Distributed by:

Developing new and proactive approaches

to flow assurance
Daniel Atzori, PhD

Flow assurance is vital to maintain subsea asset integrity and to keep the
pipeline network functioning at optimal levels.
Since the continuing flow of hydrocarbons constitutes the main source of
revenues for oil companies, it is essential to prevent common problems
such as equipment corrosion and the formation of organic and inorganic
solids in wells, flowlines and pipelines.
The present study provides the outcomes of a series of in-depth
interviews conducted with leading personalities of the industry, with the
goal of understanding the key challenges associated with flow assurance.
A multidisciplinary approach
Within the industry, there is a wide perception that the term flow
assurance is misused, since it can mean different things to different
people.
There is a still a debate on whether flow assurance can be considered a
discipline in itself or whether it consists of a series of overlapping issues
which need to be dealt with by professionals possessing different
backgrounds and areas of expertise.
As pointed out by an operations engineering manager of a leading oil and
gas operator, flow assurance is not an independent discipline, it is
dependent on what others do.
Indeed, flow assurance experts work with a wide range of specialists,
such as facilities engineers, subsea engineers, production engineers and
production chemists.
Moreover, flow assurance issues may be very expensive to fix, both in
terms of direct costs and downtime. In deepwater, these problems are
exacerbated by extreme pressure and temperature, making access and
intervention much more difficult and costly.
Fortunately, the industry is coming up with inventive solutions to flow
assurance challenges.
Astro Technology, with the support of NASA, took the lead on the
monitoring of deepwater systems in the Clear Gulf project. In their
solution, fiber-optic and other sensors allow precise measurements along
the flow-line.
Subsea processing and low dosage hydrate inhibitors are also important
R&D areas.

In this regard, Fluor is currently looking into new options, such as a new
approach to determine the critical velocity required to transport hydrates
in slurries.
Excessive reliance on chemistry
Overall, while the industry moved into deepwater environments,
technology had a hard time catching up with associated challenges.
For example, there is a growing awareness that production chemistry
cannot solve alone flow assurance problems, which need to be better
prevented and managed during the design phase.
Furthermore, the industry is concerned that software solutions employed
to predict and detect common issues, such as the formation of hydrates
and corrosion, are not always accurate nor reliable.
Lets look specifically at hydrates formations. Hydrates are crystalline
compounds formed when natural gas and water combine at low
temperature and high pressure.
By blocking pipelines, they are considered one of the main challenges for
subsea oil and gas production.
They are also one of the most expensive issues to deal with, due to the
costs of the insulation material required to mitigate hydrates.
Hydrate remediation through chemical injection tends to be expensive
and carries risk of water contamination and environmental impact.
We have relied on chemicals for a long period of time, but we are slowly
discovering that chemicals may not necessarily answer all the issues we
may have, said the operations engineering manager of a leading oil and
gas operator.
This may due to an insufficient development of production chemistry, but
also to a lack of adequate detection systems to identify problems before
they arise and to the general unreliability of existing software.
We find that some of these products actually dont work, said the flow
assurance engineer of a leading oil and gas exploration company with
regard to the use of inhibitors for preventing the formation and deposition
of paraffin, asphaltene and hydrates.
Concerning asphaltene in the wellbore, as we go into hotter reservoirs,
we cannot use the normal inhibitors available in the industry. We need to
find better options or to improve what is available, he continued.

Improving chemical injection practices

There is also a strong need of improving chemical injection practices.
We have to be sure that the water we are dumping is not contaminated
by the chemicals that we are injecting and that it is within the industry
approved standards, continued the flow assurance engineer.
Im sure we can find a way to optimize the chemicals that we are
injecting into the pipelines, he added.
Some chemicals that are injected have adverse effects, causing emulsion
issues and therefore problems in the separators of the platforms. Thus,
there is the need to use these inhibitors as little as possible, reducing
their dosage rate.
Since they are injected throughout the field life, expenses for chemicals
tend to be very high. Experts point out that this overreliance on chemicals
can be avoided through better design.
Besides, the rate of the chemicals injected in the flowlines could be
reduced by using different chemicals.
Overall, improvements in chemistry solutions are seen as vital.
Subsea operations
Subsea separation, by processing fluids directly on the seabed, promises
to enhance flow assurance.
This makes production complicated and expensive, but those are the real
challenges out there, said a flow assurance engineer.
One of the main issues is to maintain suitable pressure to continue
production along a period of time, maximizing production over the field
life.
However, subsea separation is expected to lead to substantial savings.
Enhancing accuracy and reliability
Dissatisfaction with current systems is also evident in another common
flow assurance issue, corrosion.
Corrosion is a big deal for subsea integrity, so we have to make sure that
corrosion is handled accurately and properly, said a flow assurance
engineer at an oil and gas exploration company.

