10B-1

The Lease Pumpers Handbook

Chapter 10
The Tank Battery
Section B
PRESSURIZED VESSELS
This section focuses on the pressurized
vessels and related equipment commonly
used for tank batteries:

The material selected for the flow lines

depends on many factors. Options include:

B-1. The Flow Line.

Steel is usually preferred for highpressure and flowing wells. It can be

standard line pipe, heavy-duty line pipe,
or new or used upset tubing. It can also
be welded, use pipeline couplings, or
have groove clamps. Steel can be plasticcoated to combat corrosion and scale
accumulation.
Polyethylene may be selected for
medium- to low-pressure lines and can be
practical also when paraffin or scale is
present. It is especially satisfactory when
steel lines deteriorate rapidly.
Fiberglass can also be considered when
extremely corrosive conditions are
encountered.

A flow line is laid from the well to the

tank battery. Where there is a long distance
to the tank battery and the production is low,
the lines may be joined at some convenient
spot so that one line is laid from that point to
the tank battery. This does not present a
problem except when one of the wells needs
to be tested. To test wells individually, a
well tester, mounted on a small double-axle
trailer, can be brought to each location. The
second option is to shut one well in while
the other is being tested. Limiting one flow
line to several wells is never an ideal
situation but may be the cheapest alternative.

Figure 1. Polyethylene line to be laid as a

flow line.

The flow line. From the well to the tank

battery.
The header. A manifold of all flow lines
to the first pressurized vessel.
The separator.
Typically, the first
pressurized vessel in the system.
The heater/treater.
Typically, the
second pressurized vessel in the system.
The information presented in this section
is general in nature due to the many
variations in equipment configurations and
specific uses by different companies.

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Laying new flow lines. When laying new
flow lines, the weather must be considered.
If a line is laid straight from one point to
another in hot weather, when it gets cool it
will shrink several feet in length. When it
gets extremely cold it will shrink many feet
in length. This will cause it to pull so hard
that it will part, or in extremely hot
situations it may buckle. Placing correct
slow bends in flow lines can accommodate
this problem, with plastic pipe add a few
slow curves to provide extra line near the
destination points and road crossings.
Road crossings. When crossing a lease
with a flow line, it is always best to lay a
joint of casing across the road and run the
line through it (Figure 2). If the ends of the
casing are to be sealed or buried, a vent is
welded to the casing to remove gasses in
event of a line leak. A riser is welded into
the conduit line at each end before it is
buried to allow this to occur. All steel lines
that go through a conduit should be coated
and wrapped.

each other. As they come up through a riser,

a check valve is installed. In the event a
hole should develop in a flow line and this
check valve does not seal, all of the
production entering the header can flow
back through this line and result in a large
oil spill. If the check valve on the casing of
the well should become locked open, not
only will the well begin to circulate by
losing the produced oil back down the well,
but produced oil from the header can flow
back down the flow line and also be lost
down the well.
A tee will be installed in multiple well
batteries, so that the flow may be diverted
into the production or the test separator. The
line to the heater/treater will have a
connection in it to allow the injection of
treating chemical.
When injecting the
chemical at the tank battery instead of at the
well, it is always injected into the header and
usually after the header but before the first
vessel. This is standard procedure.
Quarter-round opening valveseither plug
or ballare more appropriate for the tank
battery than multiple round opening valves
because the lease pumper can determine if
they are open or closed at a glance.
The header should also have a line
installed to permit the flow to the separator
to be diverted through a bypass around the
vessel. Most vessels must be bypassed while
repairs or changes are made.
B-3. Pressurized Vessels.
Tank battery typical operating pressures.

Figure 2. A road crossing for flow line.

