Back to results
US 12,098,710 B1Granted
Geothermal power systems and methods for subsea systems
AssigneeOneSubsea IP UK Limited
InventorDavid Kitchen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system includes a subsea geothermal power system. The subsea geothermal power system includes a separator configured to separate a well fluid from a hydrocarbon well into a first fluid flow and a second fluid flow. The subsea geothermal power system also includes a geothermal power plant coupled to the separator. The geothermal power plant is configured to receive thermal energy from the second fluid flow and convert the thermal energy into at least one of electrical energy and mechanical energy. The separator is at least partially powered by the at least one of electrical energy and mechanical energy produced by the subsea geothermal power system.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a subsea geothermal power system comprising:
- a separator configured to separate a well fluid from a hydrocarbon well into a first fluid flow along a first line and a second fluid flow along a second line, wherein the second fluid flow comprises water;
- a geothermal power plant coupled to the separator, wherein the geothermal power plant is configured to receive thermal energy from the second fluid flow along the second line and convert the thermal energy into at least one of electrical energy and mechanical energy;
- and
- a controller having a memory and one or more processors, wherein the controller is configured to:
- control the separator to separate the water from the well fluid and divert the second fluid flow comprising the water along the second line in response to an estimated water content of the well fluid exceeding a threshold water content;
- and
- control the geothermal power plant to receive the thermal energy from the second fluid flow comprising the water in response to the second fluid flow being diverted to the second line;
- wherein the separator is at least partially powered by the at least one of the electrical energy and the mechanical energy produced by the subsea geothermal power system.
6 more elements
A system comprising:
- a subsea retrieval module comprising:
- a separator configured to separate a well fluid from a hydrocarbon well into a hydrocarbon flow along a first line and a water flow along a second line;
- a geothermal power plant coupled to the separator, wherein the geothermal power plant comprises a fluid circuit having a first heat exchanger configured to transfer thermal energy from the water flow along the second line to a thermal fluid circulating in the fluid circuit, and a turbine driven by the thermal fluid;
- and
- a controller having a memory and one or more processors, wherein the controller is configured to:
- control the separator to separate water from the well fluid to divert the water flow along the second line in response to an estimated water content of the well fluid exceeding a threshold water content;
- and
- control the geothermal power plant to receive the thermal energy from the water flow in response to the water flow being diverted to the second line;
- wherein the separator is at least partially powered by at least one of mechanical energy generated by the turbine and electrical energy generated by an electrical generator driven by the turbine of the geothermal power plant.
6 more elements
A method, comprising:
- controlling, via a processor, a separator of a geothermal power system to separate a well fluid from a hydrocarbon well into a hydrocarbon flow along a first line and a water flow diverted along a second line in response to an estimated water content of the well fluid exceeding a threshold water content;
- controlling, via the processor, a geothermal power plant of the geothermal power system to receive thermal energy from the water flow being diverted along the second line;
- controlling, via the processor, the geothermal power plant to convert the thermal energy into at least one of electrical energy and mechanical energy;
- and
- controlling, via the processor, the geothermal power system to power the separator using the at least one of the electrical energy and the mechanical energy.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.