A Reheat Gas Turbine Oilfield Cogeneration System, Fueled With Heavy Crude Oil, Which Produces Very Low NO_x Emissions

A gas turbine cogeneration system is described that offers fuel flexibility plus substantially reduced NOx emissions without water injection or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The entirely new turbine design developed by TurboEnergy Systems permits boiler repowering and other cogeneration applications. The first application will be in the California heavy oilfields; the system will be retrofitted to an existing 50 million btu/hr oilfield steam generator used in thermally enhanced oil recovery. The turbine, rated at 1250 kw (site output), was sized to match the combustion air flow requirements of the steam generator. A reheated design was selected to maximize power output from the limited airflow available and to maximize the exhaust temperature for cogeneration and industrial process applications. The oilfield cogeneration system being developed includes a new heavy oil burner for the steam generator which will be fired on the high temperature exhaust from the turbine. The system will also provide low NOx emissions, below the tightest projected standards in Kern County, which has a large concentration of heavy oilfields. Both the turbine and the steam generator burner will burn heavy (API 13 gravity) crude oil. The paper describes the overall system, its interface with the existing process, the design techniques used, and presents performance projections. Field testing will begin at a site near Bakersfield, California, starting in early to mid-1987.