Corrosion to me is the most important issue, because it really has to do

with the asset integrity. If something goes wrong with your system, and
you have a leakage, that is a serious issue, he added.
Corrosion is often identified as a vital issue, since it concerns asset
integrity. System leakage caused by corrosion can provoke failure as well
as serious environmental damage.
Thus, accurately predicting and detecting corrosion is of crucial
importance for the industry.
There are many software solutions employed by the industry to predict
corrosion but I have found out that none of them alone are completely
accurate, said a leading flow assurance advisor.
Each one of them has certain limitations. They predict completely
different answers, although you are using exactly the same input data,
he continued.
Metal corrosion in the presence of water has a major impact on subsea
integrity, since it damages the assets and may even lead to catastrophic
failure.
Development of this software is important, so we can have something
which is recognized by the industry and proven by fieldwork information.
The solution is to do more benchmarking against the field data, he
added.
Conventional monitoring, as well as conventional inspection methods, are
indeed often inadequate to accurately assess corrosion rates.
Lacking these crucial information, it is difficult to devise effective risk
management strategies.
We use three different contractors to do exactly the same calculations for
us and they come back with three different answers, said a flow
assurance engineer at oil and gas exploration company.
We choose the most conservative one and we end up paying more
money because of that. Each solution has its limitations, he added.
Towards a proactive approach
Over the last five years, there have been extraordinary increases in the
reliability and accuracy of monitoring systems.

Overall, reliable data analysis is contributing to devising effective

measures to accurately monitor deepwater subsea assets in order to
preserve their integrity. A closer integration with analytics is, therefore,
helping to devise proactive strategies to flow assurance.
For example, new equipment for corrosion monitoring are being
developed. By comparing predicted and actual corrosion rates, these new
solutions help to implement better strategies to prevent and mitigate
risks.
The same is true for software used to predict and avoid the appearance of
paraffin wax, hydrates and asphaltene.
Fluid analysis software can indeed assess the conditions of gas-to-liquid
formation, with or without inhibitors.
However, in order for monitoring tools to be reliable, the location and the
number of sensors to be installed need to be very carefully identified and
planned.
Ideally, sensors should be positioned there in advance, but there are
effective strategies to apply them also if the system is already in place.
A big challenge is to be able to couple the sensors to the pipe, so that
the measurements you are obtaining are precise. Part of the work we
have been successful with, in our collaboration with NASA, has been in
two very strong areas of coupling, said David Brower, founder and
president of Astro Technology.
One of them is subsea bonding with subsea adhesives. The other is
through the development of friction clamps, with sensors embedded. Both
of them have shown to work out very well, he continued.
Early assessment of flow assurance issues helps to develop preventive
and mitigation strategies, by suggesting customized maintenance
schedules.
By and large, the growing applications of software solutions and the need
to optimize production is remarkably improving flow assurance practices,
promoting more holistic and technology-savvy approaches.

Concluding remarks
Managing risk associated with flow assurance is a very pressing problem
for the industry, as it involves both integrity and the free flow of
hydrocarbons.
A very conservative stance, which gives protection to all kind of risks, will
indeed make a system completely inoperable.
In fact, different operators have different levels of risk they are prepared
to accept.
The biggest challenge that operators face is striking a balance between
mitigating risks and mitigating costs, said Adam Minkley, a Senior
Analyst at Upstream Intelligence.
Overall, new technologies and proactive solutions are promoting a shift
from response-driven approaches to long-term prevention of flow
assurance issues.
The general consensus amongst flow assurance engineers is that
hydrates, wax, scale and asphaltenes remain the biggest challenge to
date. Many Flow Assurance experts Ive spoken to have said there has
been a significant lack of real innovation in preventing, mitigating and
remediating those issues
In the last twenty years, the industry has made many leaps forward, but
there is still a gap in knowledge that operators are closing through R&D
work, particularly for deepwater fields, which demand new architectures,
new technologies and new Flow Assurance approaches to improve their
economic viability.
Collaborating and sharing lessons learned will be a key driver for
improving flow assurance practices. Understanding how actual operating
experiences compare to the operating guidelines set out during early
phases of development planning will play a critical role in closing the
knowledge gap early on.

