SABP-Z-033 Flow Assurance
SABP-Z-033 Flow Assurance
Contents
1 Scope ................................................................ 2
2 Conflict and Deviation ........................................ 2
3 References ........................................................ 2
4 Definitions and Abbreviations ............................ 4
5 Introduction ........................................................ 4
6 Flow Assurance Analysis ................................... 6
7 Flow Assurance Design Basis ........................... 7
8 Pipeline Hydraulic Analysis Design ................... 9
9 Flow Assurance and Modeling Strategy .......... 16
10 Pipeline Hydraulic Simulation .......................... 17
11 Fluid Properties and Phase Envelopes ............ 21
12 Drag Reducing Agents (DRA) .......................... 41
13 Contributor Authors.......................................... 47
Revision Summary .................................................. 47
1 Scope
This Flow Assurance Best Practice provides general guidelines for basic engineering
requirements and recommended practice necessary to establish reliable and cost
effective design and operation for multiphase production and pipeline systems.
The major challenges issues covered in the Flow Assurance Best Practice are:
● Flow Assurance Analysis and Design Basis
● Flow Assurance Modeling Strategy
● Pipeline Simulation Design and Analysis
● Fluid Properties and Phase Envelopes
● Hydrate, Wax, Corrosion and Erosion
● Drag Reducing Agents (DRA)
This Best Practice was written to be consistent with Saudi Aramco and applicable
international standards. If there is a conflict between this Best Practice and other
standards or specifications, please contact the Flow Assurance Standards Committee
Chairman of UPED/P&CSD for resolution.
3 References
The following list shows the recommended flow assurance reference documents:
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Dynamic Steady State: A term used to describe dynamic analysis when the bounding
conditions are either not changing or are changing in a repeated cyclic manner (pseudo-
steady state).
HIPS High Integrity Protection System
OPPS Over-Pressure Protection System
SS Steady State
DSS Dynamic Steady State
FWHP Flowing Well Head Pressure
5 Introduction
5.1 General
‘Flow Assurance’ guarantees that the pipeline can be operated as per specifications,
ensures the design is robust, and fits for purpose in terms of flow delivery.
Flow assurance analysis and design involve all aspects of chemical and
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mechanical disciplines, which are not all included in this Best Practice.
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The ultimate purpose of a flow assurance analysis is to develop a reliable, cost effective
production system and operating philosophy. The flow assurance design process
involves several major steps outlined below.
● Establish the design basis
● Reservoir and production conditions
● Fluid compositions and measured/predicted properties
● Flow line routing and ambient temperatures
● Facility equipment specifications
● Fluids modeling
● Tune the EOS (Equation of State) using reservoir fluid compositions and measured
properties.
● Assess fluid phase behaviors and predict physical properties. Besides the produced
fluids, this includes injected chemicals, injected water and gas, and export gas and oil.
● Conduct Thermo-hydraulic analysis
● Perform hydraulic analysis and pipeline sizing using preliminary insulation design
● Perform thermal analysis to specify insulation design
● Assess transient thermo-hydraulic behaviors: shutdown, startup and slugging
● Determine compatibility with facility requirements
● Establish operating strategies
● Assess system economics
● Comparison of options, and system optimization and integration
All steps will be considered collectively in practice and several of the steps will need to
be addressed simultaneously.
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The flow assurance design process starts early in the field development effort when the
type and reserves of a field are identified, and often before any development wells are
drilled. In general, design begins with development of a design basis, followed by
assessment of fluid behavior and analysis of thermohydraulics. During the
thermohydraulic design phase, the flow assurance engineer begins interfacing with other
design engineers, such as pipeline/flowline and facilities engineers. Typically, as parallel
efforts, the flow assurance engineer will develop operating strategies and determine
facility requirements together with subsea mechanical designers, facility engineers and
other engineers. The numerous interfaces necessitate effective project management as per
SAEP-27. A major consideration in the design process is the system economics and risks.
The design process will be iterative due to inevitable changes in the design basis,
interim results during the design, changes in system economics, and other changes.
The first major effort in the design process is to establish a design basis. Flow assurance
engineers will be directly involved in determining and documenting the fluid
characteristics, PVT behaviors and the potentials for solids formation. For the other
aspects of the design basis, such as reservoir behavior, site characteristics, and facilities,
the flow assurance engineer will need to ensure that the data needed for the flow
assurance analysis are included in the design basis. Thus, the flow assurance engineers
will interface with those responsible for reservoir engineering and surface facilities.
