OTC 14118

Flow Assurance Begins with Downhole Insulation

Glenn Lively/Tenmar, Inc.

Copyright 2002, Offshore Technology Conference

higher wellhead temperatures and faster, more efficient warm-
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2002 Offshore Technology Conference held in up after shut down. One effective method to reduce heat loss
Houston, Texas U.S.A., 6–9 May 2002.
is Thin-Film (TF) insulation on the production tubing/casing
This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Committee following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
or in combination with an insulating packer fluid.
presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction, Flow assurance is an issue for mature fields as well as for
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written
consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print
deepwater developments. In many cases, as the flow rates
is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The decline flow assurance issues develop in the form of wax and
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
presented. paraffin deposition in oil wells and hydrates in gas wells.
Even in relatively shallow offshore developments in less than
1000’ water depth, the seafloor temperature can be as low as
Abstract
Thin-Film (TF) insulation combined with an insulating packer 50°F. The cold water combined with a low flowing wellhead
fluid is an effective and proven method for insulating temperature (FWHT) is a tough combination to overcome,
downhole production tubing and casing in order to preserve especially when field economics do not support extensive
reservoir heat and to enhance startup conditions. Modeling capital investment. Some wells have paraffin cloud points and
indicates that this system can increase FWHT by as much as hydrate formation at temperatures approaching the FWHT. In
artificial lift wells where high pressure gas is injected through
25°F-30°F as flow rates decline. Combining these
a gas lift valve, the venturi cooling effect on the production is
technologies enables heat losses at couplings, valves, gauges
significant thus impacting FWHT. In satellite wells where the
and other components without insulation to be controlled. An
produced fluid must flow to a host platform several miles
aqueous based packer fluid inhibits the formation of
away, the cold water often causes flow assurance problems in
convection currents that commonly occur in standard brine
the flowline. In onshore fields where the winter temperatures
completion fluids, resulting in an overall heat transfer
fall below freezing the same problems encountered in offshore
coefficient that is more than 10 times lower than standard
wells can exist. In all of these instances higher FWHT would
completion fluids. These technologies are cost effective,
help to counter the effects of the cold environment. TF
readily available and provide numerous advantages over
insulation is a cost effective and versatile tool that is available
traditional completion systems.
to the project engineer for increasing FWHT. In many of
these applications the high cost and long lead time for delivery
Until the last few years the only option for downhole
of VIT eliminates that as an option. Severe applications
insulation has been vacuum insulated tubing (VIT); however
would be ideal candidates for the combination of TF insulation
many applications cannot support the economics of VIT nor
and an insulating packer fluid.
do they require the low thermal conductivity that
VIT provides.
Some downhole applications do not need the level of
insulation that VIT provides but would benefit from having an
Any one of these technologies can be used alone or in
effective level of thermal insulation. TF insulation and
combination with another depending on the application. In
insulating packer fluid provides significant thermal benefits at
some applications all three may be required to accomplish
much lower cost than VIT.
the objective.
This paper discusses Thin-Film insulation as a method to
prevent downhole heat loss. Laboratory results for thermal
Introduction
conductivity testing and material properties are presented. An
Downhole insulation allows the project engineer to begin the
insulating packer fluid is described. These technologies are
flow assurance solution at the perforations rather than at the
discussed as individual methods to control heat loss and then
wellhead. Insulating production tubing and casing will
as a combined method for controlling heat loss.
improve heat retention in the production stream thus providing
2 G. LIVELY
Insulation History
Managing heat loss has been a concern for the petroleum
industry since the 1960’s when enhanced oil recovery through
steam injection was developing. Much work has been done to
investigate the effectiveness of insulated production tubing
along with insulating fluids and gases in the tubing/casing
annulus (Ref. 1-5). Insulated tubing was proven to be an
effective method for retaining heat even though the total heat
loss at the uninsulated couplings, packers, valves and gauges
was significant.
One method used for downhole insulation has been
vacuum insulated tubing (VIT). VIT uses a pipe-in-pipe
technology where the annulus between the pipes is evacuated
to vacuum conditions. The coupling area is not vacuum
insulated and has proven to be a major source of heat loss (Ref.
1-8). Other factors to consider regarding VIT is high cost and
lengthy delivery schedules. The pipe-in-pipe design has a
larger OD than standard tubing thus requiring larger casing,
which further increases well cost, or limits the choice to a
smaller production string, which restricts flowrates and limits
use of downhole tools.
The effect of thin multiple layers on heat flow has been
studied since the 1950’s. Thin layers of insulation have been
used extensively in industries other than the petroleum
industry, such as in the fields of aerospace and cryogenics.
Much research has focused on measuring and understanding
the thermal conductivity of thin material and understanding
the thermal resistance encountered at the junction between
layers. Khan et al (Ref. 14) identified three distinct thermal
resistances in the heat flow path: 1-the parent metal to oxide