The Next Steps

In conjunction with this article, Upstream Intelligence will hold its
inaugural Flow Assurance & Operability Conference, May 26-27,
2015, in Houston, Texas. Over a dozen world-renowned FA experts will
share best practices and engage with the audience in exploring new ways
to prevent or mitigate FA phenomena, including:

Operating experiences versus design expectations, how to

overcome unexpected Flow Assurance challenges and how to
manage operational challenges as they arise
Hydrates, asphaltenes, wax and scale deposition, prediction,
prevention and mitigation remediation techniques and novel
methods for removing blockages
Life-of-field Flow Assurance Strategy and reservoir depletion
planning for maximum production including successful EOR/IOR
techniques and case histories
Improving intervention access and capability in deep and ultra-deep
water through better design, to reduce cost, prevent downtime and
improve turnaround time
Long Tie Backs to improve the economic viability of deepwater
satellite fields how to safely and efficiently operate long tie backs
over life of the field to guarantee safe, reliable and economic
production throughout design life
Planning Flow Assurance Strategies for future deepwater
developments and developing operational strategies to effectively
manage the known and unknown operational risks and rising
intervention costs

All conference attendees will benefit from the following opportunities:

Network with 150+ Senior Flow Assurance Decision Makers,

Engineers, Operations and Technology Managers involved in Flow
Assurance, Production and Operations
Pinpoint the gaps in flow assurance strategies, enhance subsea
systems architecture and improve overall production economics and
uptime
Learn how Operators are dealing with Flow Assurance issues and
the practical solutions for Hydrate, Wax, Asphaltene, Scale, Sand
mitigation, Prevention and Remediation
Enhance operations strategies and increase uptime, avoiding
disastrous Flow Assurance issues that could shut in wells, pipelines
and flowlines

Make sure you keep up with the exciting new developments in Subsea
Flow Assurance by downloading the brochure here
http://1.upstreamintel.com/LP=1246

Hosted by:

Flow Assurance and

Operability Conference 2015

REGISTER
NOW AND SAVE

$600

May 26-27, 2015 | Greenway Plaza

DoubleTree by Hilton, Houston, Texas

Enhance flow assurance strategies and operating

systems architecture to guarantee flow, reduce
OPEX and maximize production economics
The Flow Assurance and Operability Conference 2015 unites the leading operators, service providers
and industry experts to share real world case studies and practical solutions to ensure you create a
comprehensive and cost effective flow assurance strategy:
G
 et exclusive insight into operating experiences versus design expectations,
and establish how you can overcome unexpected flow assurance challenges

EXPERT FLOW ASSURANCE INSIGHT:

 uild robust hydrates, asphaltenes, wax and scale deposition, prediction,

B
prevention, mitigation and remediation techniques and explore novel
methods for removing blockages

 pdate your life-of-field flow assurance strategy and begin reservoir

U
depletion planning for maximum production to ensure successful EOR/IOR
techniques
I mprove intervention access and capability in deep and ultra-deep
water through better design, to reduce cost, prevent downtime and improve
turnarounds
Discover new Subsea Processing technologies and new applications to
enhance flow assurance and increase greenfield and brownfield recovery

3 reasons why Flow Assurance and Operability Conference

is the must-attend event of 2015
1.

 EAR EXPERT SPEAKERS FROM

H
THE LEADING NAMES including
ENI, Shell, Total, Hess, Genesis, Fluor,
Oceaneering, GATE, Technip and
many more, allowing you to pinpoint
the limits of existing flow assurance
strategies and improve your
production operations and uptime

2. M
 EET 150+ LEADING GLOBAL
FLOW ASSURANCE EXPERTS AND
SERVICE PROVIDERS face to face
so you can Identify new architectures,
new technologies and new flow
assurance approaches to improve the
economic viability of deepwater fields

3. G
 ET THE OPPORTUNITY
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE FUTURE OF SUBSEA
PROCESSING and the
implications on your flow
assurance strategy in a series
of exclusive keynotes from
industry gurus

GOLD SPONSOR:

www.upstreamintel.com/flow-assurance