Anne K. Rhodes
Refining/Petrochemical Editor
Two light, sweet Australian crudes have been assayed. Cooper Basin crude, from the northeast corner of South Australia, has an API gravity of 45 and a sulfur content of 0.02 wt %. Griffin crude, from Western Australia's Northwest Shelf, has a 55 gravity and contains 0.03 wt % sulfur.
COOPER BASIN
Crude, natural gas, and NGL from the numerous Cooper Basin fields are piped to Moomba for treatment. The crude and condensate are mixed with recovered propane and butane, then transported to Port Bonython on the Spencer Gulf via a 660-km pipeline.
At Port Bonython, the mixture is separated, and propane and butane are stored individually.
Table 1 shows BHP Petroleum (Australia) Pty. Ltd.'s specifications for Cooper Basin LPG.
The debutanized bottoms are fractionated in a naphtha splitter to produce a reduced crude and three naphtha streams (Fig. 1). Table 2 shows the full-range naphtha specs for Cooper Basin.
Crude, naphtha, and LPG are loaded onto vessels via a 2.4-km jetty. The loading facilities, completed in 1984, are capable of handling 150,000 dwt vessels.
Cooper Basin crude is suited for hydroskimming or conversion refineries producing high-quality transportation fuels. The paraffinic crude contains very low levels of residual contaminants and is moderately waxy (although its pour point is about 12 C.). Asphaltenes content is low, making the crude unsuitable for producing bitumens.
Depending on the required cold-test properties for middle distillates, says BHP, as much as 75 vol % of the crude may be recovered as atmospheric products and intermediates. And the atmospheric residual is suitable feed for fluid catalytic cracking.
Fig. 2 shows the true boiling point (TBP) curve for Cooper Basin crude.
GRIFFIN
The Griffin project is located 68 km (42 miles) off Western Australia, near Barrow Island, in 130 m water. Included in the project are Griffin, Chinook, and Scindian fields.
Griffin-area participants are BHP (45%), Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty. Ltd. (35%), and Inpex Alpha Ltd. (20%). The companies first drilled in 1989, resulting in discovery of Griffin and Chinook. The adjacent Scindian field was discovered subsequently.
Production began early this year from a floating production, storage, and offtake (FPSO) unit. At that time, BHP expected production to reach a combined 80,000 b/d and 38 MMcfd by the end of the first quarter (OGJ, Feb. 7, p. 42).
The project includes crude stabilization facilities, 820,000 bbl of storage capacity, and a floating-hose loading system. This system enables crude to be loaded directly onto offtake tankers, and gas to be exported through a 68-km, 8-in. pipeline to an onshore gas-treatment plant near Onslow. The FPSO connects to a production riser, from which it is able to disconnect quickly in the event of cyclonic weather.
The very light Griffin crude has a low pour point and viscosity, which makes it easy to transport, handle, and store. The crude will yield about 90 vol % naphtha plus middle distillates, san,s BHP.
The naphtha is suitable for use as petrochemical feedstock and the middle distillates are premium quality. The jet fuel has low aromaticity and a smoke point of 41 mm. Gas oil from the crude also is low in aromatics, with an excellent cetane number and good cold-flow characteristics,
Although the crude produces only a small amount of atmospheric residue, the product is virtually contaminant-free, making it excellent feed for fluid catalytic cracking, or for use as a low-sulfur fuel oil blendstock.
Fig. 3 shows Griffin's TBP curve.
See Book for Statistics.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
Issue date: 12/12/94
