Abstract: An oil and gas well gas separator that operates in conjunction with an isolation means and a tail pipe to reduce the pressure gradient of the well fluids flowing up the tailpipe, to thereby reduce the well's producing bottom hole pressure.

Abstract: A method for real-time data acquisition and presentation of force, position, load, pressures, and movement within a subterranean well pumping system, such as an oil well. Data is gathered using sensors attached to a surface level pump drive and wellhead system. Well structural data and well production data are combined therewith to generate a real-time display of down-hole well operation, including animated graphics of the pump operation, including pump movement, rod and tubing stretch, fluid movement, gas compression, system forces, and fluid pressures. Liquid levels are tested using an acoustic liquid level instrument, and incorporated to improve well performance analysis.

Abstract: A system for wirelessly monitoring a well fluid extraction process, which operates in conjunction with a host computer. The system includes a wireless base that has a base radio and a communication port to interface with the host computer. The system also has a first remote with a first remote radio that communicates with the base radio using a radio protocol. The first remote also has a first sensor interface that can receive a first sensor signal. The first remote digitally samples the first sensor signal at a predetermined sampling rate, and then communicates first sampled data to the wireless base through the radio protocol. A host software application, which executes on the host computer, receives the first sampled data from the wireless base communication port.

Abstract: A system for wirelessly monitoring a well fluid extraction process, which operates in conjunction with a host computer. The system includes a wireless base that has a base radio and a communication port to interface with the host computer. The system also has a first remote with a first remote radio that communicates with the base radio using a radio protocol. The first remote also has a first sensor interface that can receive a first sensor signal. The first remote digitally samples the first sensor signal at a predetermined sampling rate, and then communicates first sampled data to the wireless base through the radio protocol. A host software application, which executes on the host computer, receives the first sampled data from the wireless base communication port.

Abstract: A method for real-time data acquisition and presentation of force, position, load, pressures, and movement within a subterranean well pumping system, such as an oil well. Data is gathered using sensors attached to a surface level pump drive and wellhead system. Well structural data and well production data are combined therewith to generate a real-time display of down-hole well operation, including animated graphics of the pump operation, including pump movement, rod and tubing stretch, fluid movement, gas compression, system forces, and fluid pressures. Liquid levels are tested using an acoustic liquid level instrument, and incorporated to improve well performance analysis.

Abstract: A process for steam cracking liquid hydrocarbon feedstocks containing synthetic crude oil comprises i) hydroprocessing a wide boiling range aliquot containing a) normally liquid hydrocarbon portion substantially free of resids and b) thermally cracked hydrocarbon liquid, boiling in a range from about 600° to about 1050° F., to provide a synthetic crude oil substantially free of resids; ii) adding to the synthetic crude oil a normally liquid hydrocarbon component boiling in a range from about 100° to about 1050° F.; and iii) cracking the mixture resulting from ii) in a cracker furnace comprising a radiant coil outlet to provide a cracked effluent, wherein the cracking is carried out under conditions sufficient to effect a radiant coil outlet temperature which is greater than the optimum radiant coil outlet temperature for cracking the synthetic crude oil separately. A method for upgrading synthetic crude for use in cracking is also provided, as well as a feedstock for cracking.

Abstract: A system and method for real-time data acquisition and presentation of force, position, load, pressures, and movement within a subterranean well pumping system, such as an oil well. Data is gathered using sensors attached to a surface level pump drive and wellhead system. Well structural data and well production data are combined therewith to generate a real-time display of down-hole well operation, including animated graphics of the pump operation, including pump movement, rod and tubing stretch, fluid movement, gas compression, system forces, and fluid pressures. Liquid levels are tested using an acoustic liquid level instrument, and incorporated to improve well performance analysis.

Abstract: An oil and gas well downhole gas separator defines an outer annulus between the well casing and a separator tube having a lower end fluid inlet, and an inner annulus with a fluid conduit disposed inside. An inlet fitting and an outlet manifold route the fluids, liquids, and gases through a gravity separation sequence. A liquid outlet at the upper end is coupled to a downhole pump. A draw tube is coupled to the inlet fitting at the lower end. The draw tube also supports a casing flow diverter that slideably engages the well-bore casing so as to resist the movement of well fluids thereby while allowing the separator to move along a longitudinal axis of the well-bore casing, facilitating insertion into and removal from the well casing, and allowing for well tubing stretch during operation.

Abstract: In the invention, tar is upgraded by deasphalting and then hydrocracking to produce valuable products such as low sulfur diesel fuel and mogas. The invention is also directed to a system integrating a pyrolysis furnace operation with refinery operations.

Abstract: In one aspect, the inventive process comprises a process for pyrolyzing a hydrocarbon feedstock containing nonvolatiles in a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system. The inventive process comprises: (a) heating the nonvolatile-containing hydrocarbon feedstock upstream of a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system to a temperature sufficient to form a vapor phase that is essentially free of nonvolatiles and a liquid phase containing the nonvolatiles; (b) separating said vapor phase from said liquid phase; (c) feeding the separated vapor phase to the pyrolysis reactor system; and (d) converting the separated vapor phase in said pyrolysis reactor system to form a pyrolysis product.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a process comprising feeding high TAN feedstreams to a steam cracker, whereby naphthenic acids in the feedstreams are substantially converted to CO, CO2, and low amounts of smaller acids (e.g., formic, acetic, propionic, and butyric acids). The feedstream is preferably a high TAN feedstream comprising crude or high TAN feedstream which has previously been subjected to a refinery process to remove resid.