B-2. The Header.
As the flow lines approach the tank
battery, they are lined up about 18 inches
apart and enter the tank battery parallel to

Separators.
Separators will have a
maximum operating pressure of about
100 pounds with a test pressure of 150
pounds. Normal operating pressure is
from 15-50 pounds, 25-35 pounds is
about average. The pressure must be

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great enough to push the liquid from the
separator into the heater/treater with a
small safety margin.
Heater/treaters. These vessels are larger
around than separators, so it takes a
thicker shell to hold the same pressure.
Thicker shells raise the cost of the vessel
to a much higher level. Fifty pounds
operating pressure is about average with a
test pressure of less than 100 pounds for a
heater/treater.
A higher pressure
separator is usually located ahead of it to
lower the operating pressures to save
money during construction.
Vertical
heater/treaters are taller than the stock
tank and the oil outlet is about the same
height. One pound of pressure will lift
oil about three feet, so 10-15 pounds of
pressure will usually be satisfactory at the
heater/treater.
There are several openings and lines that
all pressurized vessels have in common
(Figure 3). There are also a few openings
and lines that are normally limited in use
and are installed on specific purpose vessels.
A good understanding of the purpose and
locations of specific special purpose lines
for pressurized vessels is important to the
lease pumper.
The emulsion inlet. The emulsion inlet is
located on the side of the vessel near the top
and above the fluid level in the vessel. Some
pressurized vessels, such as the separator,
will have a diverter plate on the inside to
give the fluids a swirling motion upon entry.
This allows the gas to break out of the liquid
phase and reduce liquid carryover into the
gas sales. Emulsion inlet lines are usually
above the operating liquid level to prevent
loss of liquids from the vessel in the event of
line leaks before the line gets to the vessel
and siphoning effects.

The gas outlet. The gas outlet is always

located at the center of the top. A mist
extractor will be installed inside the vessel
to further limit liquid carryover.
The drain outlet. The drain outlet is
located in the center of the bottom.
The high oil outlet (optional). If the oil
outlet is located high on the upper side of the
pressurized vessel as it is in the
heater/treater, this will be the oil outlet and
also the height of the fluid in the vessel.

Figure 3. Typical line Openings in a

pressurized vessel.
The lower liquid outlet or water leg. If a
liquid outlet is located near the bottom on
the side of the vessel and is utilized as a
water leg, this will indicate that the vessel is
a three-stage separator. The fluid will be
separated into the base contents, gas, oil, and
water. If a fire tube is also added for heat,
then it will become a heater/treater.
Heater/treaters are also three stage
separators.
During the summer months, most
companies try to use the heater/treater as a

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three stage separator, operating it without
heat with only chemical treating in order to
save and sell the gas. This procedure works
well for lighter (higher API gravity crude)
oils. If the crude oil is heavy and has a high
paraffin and water content, the oil may not
treat without heat.
Floats. Floats in vessels may be discriminate
or indiscriminate, according to need and
design. The purpose of a float is to control
the level of liquid inside a vessel by means
of an outside arm or pneumatic mechanism.

Indiscriminate floats. Indiscriminate

floats are made to float on both oil or
water indiscriminately. The size of the
float depends upon the power that it
takes to operate the control arm, the
turbulence of the liquid, the volume
moving through the vessel, the length of
the arm, the weight of the ball, and
several other factors. The ball float is
the most common indiscriminate float.
Discriminate floats. Discriminate floats
in the oilfield are floats that have a
density or weight that will allow them to
sink in oil but float on water. The float
will operate on this interface. Since the
weight per gallon of oil will vary
according to the viscosity of the oil, and
the weight of water will vary according
to how much salt is contained in the
water, discriminate floats are available
with several densities. Oil will weigh
over 7 pounds per gallon and water will
weigh 8.3-9.6 pounds per gallon. Fresh
water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon and
at about 9.6 pounds it begins to reach
maximum natural salt saturation.

Ball floats are usually weighted with sand

to allow them to sink through the oil phase
but float in the water phase.

B-4. The Separator.

