Patent ID: 7503186
Filing Date: 2009-03-17
Classification: F25J

Abstract:
1. A method of condensing an unprocessed well stream from an offshore gas or gas condensate field, wherein the well stream is fed from one or more wellheads through a cooling loop in the sea to be cooled by the surrounding water to a temperature just above the hydrate temperature of the well stream, and then feeding the pre-cooled well stream into an expander for the expansion thereof in the expander, the method being characterized in that the unprocessed well stream is expanded isentropically, or near isentropically, in the expander to a state in which the pressure is close to that of a storage tank, such that part of the well stream is condensed, and condensed fractions of the prior to the expansion, unprocessed well stream, are drawn off between stages of the expander and fed to the storage tank along with condensation products from the exit of the expander, thereby producing, without any preprocessing, a condensed well stream product made of a mixture of liquids and solids (LUWS) which is collected in the storage tank for transport therefrom to land.