Abstract: A process and apparatus are provided for upgrading steam cracker tars from steam crackers. The invention also relates to a steam cracking process and apparatus for reducing yields of tars produced from steam cracking while increasing yields of higher value products by heating steam cracker tar, in the presence of hydrogen donor compounds, e.g., tetralin. The hydrogen donor compounds can be provided in a hydrogen donor-rich hydrocarbon stream, e.g., light cycle oils, or low sulfur vacuum tower bottoms. The treated tar can be separated into gas oil, fuel oil and tar streams.

Abstract: In one aspect, the inventive process comprises a process for pyrolyzing a hydrocarbon feedstock containing nonvolatiles in a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system. The inventive process comprises: (a) heating the nonvolatile-containing hydrocarbon feedstock upstream of a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system to a temperature sufficient to form a vapor phase that is essentially free of nonvolatiles and a liquid phase containing the nonvolatiles; (b) separating said vapor phase from said liquid phase; (c) feeding the separated vapor phase to the pyrolysis reactor system; and (d) converting the separated vapor phase in said pyrolysis reactor system to form a pyrolysis product.

Abstract: A process for cracking a hydrocarbon feedstock containing salt and/or particulate matter, wherein said hydrocarbon feedstock containing salt and/or particulate matter is partially desalted, e.g., by passing through a centrifugal separator, heated, then separated into a vapor phase and a liquid phase by flashing in a flash/separation vessel, separating and cracking the vapor phase which comprises less than about 98% of the hydrocarbon feedstock containing salt and/or particulate matter, and recovering cracked product.

Abstract: In one aspect, the inventive process comprises a process for pyrolyzing a hydrocarbon feedstock containing nonvolatiles in a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system. The inventive process comprises: (a) heating the nonvolatile-containing hydrocarbon feedstock upstream of a regenerative pyrolysis reactor system to a temperature sufficient to form a vapor phase that is essentially free of nonvolatiles and a liquid phase containing the nonvolatiles; (b) separating said vapor phase from said liquid phase; (c) feeding the separated vapor phase to the pyrolysis reactor system; and (d) converting the separated vapor phase in said pyrolysis reactor system to form a pyrolysis product.

Abstract: An apparatus and process are provided for cracking hydrocarbons. Hot, cracked effluent is removed to a quench header where it is pre-quenched with an oil containing crackable components, e.g., 1000° F.+ (538° C.+) boiling range bottoms taken from a vapor/liquid separator, cracking the bottoms to more valuable products, e.g., steam crack naphtha. The overhead of the separator is fed to a cracker, and then quenched with a quenching oil.

Abstract: A process is described for producing deasphalted steam cracker tar comprising feeding steam cracker tar to a vacuum pipestill (VPS) including a flash zone separated from a zone comprising trays by at least one annular entrainment ring and obtaining as an overheads a deasphalted tar product and as a bottoms an asphaltenic heavy tar product. Also according to the invention, there is a system for the upgrading of tar comprising said VPS with at least one annular entrainment ring.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a process wherein a feedstock or stream comprising steam cracker tar is passed to a vacuum pipestill. A deasphalted cut of tar is obtained as an overhead (or sidestream) and a heavy tar asphaltenic product is obtained as bottoms. In preferred embodiments, at least a portion of the bottoms product is sent to a partial oxidation unit (POX) wherein syn gas may be obtained as a product, and/or at least a portion of the bottoms product is used to produce a light product stream in a coker unit, such as coker naphtha and/or or coker gas oil. In another preferred embodiment at least a portion of the overheads product is added to refinery fuel oil pools and in yet another preferred embodiment at least a portion of the overheads product is mixed with locally combusted materials to lower soot make. Two or more of the aforementioned preferred embodiments may be combined.

Abstract: Tar is contacted with stripping agent, such as steam or tail gas, in a stripping tower. A product comprising deasphalted tar is recovered as overheads and a product comprising heavy tar is recovered as bottoms from the stripping tower.

Abstract: In a system for thermal cracking gaseous feedstocks, the system including a gas cracker for producing an effluent comprising olefins, at least one transfer line exchanger for the recovery of process energy from the effluent and a water quench tower system, a process for extending the range of system feedstocks to include liquid feedstocks that yield tar is provided. The process includes the steps of injecting a first quench fluid downstream of a primary transfer line exchanger to quench the process effluent comprising olefins, separating in a first separation vessel a cracked product and a first byproduct stream comprising tar from the quenched effluent, directing the separated cracked product to a water quench tower system and quenching the separated cracked product with a second quench fluid to produce a cracked gas effluent for recovery and a second byproduct stream comprising tar. An apparatus for carrying out such process is also provided.