There are several styles of separators,
which are classified by shape and by
separation method. The basic shapes of
separators are:
Vertical separators
Spherical separators
Horizontal separators
The basic separation methods are:
Two-stage
Three-stage
Metering
Operation of the two-stage vertical
separator. Two-stage vertical separators
have historically been manufactured in three
styles:
right-hand, left-hand, and the
combination. The combination vessel has
two identical emulsion inlet openings,
located opposite of each other about twothirds of the way up the sides of the vessel.
All of the other openings are standard and
this is the only difference between them.
One of the inlet openings will be selected as
the most appropriate to face the inlet
manifold, and the other will be plugged,
usually with a four inch bull plug. The right
and the left hand separators will only have
one inlet opening, and these are opposite
from the other. The design of a two-stage
vertical separator is shown as a cutaway
drawing in Figure 4 and as a photograph in
Figure 5 on the next page.
The gas will rise to the top, go through a
mist extractor which is built into the top of
the separator, and enter the gas line. This
gas pressure is not really high pressure in a
literal sense, because it is usually no more
than 20-50 pounds.

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Figure 4. Cutaway drawing of a vertical

separator showing the operation of the
vessel.

Figure 5. A typical two-stage

vertical separator with a high
liquid level alarm.

Since the atmospheric vessels will have no

more than a few ounces of backpressure
usually 2-4 ouncesthe pressure is high in
relation to the atmospheric vessels, and this
pressure is never directed toward an
atmospheric pressured vessel.
The dumping of oil and water is regulated
by a float-controlled dump valve. In newer
designs, this valve draws the liquid from

much closer to the bottom than previous

styles, reducing corrosion problems. This
was achieved by adding a short line inside
the separator that ends near the bottom,
reducing the amount of corrosive water that
is present below the dump valve outlet.
A pressure gauge is added above the
dump valve and a sight gauge glass is
mounted to the left of the dump valve. The

10B-6
pressure gauge line turns upward inside a
second short section of pipe that has a cap
on top. If the liquid level rises all the way to
the gas outlet, none will enter the gauge. A
hail guard is added to protect the sight gauge
glass from being accidentally broken by
people, animals, or hail. An O-ring is placed
on a new sight glass at the fluid level. A
glance at this periodically gives an instant
reference to several operating problems. A
string may be tied on the glass to replace the
O-ring when it becomes weather cracked
and drops off.
The emulsion inlet has a device that
forces the oil to swirl as it enters. This
circular action creates turbulence in the
liquid phase and accelerates gas breakout
from the liquid. This lowers the amount of
mist lost into the gas line.
As the fluid is dumped out of the
separator, it will be directed toward the
heater/treater, gun barrel, or a stock tank.
The dump valve should be gently tested by
hand periodically to be sure that it is still
working freely and is not becoming frozen
in one position. Care must be exercised,
because a harsh push may break the float off,
necessitating repairs.
The two valves on the sight glass have a
built-in reamer on the valve seat to keep the
hole into the tank open and to remove
paraffin or scale that might accumulate.
These should be carefully closed and opened
periodically to ream them clean and to keep
the fluid level in the gauge accurate. The
lease pumper can close the bottom gauge
valve and leave the top one open, then open
the drain cock that is screwed into the
bottom opening of the bottom valve to flush
out the gauge glass. Experience at each
separator will help determine how often this
may be required. It may be necessary to
occasionally adjust a valve stem packing if
leakage or oil staining should occur.

Some separators have pneumatic instead

of mechanical controls (Figure 6). Note the
gas line coming off the top of the vessel to
supply gas pressure to operate the diaphragm
operated dump valve. Since the diaphragm
is a medium- to low-pressure automation
device, a pressure regulator is installed in
the line to reduce the pressure and protect
the valve.

Figure 6. A separator with pneumatic

controls.
Pressure safety devices. Two types of
safety devices are placed on top of
pressurized vessels: the pop-off or relief
valve and the rupture disc or safety head (see
Figure 7 on the next page).
The pop-off valve is set near the limit or
maximum pressure that might cause the
vessel to become dangerous. The pop-off
valve has stainless steel springs, ball and

10B-7
seat, and other parts to prevent rust from
changing the setting or making them fail to
operate correctly. The pop-off valve can
release the excessive pressure and has the
ability to automatically shut off when the
pressure returns to a safe level. It is an
automatic valve requiring little or no
maintenance.
The safety rupture disc is a thin, domeshaped disc made of stainless steel,
aluminum, or, in the case of some older
separators, brass. The rupture pressure of
the disc is several pounds higher than the
safety release valve. When the safety release
valve fails to open and the pressure
continues to rise above a safe limit, the
rupture disc will burst, releasing the pressure
on the vessel. When the rupture disc bursts,
the pressure will continue to be released into
the atmosphere until the lease pumper comes
by and shuts in the well or switches from the
vessel. For this reason a line from the
rupture disc may be run to the pit to prevent
ground contamination. But if a line is
plumbed from the rupture disc to a pit, it
must be run so that there are no low places
where water can collect and freeze during
cold weather.