These interfaces will continue throughout the project. It is important to note that the
design basis needs to consider the impact of poor or missing data.
This step in the design process assumes that fluid samples have been collected.
A substantial amount of laboratory work may be required to determine the
characteristics of the fluid samples. Standard PVT measurements should be performed
on the fluids, and then fluid characterizations should be developed for use in
thermohydraulic and other modeling (reservoir and process). The fluids should also be
tested for potential solids formation such as sulfur, wax, and asphaltenes.
If no data from samples are available, fluid properties must be inferred from analogous
fields or reservoirs. This may present considerable risk that must be taken into account
in the overall system design.
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Most system design attributes can be set on the basis of steady state analysis,
such as the sizes of the production tubing, production flowlines, injection
flowlines, and transport pipelines. Criteria for line sizing include pressure
constraints, flow rates, and erosion limits. As part of the line sizing and
hydraulic assessment, changes in production rates, water cut, and gas to oil ratio
over the field life need to be evaluated. In most cases, subsea tiebacks include
dual production flowlines. This serves two purposes. It allows scraping for
wax, asphaltenes, sand, etc., deposition and it allows flow in only one line when
rates are reduced to reduce slugging. Artificial lift may also be considered to
increase flow; and flowline pressure may need to be re-evaluated over time.
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To assure design criteria are met, hydrate dissociation curves, and wax and
asphaltene formation envelopes are determined for the production fluids.
The operating temperatures and pressures are compared with these envelopes to
predict when and where solids may form. Solids control is responsible for many
of the features of subsea design and operation including insulation, chemical
injection, scraping facilities, and special operating procedures for shutdown.
The requirements, capabilities and control of the facilities are key parts of a
production system design. The key topside facilities are slug catchers,
separators, surge tanks, flare capacity, flare knockout drums, chemical storage
and pumping, scraping equipment, normal and emergency power, and the
control system. Instrumentation, controls, and facility capabilities have to be
completely integrated into the overall system design and operability.
This section of the Flow Assurance Best Practice covers basic engineering requirements
and recommended practices for sizing multiphase production pipelines, water and gas
injection pipelines and transport pipelines.
The production rates (oil, gas, and water) over the design life of the
development and the reservoir fluids properties should be obtained from the
reservoir engineering team. In different design phases, available data can differ.
The uncertainties in the data become less as more studies are performed by
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reservoir engineering and well completion teams. The design basis data used in
the design of a multiphase production flowline system are listed in Tables 1
and 2. Reservoir fluid analysis and characterization are required to determine
fluid properties at different pressures and temperatures, and to determine water
chemistry and compatibility. Input data should also include standards applied to
the mechanical design of a pipeline, MAOP, maximum and minimum
temperatures, etc.
Production profiles
SCSSV location in wellbore
Gas lift injection point, rate limits, etc.
Mechanical pressure boosting
May be determined as part of the FA
Hydrate dissociation curves
analysis.
Cooldown and no-touch times (hydrates)
Hydrate inhibitor and inhibitor injection points
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Item Comments
Sand level limit, sand level in produced fluids,
sand grain size distribution
Erosion criteria
Water Injection wells: rates
Water Injection wells: geometry, tubing size,
casings (unless FWHP is provided)
Water Injection wells: injectivity index, frac
pressure, etc., or FWHP at rate
Gas injection wells: rates
Gas injection wells: geometry, tubing size, casings
(unless FWHP is provided)
Gas injection wells: Injectivity Index or FWHP
Topsides: separator/slug catcher and flare: system
capacities and required arrival Temperature &
Pressure
Topsides: Injection pumps and compressors
Topsides ESD depressurization time & volumes
Export flowlines layout/topography and arrival
pressures
Remediation of flowline plugs
Operational philosophy/constraints
Additional Functional Requirements
Thermal-hydraulic analysis will address the minimum pipe inside diameter (ID)
and insulation requirements (overall heat transfer coefficient). Sizing a pipeline
consists of three primary design criteria: pressure drop, maximum velocity
(erosion) and minimum velocity (slugging).
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If the flow velocity is above the erosional velocity, erosion can increase
rapidly. For wells without sand production, C could be as high as 300
without significant erosion. For flowlines with significant amounts of
sand, there has been considerable erosion for lines operating below
C = 100. Unfortunately, no other proposed equation has gained
acceptance in the industry as an alternative to the API equation.
