Optimization of Gathering and Transmission Pipe Network Layout in Gas Field and Pipeline Route in 3D Terrain

The construction and development of a gathering and transmission pipe network in a gas field is a hard and critical task that is one of the main procedures to be performed during the gas field’s productive life. This paper reports on two mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) models including the optimization of the topological structure of the pipe network and the optimization of the pipeline routes in three-dimensional (3D) terrain to minimize the total development costs of surface production pipe networks. The models seek to define the number, location, and capacities of manifolds and central processing facility (CPF); the affiliation of wells; the points where manifolds must be installed; the interconnection between wells or manifolds; the sections or obstacles which should be bypassed; and the optimal routes of the pipelines. A new method combining the Floyd algorithm with weighted grid (FAWG) was developed to optimize the pipeline routes in 3D terrain. An increment and verification (IAV) algorithm based on the exhaustion method was developed to optimize the number and location of manifolds and CPF. Two types of connection structures from wells to manifolds and from manifolds to CPF, radial and dendritic, were applied to design the interconnection pipe structure layout between those points. Four types of pipe layouts and their corresponding costs were obtained and compared. Two different scenarios were tested in which the optimal topological structure, pipeline routes, and related design parameters of the network system in 3D terrain were obtained with minimum investments. The results were computationally feasible and innovative compared with models found in the literature.