Figure7. Examples of safety release

valves and pressure rupture discs.

B-5. The Heater/Treater.

The heater/treater (Figure 8) is a threestage, pressurized vessel with heating
capabilities, although they are also
manufactured as atmospheric vessels. To be
atmospheric, the stock tanks must be low
enough to allow the oil and water to gravity
flow to the stock tank and the water disposal
system.

Figure 8. A typical vertical

heater/treater. The lines can be seen
entering the vessel. The site gauges and
firebox are on the opposite side.

10B-8
Three stage means the fluid is removed
through three lines. In the heater/treater
pictured nearby, the oil, water, gas emulsion
coming into the vessel enters through the
highest line on the right side of the vessel.
This should not be confused with the gas
line that comes off the center of the top.
The natural gas flows out through the gas
line coming off the center of the top of the
vessel through the line to the right. A
backpressure valve is installed nearby to
control the pressure inside the vessel.
The produced oil flows out the lower line
on the right side of the vessel. about eight
feet from the top. This is the fluid level
inside the vessel. Note that a liquid valve
with a back pressure weight is installed
approximately four feet from the ground.
This valve controls the amount of oil
standing in the down comer line and does
not control the height of the liquid in the
tank.
The water comes out of a line on the
lower left side of the vessel at 90 degrees
from the other lines, and the water goes up
and spills over the water leg a small distance
lower than the oil outlet. The height of the
water in the water leg is controlled by a
valve identical to the oil outlet control valve.
The heater/treater is usually the only
pressurized vessel in the tank battery system
where the heights of the fluids in the vessel
are controlled by line height. The fluid
levels in the gun barrel are also controlled by
line height. The water level in the bottom of
the heater/treater is maintained at
approximately one foot above the fire tube.
Oil does, however, come into contact with
the fire tube.
Most operators try to heat the produced
crude oil only in the winter. The use of
appropriate chemicals and the heat from the
sun is usually satisfactory for treating oil in
the summer months.
The firebox can

consume a lot of gas. Selling the gas

provides income toward the purchase of the
chemicals. It is a give-and-take situation in
determining when heat is necessary.
Controlling the height of the water.
Earlier, the use of the beam balance scale in
weighing water and oil was reviewed.
Calculations for computing the height of the
water leg is reviewed in Appendix F,
Mathematics.
The height of the water in the
heater/treater should be approximately one
foot above the top of the fire tube.
The amount of water in the heater/treater
is controlled by raising or lowering the
height of the side boot on the water leg. If
the weir nipple is raised in the water leg
boot, the amount of water retained inside the
heater/treater will be higher. If the weir
nipple is lowered, the water retained will be
lower. The total fluid column height will
remain constant, controlled by the height of
the oil outlet opening.
The fluid sight glasses. The lower fluid
level sight glass should display water in the
lower half and oil in the top half. If the
lower valve is occasionally closed, it is a
good practice to close and re-open the top
valve, and then bleed the lower petcock into
a container. This will effectively clean the
glass to allow the liquid level to correct
itself. Tie a small rag at this level to indicate
future level changes.
The top sight glass will have oil in the
bottom and gas in the top. It can be cleaned
in the same manner.
Backpressure valves for pressurized
vessels. The Kimray diaphragm-operated
backpressure valves are widely accepted by
the petroleum industry as a dependable
automatic operating valve (Figure 9). It is a

10B-9
very popular selection for controlling the
back pressure for the separator, the
heater/treater, the emergency vent line, and
the gas purchasing company, and on several
other vessels where a back pressure valve is
installed. The term backpressure refers to
the pressure in back of the valve. The valve
that controls pressure after the backpressure
valve or downstream is usually referred to as
a regulator.