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The temperature of the flowing fluids has direct influence on its physical
properties. This impacts the deposition potentials of wax, asphaltenes, and
hydrates. Fluid temperature determines the phase equilibrium of liquids and
gas. Therefore, it affects pressure loss and liquid holdup in a pipeline. For the
flow of produced fluids from oil wells, higher temperature is generally better.
However, corrosion increases rapidly with temperature. To size a pipeline,
several insulation scenarios should be studied.
Table 3 provides typical ranges for overall heat transfer coefficients (OHTC or
U-value) for insulated pipelines. With the typical values, pressure drop can be
calculated with acceptable accuracy and the required U-value can be determined.
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‘Flow Assurance’ guarantees that the pipeline can be operated as per specifications,
ensures the design is robust, and fits for purpose in terms of flow delivery.
At steady state flow assurance is most likely to be concerned with the following aspects:
● When flowing at the intended rates, the required inlet pressure is less than the
available wellhead pressure (production lines). Alternatively, the available outlet
pressure is greater than required wellhead delivery pressure (gas lift, water injection,
chemical injection lines).
● Fluid arrival temperature is higher than the wax appearance temperature, or
alternatively continuous wax inhibition will be needed.
● Fluid arrival temperature is higher than the hydrate temperature, or alternatively
continuous hydrate inhibition will be needed.
● Flow pattern (multiphase lines) or transition from single to two-phase flow.
Offset from two-phase region (dense phase lines).
● Corrosion: water condensation and separation. Required degree of reduction in
corrosion rate by inhibitor, likelihood of distributing a corrosion inhibitor (by slugs
or droplets).
Analysis is likely to include either maximum and minimum flow rates or a proposed
through-life profile (e.g., year-on-year). Turndown operation should also be considered
(e.g., 25% or 50% of design rate).
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Sensitivities to test the robustness of the design decision to variations in the input
parameters may also be completed (e.g., to inlet temperature, water cut, fluid
composition/Gas Oil Ratio, or to ambient conditions).
During Dynamic Steady State Analysis, flow assurance is most likely to be concerned
with flow stability, slug size or surge volume and mitigation of slugs which cannot be
accommodated within the process.
Using dynamic analysis, flow assurance can determine the extent to which wax, hydrate
and slug/liquid surge aspects are generated, and demonstrate that the operating
procedures are robust, and that any possible upset in the process can avoided or
managed within the acceptable process range.
Although all aspects need to be agreed upon across the design team, the following are
primarily decided by the pipeline simulation analysis:
Table 4
Pipeline Analysis Controlling
Aspect Most Relevant Issues
Variable Constraint
Size Internal Diameter Available pressure Construction/Installation
drop vs. intended method.
Type Rigid or Flexible, production rate
Roughness Likely cost
Degree of Wall make-up, Minimum and Avoidance of continuous
insulation Burial maximum fluid chemical treatment for wax,
arrival temperatures hydrates, emulsions.
The following aspects are outputs from the pipeline analysis which are likely to be used
by other disciplines:
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Table 5
Most Relevant Pipeline Type of Pipeline
Discipline Aspect
Analysis Output Analysis
Mechanical Upheaval buckling Temperature profile Steady state
design
On-bottom stability Contents density Steady state
Dynamic Steady
Fatigue loading Slugging cycles
State
Reception Steady state
Steady state Arrival temperature,
process engineer Dynamic Steady
operations Flow stability
State
Non steady state Liquid surge (on rate change,
Dynamic
operations start-up).
Reservoir Deliverability Required vs. available pipeline Steady state
Engineering, inlet pressure
Wells design &
Production Available gas lift, or water
optimization injection pressure
Operations Non steady state Shut-in/cooldown, intervention Dynamic
operations time, start-up.
Scraping
Commissioning (dewatering).
Materials and Corrosion Temperature, pressure, flow Steady state
corrosion pattern, velocities, droplets.
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To complete a steady state analysis, the boundary conditions are the inlet
temperature and any pair of:
● Flow rate and outlet pressure: Calculate inlet pressure
● Flow rate and inlet pressure: Calculate outlet pressure
● Inlet Pressure and Outlet Pressure: Calculate flow rate
At steady state outputs include temperature, pressure, phase properties and phase
flow rates/velocities as they vary with pipe length. For multiphase pipelines,
flow pattern may be indicated, and where slug flow is suspected an indication of
expected severity is given by multiphase simulation software. Constraints
which are not directly applied may be implemented using parametric studies to
span a relevant range (e.g., pipe diameter, U-value).
