Presentation by Oluwadamini Ajayi

School: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Course: Mechanical Engineering (BME)

Year: 400 Level

Company: Shell Nigeria Exploration and

Production Company (SNEPCO)

Position: Mechanical Engineering Intern

Duration of Stay: 1.5 months (6 weeks)

Learning Objectives• Expand my learning horizon and skill set

• Learn and develop Engineering specific skills that help

further the oil an gas industry as a whole

• Gain background knowledge about Oil and Gas industry

• To obtain in depth understanding of Oil and gas

extraction processes

General Overview of Oil and Gas extraction

In the oil industry, there are a myriad of disciplines involved

in the extraction and production of oil and gas. I have

however been able to streamline all these many disciplines

into 3 major groups namely:

• Subsea

• Process Engineering

• Mechanical Statics

Subsea Engineering • Subsea Engineering is the foundational work for the

extraction of oil and gas in offshore facilities. SNEPCO

focuses on Deep Water Regions (+500m)

• In DW regions, an FPSO is used. Production, water and

gas lift riser lines as well as umbilicals are connected

to the FPSO for the different stages of extraction.

Subsea Engineering (Contd.)

• Using the Bonga SW subsea layout schematic (attached), we can see the different Production

Drilling and Water Drilling Centers.

• In the PDCs, there are manifolds which gather the oil extracted from each of the producing wells

and flow it to the FPSO. In the majority of the PDCs, there are manifolds with a pigging loop.

• The WDCs are used for water injection. The purpose of water injection is to increase the

pressure in the reservoirs and lift up the oil for more efficient extraction. This happens when the

pressure in the reservoir is low ( due to a probable in the production capacity of the drilled

wells). There are also manifolds in the WDCs which perform similar functions to those in the

PDCs

• The Umbilicals are the most important aspect as they are responsible for the transition of

signals and controls through which the entire system functions

Attached is a Bonga Southwest/Aparo Subsea Full field and Layout Schematic

Process Engineering• Overview of Oil and Gas Processes

• Types of equipment, valves, their symbols and uses

• Understanding and Developing PDFs (see attached)

• Understanding and Developing P&IDs

• Process Controls

Well 1 Well 2 Well 3 Well 4

Top Manifold

Test Separator LP Separator A

LP Separator B

Oil/Oil Heat exchangers

Bulk Oil heat exchanger

Treater Degassing Separator

Bulk Oil Treater Oil degassing tank

Pump

Cooler

STORAGE

Manifold

Flowline

VRU1st stage

VRU2nd stage

LP Gas filter separators A&B

FGC A

FGC B

FGC C

Glycol reboiler heat exchanger

Glycol contactor

Glycol/Gas exchanger

Riser gas heat exchanger

Still column condenser

Glycol-glycol exchanger (Cold)

Glycol condensate separator

Gly

col

filt

er

Act

ivate

d

Carb

on

A

dso

rber

Glycol surge tank

Glycol pumps

Glycol reboiler

Glycol-glycol exchanger (Hot)

Sparge gas column

Produced water tank

Produced water pumpsProduced water hydrocyclone

Induced gas floatation separator

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM SCHEMATIC (PFD)

Mechanical StaticThe Mechanical Static team deals with equipment that are mostly stationary

• These equipment range from pressure vessels to pumps and tankers

• The designing and specification of the static equipment used in

the process are done by the mechanical static team

• Based on the information from the conceptual stage, they

modify (as necessary) and help select the best possible

equipment to be used for the job needed to be done

Note: Commuting, alcohol in social settings and smoking in office environments are out of scope Slide 11

Life-Saving Rules – what are they?

Work with a valid work

permit when

required

Conduct gas tests when required

Verify isolation

before work begins and

use the specified life protecting equipment

Obtain authorisatio

n before entering a confined

space

Obtain authorisation

before overriding or

disabling safety critical equipment

Protect yourself

against a fall when working

at height

Do not walk under a

suspended load

Do not smoke outside

designated smoking

areas

No alcohol or drugs

while working or

driving

Wear your seat belt

While driving, do not use your phone and do not

exceed speed limits

Follow prescribed

Journey Management

Plan

1

7

2

8

3 5

11

6

129 10

4

Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)

The HSE Policy:• Shell sets targets for improvement and also

measures, appraises and reports performance• Shell also requires contractors to adhere to the

HSE requirements• Shell makes sure that joint ventures under its

operational control also apply the policy• Shell includes HSE performance in the appraisal

of staff and rewards accordingly

Final Remarks• It’s been a wonderful stay here

• My understanding of the oil and gas industry has

been widely broadened and I was able to achieve

all of my learning objectives during my stay here

• I look forward to working in the Oil and gas

industry in the very near future