Shale oil development is characterized by high initial production rates, rapid decline rates, and relatively moderate decline rates in the mid-to-late stages; determining the appropriate scale of development is challenging, and it has a significant impact on surface facilities. The conventional step-by-step processing approach is still in use, resulting in lengthy processes and extensive surface infrastructure.

　　This unit is deployed at the Daqing National Shale Oil Demonstration Station and integrates gas–liquid separation, free-water removal, crude-oil heating, pulse dehydration, two-stage dissolved-air flotation, hydraulic sand flushing, multi-stage natural-gas separation and mist elimination, and oil–water buffering into a single system. It consolidates the functions of multiple pieces of equipment typically found in conventional small- and medium-sized crude-oil treatment facilities—such as three-phase separators, lift pumps, electric desalters, oil buffer tanks, water buffer tanks, and primary oil-removal tanks—into one compact, integrated unit.

　　The facility enables “one-skid compliance” treatment of high-water-content shale oil upon entry, achieving a treated crude oil water content of less than 0.5% and meeting the “dual 50 mg/L” limits for oil-in-water and suspended solids in produced water. This effectively addresses the longstanding challenges faced on the production front—namely, lengthy processes, numerous pieces of equipment, and complex operations in conventional crude oil dehydration and water treatment—thereby enabling rapid commissioning and resolving the difficulties associated with purified-oil handover and the fracturing-fluid reuse of produced water in remote, standalone blocks.