A dynamic steady state analysis can be completed by defining the time period
over which to conduct the simulation (which must be long enough to
demonstrate that dynamic steady state conditions have been attained), and by
specifying the inlet temperature and either:
● Flow rate and outlet pressure: Calculate inlet pressure
● Inlet Pressure and Outlet Pressure: Calculate flow rate
At dynamic steady state the main output is likely to be the phase flow rates at
the outlet (or other fixed locations of interest) as a function of time. In the case
that the inlet pressure was not specified as a boundary condition, then this will
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be calculated, showing cyclic variation with time. Data capture frequency must
also be defined for the variables of interest.
10.4 Dynamics
Certain aspects of dynamic simulation can be time-step dependent and the results
may change depending on the time step chosen. For key design decisions, it may
be important to demonstrate that the results are insensitive to time-step.
Dynamic Steady State (DSS) analysis is primarily used to assess flow stability
of multiphase lines. Dynamic Steady State analysis is less likely to be applied to
single phase lines but is relevant if the boundary conditions are changing
(e.g., day-night) or throughput is changing on a cyclic basis (e.g., packing and
un-packing gas pipelines.
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one end). After some time, conditions may approach those at which wax or
hydrates starts to form. Operational intervention may be needed to mitigate
this threat through depressurization or displacement. If the shut-in was
planned, the pipeline contents may have been pre-conditioned (e.g., hydrate
inhibitor) to mitigate such threats for the long-term.
● Restart: Resumption of flow causes the pressure to build in the pipeline and
any liquid to be mobilized through the pipeline to the outlet, possibly as
intact bodies of liquid (e.g., 5 km slug). For offshore pipelines the outlet is
physically located some height above the main length of the pipeline, for
example a vertical riser. If the liquid body is sufficient to fill the riser, then
the pressure in the pipeline will initially rise to equal the boundary pressure
plus the hydrostatic head of the riser. Once this is achieved, liquid will flow
out of the top of the riser, gas will follow, and the steady state flowing
condition can be re-established. Fluid temperature is slowest to be re-
established at the steady state condition.
● Rate change: Typically, rate reduction (turndown) leads to an increase in
liquid inventory in multiphase lines. Rate increase then expels the excess
liquid inventory, possibly as a slug.
● Scraping: Where facilities exist, scrapers may be sent through the pipeline
for cleaning or inspection purposes. Scraping may be undertaken routinely
to limit the accumulation of liquids or solids in the pipeline and thereby
prevent the pipeline operating at an undesirable steady state. Velocity limits
and liquid surge handling constraints may be relevant to the scraping
operation and compliance with these can be verified by pipeline analysis.
● Depressurization/blow down/rupture: The main difference between these
scenarios is the degree to which the outflow is controlled or regulated within
plant or pipeline constraints. Dense phase lines may enter the two-phase
hydrocarbon region. During slow depressurization of offshore pipelines, the
velocity may be insufficient to drag liquid up the riser. The outflow may
therefore be gas phase only, resulting in the remaining contents becoming
rich in heavier components. For dense phase pipelines re-combination of the
remaining (heavy) liquid composition with fresh feed on re-pressurization
may be an important factor.
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150
Dense phase Dense Dense Dense
Condensate phase phase phase
(Gas) (Oil) (Gas)
Pressure, bara
100
50
0
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
o
Temperature, C
Lift Gas Oil reservoir
Critical Point (gas) Critical Point (oil)
Outside of the two-phase region a single phase is present. At low pressures the
distinction between oil or gas seems clear and is understood. At pressures above the
cricondenbar, the fluid is dense phase but may still be referred to as gas or oil, for ease
of communication. Somewhat arbitrarily, the critical point temperature may be used as
a dividing line for referring to ‘gas’ or ‘oil’ when in the dense phase region.
Pipeline Simulation Analysis uses the fluid properties and phase fraction as they vary
with operating conditions of pressure and temperature. The fluid behavior can be
generate by thermodynamic software (PVT packages) on the basis of an equation of
state (e.g., Peng-Robinson or SRK) and a compositional description, often lumping
heavier components into one (or more) un-characterized group known as a pseudo-
component for which artificial properties are given.
