Patent ID: 8425777

Claim:
A method of separating oil/gas from a mixture of water, oil, and gas, which mixture in an initial separation process has been separated from an oil/gas phase, said method comprising the steps of: mixing a fluid into the mixture; conducting the mixture including the fluid via an inlet duct into a first separator; allowing the mixture including the fluid to separate in the first separator into a water phase and an oil/fluid phase, the first separator being a liquid-liquid/gas separator having a pressure is in a range of from 0.5 bar to 25 bar; removing the water phase from the first separator via an outlet for water and the oil/fluid phase via at least one outlet for oil/fluid; and subjecting the oil/fluid phase to a second separation step that includes separating the oil/fluid phase into an oil phase and a gaseous phase, from which gaseous phase the fluid is recovered in a condensation vessel and is recycled for injection into the mixture, the fluid being a C 5 hydrocarbon, pentane, iso-pentane, or hexane, and the condensation vessel being in fluid communication with sea water, with the sea water acting as a coolant in the condensation vessel.