earth science

Onshore (hydrocarbons)

Onshore (hydrocarbons) is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Onshore (hydrocarbons) rather than just read about it. In short: Onshore, when used in relation to hydrocarbons, refers to an oil, natural gas or condensate field that is under the land or to activities or operations carried out in relation to such a field. Onshore may also refer to processes that take place on land that are associated with oil, gas or condensate production that has taken place offshore.

Key takeaways

Onshore (hydrocarbons) belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Onshore (hydrocarbons) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Onshore (hydrocarbons) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Onshore, when used in relation to hydrocarbons, refers to an oil, natural gas or condensate field that is under the land or to activities or operations carried out in relation to such a field. Onshore may also refer to processes that take place on land that are associated with oil, gas or condensate production that has taken place offshore. The offshore production facility delivers oil, gas and condensate by pipelines to the onshore terminal and processing facility. Alternatively oil may be delivered by ocean-going tanker to the onshore terminal.

Onshore oil terminals Onshore oil terminals may include large crude oil tanks for the initial storage of oil prior to processing. Such tanks provide a buffer volume where oil is delivered by tanker. The oil tanker delivery rate is considerably greater than the processing capacity of the plant. Crude oil tanks also allow offshore production to continue if the export route becomes unavailable. Onshore oil terminals generally have fired heaters to heat the oil to improve subsequent separation. Separator vessels and coalescers stabilise the crude and remove any sediments, produced water and allow light hydrocarbons to flash-off. Large separation vessels give the oil an appropriate residence time in the vessel to allow effective separation to occur. Onshore separators operate at near atmospheric pressure to release as much vapor as possible. The oil processing plant aims to achieve an appropriate vapor pressure specification for the oil. The associated gas is processed for export or used in the plant as fuel gas. Stabilised oil is routed to storage tanks prior to dispatch for international sales delivery by tanker, or to a local oil refinery for processing.

Onshore gas terminals See main article Natural-gas Processing Onshore gas terminals may have facilities for removal of liquids from the incoming gas stream. Liquids may include natural gas liquids (NGL), produced water, and glycol (MEG or TEG). Separation of liquid from gas is done in slug catchers, which either comprise an array of pipes or a large cylindrical vessel. A variety of treatment processes are used to condition the gas to a required specification. Such processes may include glycol dehydration, gas sweetening, hydrocarbon dew-point control, fractionation, natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery, gas compression before gas distribution to users. The hydrocarbon dewpoint changes with the prevailing ambient temperature, the seasonal variation is:

See also Petroleum refining processes Oil refinery Oil terminal

References

Petroleum industry glossary from Saipem Spa Petroleum industry glossary from Anson Ltd

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Onshore (hydrocarbons)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Onshore (hydrocarbons) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Onshore (hydrocarbons) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Onshore (hydrocarbons) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Onshore (hydrocarbons)

In research: Onshore (hydrocarbons) appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Onshore (hydrocarbons) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Onshore (hydrocarbons) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Oilfield terminology, Petroleum geology, Petroleum industry, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Onshore (hydrocarbons) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Onshore (hydrocarbons) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Onshore (hydrocarbons) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Onshore (hydrocarbons) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Onshore (hydrocarbons) in simple terms?

Why does Onshore (hydrocarbons) matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Onshore (hydrocarbons)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Onshore (hydrocarbons).