Clearly, the accuracy of the fluid model and the pipeline analysis depends to some
extent on the proportion which has been left in the pseudo-components and the extent to
which the fluid model has been tuned against laboratory data for measured properties
such as the gas oil ratio, bubble point, or oil viscosity.
For pipeline simulation analysis, the fluid properties are often defined across a grid of
temperature and pressure points by the PVT package and remain constant throughout
the pipeline simulation. Where the composition changes with time (or with position at
steady state), the composition can be taken within the pipeline analysis, and fluid
(phase) properties then depend on pressure, temperature and local composition as a
function of time/position. The main impact of this is computational efficiency.
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If the reservoir is discovered only with oil and no gas cap, it means that
the reservoir pressure is at or above the fluids bubble point pressure.
However, once the reservoir starts producing fluids, the pressure
decreases and the gas contained in the fluids comes out of solution, some
of the gas moves towards the producing oil (produced gas) and some of
the gas moves upward to form a gas cap. This type of reservoir is termed
an under-saturated reservoir.
In either case, the high ambient pressure that is initially present in the
reservoir leads to some or all of the gas being dissolved in the oil phase,
and this gas may start to be released when the pressure is reduced as the
fluids moves towards the surface via a well.
Some oil-producing wells are gas lifted to help the oil rise to the surface.
This can improve production rates and prolong the wells economical
lifespan. The well may also produce water and solids particles (sands),
the well elevation profile may have horizontal or downhill sections, fluid
may flow in at multiple locations, and the fluid composition may change
over time.
To make accurate flow predictions, the prediction of the boiling and the
release of gas dissolved in the oil as the pressure reduces in critical.
Processing facilities are often not located by the wellhead, so the fluid
are transported in gathering networks and pipelines. The pressures and
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Multiphase flow can take different forms and in the case of gas-liquid
flow, the gas may appear as tiny amounts of small bubbles in the liquid.
That kind of flow occurs when there is relatively little gas compared to
liquid, at the same time as the liquid flows fast enough to create
sufficient turbulence to mix the gas into the liquid faster than the gas can
rise to the top of the pipe.
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periods of high gas content can more easily cause hydrates to form.
The increased intermittent liquid velocity can also accelerate corrosion.
v) Stratified Flow
11.1.4 Slugging
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Another sort of slugs, referred to as terrain induced slugs, form when the
pipes elevation profile creates a dip. Terrain generated slugs can have
periods of several hours, and can originate in both wells and pipelines.
Liquid has a tendency to flow towards the low point and block the gas.
The gas pressure builds until the gas reaches the low point and begins to
escape into the liquid-filled uphill section. Once that occurs, the liquid
column carried by the gas gets shorter and shorter, and it becomes easier
for the pressure to push it further upwards. As a result, both the liquid
and the gas accelerate out of the pipe.
Neither the downhill nor the uphill parts need to be as steep. It can occur
at any low point in a pipeline, it does not have to be near the outlet.
Production risers (from seabed to production platform process facilities)
may create these sorts of slugs if the seabed in front of the riser slopes
downwards, and some sorts of risers are shaped like a J or U in order to
allow floater movement. When the riser causes this type slugging, it is
often referred to as severe slugging or riser induced slugging.
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Since the gas usually travels faster than the liquid, it will slip past the
liquid. In order for the volume flowrate to remain constant, the area of
the pipe occupied by the gas must shrink. This gives rise to a higher
liquid volume fraction than if the gas traveled at the same velocity,
resulting in ‘liquid holdup,’ as shown in Figure 4.
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Most of experiment work which has been published in the field of flow
regime has only considered horizontal or vertical pipes. However,
pipelines and not truly flat, and tend to following the inclines in the
terrain where they are laid, and may have other inclinations, so the
complexity on flow regime is much greater than discussed in this
document.
Along the horizontal axis the superficial gas velocity has been plotted.
Along the vertical axis is superficial liquid velocity.
The plots shows that for very low superficial gas and liquid velocities,
the flow is stratified. As the velocities approach zero, the pipeline will
act as a long, horizontal tank with liquid at the bottom and gas on top.
Increasing the gas velocity, waves start forming on the liquid surface.
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Due to the friction between gas and liquid, increasing the gas flow will
also affect the liquid by dragging it faster towards the outlet and thereby
reducing the liquid level. If we continue to increase the gas flow further,
the gas turbulence intensifies until it rips liquid from the liquid surface so
droplets become entrained in the gas stream , while the previously
horizontal surface bends around the inside of the pipe until it covers the
whole circumference with a liquid film. The droplets are carried by the
gas until they occasionally hit the pipe wall and are deposited back into
the liquid film on the wall.