Figure 10. Treater oil and water valves.

(courtesy Kimray, Inc.)

Figure 9. A diaphragm-operated
backpressure valve.
(courtesy Kimray, Inc.)
The treater oil and water valves (Figure
10) are used to control the dumping of oil
toward the stock tanks and the water toward
the water disposal and injection system.
These are basically liquid dump valves. The
installation of the valve is shown in Figure
11. The drawing shows one method of
securing the necessary gas pressure to the oil
or water valve that prevents fluctuations in
gas pressure from affecting the operation of
the valve.

Figure 11. How the treater liquid valve is

installed.
(courtesy Kimray, Inc.)
As the oil spills out of the heater/treater
into the oil line, or water spills over the
equalizer riser on the water outlet line, these

10B-10
liquids create a downward pressure against
the valve. When the column of liquid builds
up to about four or five feet in the line, the
valve opens, allowing part of it to flow
toward the next vessel. The height of the
line, not the valve, controls the liquid level
in the vessel. As the pressure gets lower, the
valve closes again.
A gas line comes off the top of the vessel
and connects to this valve. The purpose of
this line is to equalize the gas pressure inside
the vessel across the liquid dump valve. If a
flowing well opens up or someone opens a
valve and a surge of additional pressure
comes into the vessel through the inlet line,
this change in pressure will also occur on
both sides of the diaphragm. This change in
pressure will have no effect upon the
operation of the valve.
The height of the water leg is determined
by the weight per square inch of the column
of salt water and the weight of the oil on top
of the water. The height of this column of
liquid is from the oil overflow outlet to the
bottom of the vessel.
In Appendix F, Mathematics, the
procedure for calculating the height of water
legs is reviewed.
The float-controlled separator dump
valve pictured in Figure 12 is a popular
valve. The pressure below the seat of the
valve is transferred to the top mechanism of
the valve. This removes any stress or
unusual pressures from being exerted against
the diaphragms in the valve and results in
smooth and dependable valve action.
If the dump valve arm needs to operate in
the opposite direction, remove the bolts in
the top, rotate the top one-half turn, and
replace the bolts. Now the mechanism will
operate in the opposite direction. The
direction of the arm can also be turned in the
opposite direction according to need.

Figure 12. A float-controlled separator

dump valve.
(courtesy Kimray, Inc.)
B-6. Interior Design of the Vertical
Heater/Treater.
In the past, two types of heater/treaters
have been constructed. During the past few
years, several innovative changes have made
the basic design more efficient, so only one
type is illustrated as Figure 13 on the next
page. This style is designed for high water
production.
Inlet line. The inlet line enters above the
fluid level. The gas, being lighter, flash
separates and goes up through the mist
extractor and into the gas line. The liquid
falls to the bottom of the vessel through a
tube.

10B-11
At the bottom. At the bottom, the free
water that has flash separated continues on
down and out of the vessel through the water
leg, absorbing very little of the vessel heat.
The oil migrates up through the water
section, past the fire tube, and is heated as it
continues to migrate up to the oil section of
the heater/treater.
The oil trip upward. As the oil travels
upward, it moves from one side to the other
passing upward through openings, while
any suspended water contacts the plates,
separates, and moves back downward
toward the water leg and on to the disposal
system. When the oil reaches the top, it falls
into the oil outlet and on to the gun barrel or
the stock tank. Any new gas that breaks out
passes upward through a provided tube up to
the mist extractor and into the gas system.
This tube also equalizes pressure between
the upper and the lower section of the vessel.
The water leg. The operation of the water
leg is also visible, and the weight of the
water in the water leg is exactly the weight
of the water and oil column inside this
vessel. This three-stage separation is fully
controlled by line heights instead of a
discriminate float as it is in the free water
knockout. This vessel is one of the most
useful vessels in oilfields.
Figure 13. Interior view of a
heater/treater.
(courtesy of Sivalls, Inc.)

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