Three-phase separator

An apparatus for separating oilfield production fluid phases, comprising:

• a vessel capable of being navigated onto large bodies of water;
• a tank fixed to said vessel, said tank having a pair of opposing inlets and further having at least one outlet for a liquid phase of a production fluid mixture fed into said tank simultaneously through said inlets, a fluid flow path extending through said tank from said inlets to said outlet;
• and
• fluid permeable phase separation media disposed in said tank and extending across said flow path for separating the different phases of the production fluid mixture, said inlets being disposed substantially equidistantly from said outlet and said fluid permeable phase separation media being disposed in said tank generally symmetrically about said outlet so as to provide for a symmetrical flow and weight distribution for motion insensitivity.

An apparatus for separating oilfield production fluid phases, comprising:

• a vessel capable of being navigated onto large bodies of water;
• a tank fixed to said vessel, said tank having at least one inlet for a production fluid mixture and at least one outlet for a liquid phase of the production fluid mixture, a fluid flow path extending from said inlet to said outlet;
• fluid permeable phase separation media disposed in said tank and extending across said flow path of the fluid for separating the different phases of the production fluid mixture;
• and
• at least one flow restrictors or regulator also disposed in said tank in the flow path of the fluid from said inlet to said outlet, said flow restrictors or regulator taking the form of a perforated plate.

A motion-insensitive phase separator for separating oilfield production fluid phases, comprising:

• a tank having at least one inlet for a production fluid mixture and at least one outlet for a liquid phase of the production fluid mixture, a fluid flow path extending from said inlet to said outlet;
• fluid permeable phase separation media disposed in said tank and extending across said flow path of the fluid for separating the different phases of the production fluid mixture, said separation media include demisting media extending transversely across said path from one side of said tank to an opposite side thereof;
• and
• at least one flow restrictor or regulator also disposed in said tank in the flow path of the fluid from said inlet to said outlet.

A motion-insensitive phase separator for separating oilfield production fluid phases, comprising:

• a tank having at least one inlet for a production fluid mixture and at least one outlet for a liquid phase of the production fluid mixture, a fluid flow path extending from said inlet to said outlet;
• fluid permeable phase separation media disposed in said tank and extending across said flow path of the fluid for separating the different phases of the production fluid mixture, said separation media include antifoam media extending transversely across said path from one side of said tank to an opposite side thereof;
• and
• at least one flow restrictor or regulator also disposed in said tank in the flow path of the fluid from said inlet to said outlet.