents, while water is injected into the flame from an outside source. The walls of the burner are water-cooled, so the outer shell temperature remains below 55° C.

Expro said it is now working on technology to use the silent enclosed burner in downstream applications and in a unit to burn crude oil in a similar, environmentally safe manner.