If the liquid flow is very high, the turbulence will be strong, and any gas
tends to be mixed into the liquid as fine bubbles. For somewhat lower
liquid flows, the bubbles float towards the top-side of the pipe and cluster.
The appropriate mix of gas and liquid can then form Taylor bubbles,
which is the applied to the large gas bubbles separating liquid slugs.
If the gas flow is constantly kept high enough, slugs will not form
because the gas transports the liquid out so rapidly the liquid fraction
stays low throughout the entire pipe. It is sometimes possible to take
advantage of this and create operational envelopes that define how a
pipeline should be operated, typically defining the minimum gas rate for
slug-free flow.
Flow regime maps can be developed for vertical pipes and pipes with
upward or downward inclinations. However, to date it is not possible to
development general maps valid for all diameters, inclinations and fluid
properties. Therefore, a map valid for one particular situation (one point
in one pipeline with one set of fluid data) cannot be applied to another
situation.
Three phase flow is most often encountered as a mixture of gas, oil, and
water. The presence of sand or other particles can result in four-phase
flow. Although sand has the potential to build up and affect the flow or
even block it, the most common situation if sand is present is that the
amounts are tiny. If velocities are high enough, the sand is quickly
transported out of the system. Instead, it is only taken into account in
considerations to do with erosion or to establish minimum flow limits to
avoid sand buildup.
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11.2 Wax
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The last rule of thumb depends to a large extent on the pipeline U-value.
A fast deposition rate with high U-values (i.e., bare pipe) is often softer
and easier to remove, with higher concentrations of oil. This condition
can permit the operator to scrap when the thickness reaches 4 mm.
Conversely, slow deposition rates with low U-values (highly insulated
pipes) produce deposits which are usually harder because they are more
concentrated with high carbon number paraffins), and required scrapping
at 1 – 2 mm thickness to prevent the scrapper becoming stuck in the
pipe.
Operators should fine tune the actual scrapping frequency as the field
comes on line and more experience in gained in actual wax deposition
rates.
Active and passive insulation systems are the most common means
employed to control wax deposition. By keeping the production fluids
temperature above the WAT during normal operation, the fluids can be
produced without deposition occurring. During shut-in, the fluids can be
allowed to cool below WAT, as this will cause little deposition, and most
likely the wax will be melted after restart and warm-up. There are many
methods used in insulate pipeline and well bores, and the final use of
insulation type will depend on the economics of the field. In many field
developments, insulation and the facilities for chemical inhibition and
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A prolonged period of pipeline shut-in, the wax may form a gel strong enough to
entirely block a pipeline and prevent it from being restarted.
The pour-point temperature (PPT) is the lowest temperature at which the oil is
mobile. This is also identified as the stock-tank-oil gelation temperature.
Wax gelation a problem that occurs during long shut-down of the pipeline, as
the fluids cools towards ambient temperature below the PPT, causing a candle or
solid like structure which can completely block the pipeline. During restart, if
there is not enough pressure at the inlet to break the gel and allow fluids to move
and the pipeline can become redundant.
While pour point testing helps identify the risk of restart problems, gel
strength (or yield) tests are required to determine the pressure to break
the gel during restart. The wax may not need to fully yield for the
pipeline restart to occur, as generally a “domino effect” will occur at
significantly lower pressures.
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The choice will depend on the dosage rate and cost of each chemical.
If option b is chosen, a gel may still form, but it would be weak enough
to break easily. It should be noted that the depressant chemical will
require to be injected at some temperature margin above WAT and pour
point temperature.
Displacement of produced fluids using an inert fluid (other than dead oil)
is also a possible solution to gelation. A looped flowline can be used to
allow fluid displacement (flush) to remove all of the in-situ production
fluids prior to gel formation. Sufficient insulation needs to be provided
to ensure that the entire production system can be flushed prior to cool-
down. Flowlines can be preheated prior to restart to stop wax gelation
until the production fluids warm above the pour point. The heating
medium can be diesel, hot water or treated hot production fluids.
Storage for heating medium and displaced fluids will be required, along
with facilities to heat the flush fluid and pump around the loop.
11.4 Hydrates
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11.4.1 Introduction
At high pressure light natural gas and water (methane, ethane, propane,
iso-butane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide) combine to
form an ice like solid crystalline phase, called a (gas) hydrate, which can
cause operational problems or fully block hydrocarbon transport lines.
