GUPCO Gas Compression and Water Injection Facilities

Historic Project: Groundbreaking Work From Earlier in Fluor’s History

Client: Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO)

Location: Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Business Segment: Energy Solutions

Industry: Fuels

Map showing the location of GUPCO Gas Compression and Water Injection Facilities

Executive Summary

The Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) selected Fluor for both a waterflood project and a platform-mounted gas compression facility for their new July Field. This new production field was one of the largest seawater injection facilities ever built.

We provided design, engineering, construction management and start-up assistance for the project. Located onshore opposite the El Morgan Field in the Gulf of Suez, the facility treated and conditioned raw seawater for injection into nearby offshore wells. We had also performed engineering, design and field inspection for the facilities in the El Morgan Field.

Client's Challenge

GUPCO was a joint venture of the Egyptian Government's Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and the American International Oil Company, a subsidiary of AMOCO.

The client asked us to determine means by which a portion of the flood system established for the El Morgan Field could be applied to the nearby July Field to leverage existing infrastructure and assets. Both fields were to be operated from the same onshore stations. GUPCO itself had a highly developed construction capability which would be employed in the execution of both projects.

At the injection facility, seawater was first treated with sodium hypochlorite to remove algae and slime. Then suspended solids were removed to a level of 0.5 parts per million and a maximum of size of 5 microns by a graded-bed, sand-gravity filer. Dissolved oxygen was reduced to 0.03 parts per million, and provision was also made for chemical additives to maintain water quality and lengthen facility life. After treatment, the water was pumped offshore for injection at 2,500 pounds-per-square-inch gauge.

Fluor's Solution

In the existing El Morgan Field, we had designed and built two platform-mounted compressor stations, production platforms, water flood distribution and pressure booster platforms, a 24-inch high-pressure deep water pipeline as well as an onshore water filtration plant with a high-pressure pumping station for the water flood. With GUPCO construction engagement leveraging the El Morgan Field's existing infrastructure, we successfully proposed a water flood project and a platform-mounted gas compression facility for the new July Field.

The waterflood facilities at July were designed to be expanded by 100,000 barrels per day in order to provide injection water for the Ramadan Field located between the July and El Morgan Fields in the Gulf of Suez.

Conclusion

Originally built to operate at a waterflood delivery rate of 300,000 barrels of water per day (BWPD), the unique building-block design of the plant allowed for easy expansion to 400,000 BWPD. A second plant subsequently designed by Fluor nearly doubled that capacity, providing a combined waterflood rate of 700,000 BWPD.

We also completed a third expansion design for GUPCO that later increased capacity to 800,000 BWPD.