Typically hydrates usually form two structures called Type I and Type II,
depending on the gas molecules used in the hydrate formation, although
a rarer third Type H, may form. When considering inhibition strategy,
understanding the structure type can be important.
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11.4.7.1 Depressurization
11.4.7.3 Heating
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Drag Reducing Agents (DRA), also commonly known as Drag Reducing Polymers,
flow improvers, pipeline boosters, or drag reducers, are long chained chemical additives
that reduce the frictional losses associated with flow of fluid in a pipeline. Acting as
buffers along the pipe wall they decrease the amount of energy lost in turbulent
formation thus increasing the pipeline efficiency and the capacity. In addition, the
polymers help with drag reduction by decreasing turbulence in the oil lines. This results
in significant increase in the pipeline throughput, in some cases more than 100%
increase in product throughput can been achieved.
When DRA dissolves into the pipeline fluid, the polymer molecules begin to
uncoil and outspread as they interact with the pipeline flow. This interaction is
complex; the long chain molecules dampen turbulent bursts near the pipe wall as
if they were acting as tiny shock buffers.
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Without DRA
With DRA
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DRA has found extensive use in the pipeline industry due to the
following advantages:
DRA injection systems are quick, easy and cheap to install
Requires very less dosage at PPM level
Eliminating intermediate pump stations from system designs
Cost effective way to manage seasonal peak demand
De-bottleneck pipeline systems without expensive equipment
upgrades
Reduce energy consumption by minimizing drag within the pipeline
Preserve pipeline integrity by lowering operating pressure without
sacrificing pipeline capacity
There are various physical factors that affect DRA performance (which is
linked to shearing of the long-chained DRA polymer). The generalized
effect of various physical parameters are shown below:
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100
% Max Performance
PIPELINE
DIAMETER
EFFECT
0
4 48
100
% M ax P erform an ce
PETROLEUM
TEMPERATURE
EFFECT
0
0 140
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100
% M a x P e r fo r m a n c e
PIPELINE
VELOCITY
EFFECT
0
0 15
100
% M ax P erfo rm an ce
PETROLEUM
VISCOSITY
EFFECT
0
0 100
It can be inferred from the figures presented above that the DR decreases
with increase in pipe diameter and/or viscosity. There is an optimum DR
point for fluid temperature and velocity above/below which the DR is
sub-optimal.
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most importantly, the Long Chain Polymer are destroyed when passing
through extreme turbulent and agitating flow regimes, such as Pumps,
Heater Stations.
Within Saudi Aramco, DRA is widely used liquid pipelines including crude,
refined products (expect Jet Fuel), water injection, and other liquids due to its
excellent performance in fluid throughput increase. Use of DRA is not
recommended in highly viscous fluid pipelines such as Fuel Oil because DRA is
not effective in laminar flow pattern.
DRA may not be very effective in multi-phase fluids. This is because DRA,
thought work very well to decrease the drag in liquids, is not able to reduce the
drag caused by free gas. DRA are most effective in pipelines with gas-oil ratio
(GOR) of less than 2,000 scf/bbl. Therefore, it is recommended that a DRA trial
shall be performed to gauge the flow enhancement benefits in multi-phase
fluids. Continuation of DRA injection in multi-phase fluids shall be determined
by net realized gains (e.g., OPEX vs. CAPEX).
It is claimed that DRA can reduce drag by up to 80%. Within Saudi Aramco
drag reduction of up to 70% has been achieved. Given the uncertainty
associated with DRA performance, DRA field trial is recommended to:
Verify that DRA can increase the throughput of the pipeline
Establish drag reduction performance curve in the field
Identify and rectify potential reasons for underperformance of DRA
Perform product quality conformance tests
Usually DRA testing is performed at existing flow rate limits. The DR curve is
extrapolated to predict DR for higher flow rates. Due to various factors
affecting the DR as stated in above section, the prediction may be different from
what can be realistically achieved in the field. Therefore, it is recommended to
consider 10% DR margin on the predicted DR.
For DRA usage limits in fluids, DRA qualification and testing procedure, please
refer to SAEP-501.
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13 Contributor Authors
Name Affiliation
Revision Summary
1 January 2013 New Saudi Aramco Best Practice.
2 January 2017 Major revision to include more details about multiphase, wax, hydrate, and DRA
Chemicals.
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