layer interface, 2-the oxide layer resistance, 3-oxide layer to
foreign material interface resistance. Extensive research
indicates that multiple layers have lower thermal conductivity
than a much thicker single layer of the same material. The
thermal effect of multiple layers of plastics have also been
studied for process industries and found to have similar
contact resistances between each layer of plastic as do metals
and other laminated materials (Ref. 25).
Thin-Film Insulation
As discussed above, TF insulation has been in use since the
1950’s in the aerospace and cryogenic industries (Ref. 10-20).
The same characteristics that allow TF insulation to perform in
those industries can also be applied to the petroleum industry.
In order for downhole insulation to be effective in the harsh
environment associated with producing conditions it needs to
have material properties not normally associated with
traditional insulation coatings. It needs to be tough, durable
and have a high temperature rating, yet withstand exposure to
produced fluids, gases and production chemicals. It needs
properties similar to the performance properties of the internal
coatings that have been used in tubing and drill pipe for many
years. TF insulation is designed to meet those
tough requirements.
OTC 14118
TF insulation is a liquid epoxy coating that has been
modified to provide resistance to heat flow. It is normally
applied in layers that range from a thickness of 0.010” to
0.020” per layer with no limit on the number of layers that can
be used. It may be used on either the ID or the OD of pipe.
TF insulation adds less than 0.25” to the OD, enabling the
design engineer to use larger production tubing without
increasing casing size. Additional benefits realized by using
internal coating are corrosion protection and flow efficiency.
The overall thermal resistance values are increased when both
the ID and the OD are insulated.
In order to minimize handling damage to the OD of
coated pipe and to enhance thermal insulation values, the TF
insulation coating may be combined with a woven fabric.
Woven materials such as fiberglass and Ryton will add
strength and toughness to the coating system. This method
enables normal handling equipment to be used
during installation.
Some of the advantages of TF insulation over traditional
downhole insulating products are much lower cost, versatility,
smaller OD, excellent availability, and when used on the ID
corrosion protection and flow efficiency are realized. TF
insulation can be applied to couplings, valves, gauges, and
other components in the completion string that are not
normally insulated, thus addressing the historical problem of
heat loss at these components.
Thermal Conductivity Testing for TF Insulation
Measuring the thermal conductivity of thin-film materials is
more difficult that measuring that value for thick materials.
This problem has been well documented in the literature with
various techniques used. In many cases modifying traditional
testing methods was judged the most effective method for this
type evaluation (Ref. 11-15).
Traditional measurement techniques, such as the guarded
hot plate method, traditionally used to determine the thermal
conductivity of bulk insulation material normally require a test
specimen with a minimum thickness of 0.5”, which is much
thicker than TF insulation. A modified test method using the
traditional guarded hot plate test apparatus was used to
determine the effective thermal conductivity for various TF
insulation samples. After obtaining the thermal conductivity
of coated and uncoated test plates the effective thermal
conductivity for the TF insulation is determined by solving the
heat flow equation.
The tests were conducted using a 0.5” thick aluminum
plate that was coated with TF insulation. The thermal
conductivity of both the uncoated test plates and the coated
test plates was determined by using the Anacon Model 88
Thermal Conductivity Analyzer, which uses a guarded hot
plate method with one heat flow transducer. This unit
conforms to the allowed variations in both ASTM C177 and
OTC 14118 FLOW ASSURANCE BEGINS WITH DOWNHOLE INSULATION
C518. Because the thermal conductivity of aluminum exceeds
the range of the machine, a sheet of 0.125” thick corkboard
was inserted between the top of the sample and the
heating element.
The effective thermal conductivity of the TF insulation
was determined by solving the heat flow equation. First, recall
that simple one dimensional heat flow along the x dimension
of the plane can be expressed by:
qheat flow = kA∆T or q = ∆T (1)
ℓ R
Therefore, R = ℓ (2)
kA
k conductivity
A area
∆T temperature difference
ℓ thickness
Recall that thermal resistances are additive such that
Rtotal = R1 + R2+……Rn (3)
Substituting equation 2 in equation 3:
(ℓ/kA) coated plate = (ℓ/kA) uncoated plate + (ℓ/kA) coating (4)
Since area is constant in the experiment we now have:
(ℓ/k) coated plate = (ℓ/k) uncoated plate + (ℓ/k) coating
Then solve for kc:
kc = _____ _ℓc _________ (5)
(ℓcp / kcp – ℓup / kup)
Where,
ℓc is the thickness of the coating on each sample
kc is the thermal conductivity of TF coating at the tested
thickness
ℓcp is the thickness of coated plate including the thickness of
the coating
kcp is the thermal conductivity of coated aluminum plate
system as determined by the Anacon Model 88
ℓup is the thickness of the uncoated aluminum sample plate
system
kup is the thermal conductivity of the uncoated aluminum
sample plate system as determined by the Anacon Model 88.
Table 1 shows the results of the various thermal
conductivity tests for TF insulation. These results demonstrate
that multiple layers improve the effective thermal conductivity
of TF insulation coating due to the resistance encountered at
the junction of each layer to the adjoining layer. Note that the
6-layer sample had a thickness that was roughly 30% less than
the 2-layer sample yet achieved a lower thermal conductivity.
3
Table 1—Thermal Conductivity Tests on Coated
and Uncoated Aluminum Plates
Sample Coating Thermal
Thickness Conductivity
Uncoated Aluminum Plate 0.000” .123
& Corkboard
One-layer TF insulation 1.000” .063
Two-layer TF insulation 0.080” .045
Six-layer TF insulation 0.058” .037
Reinforced TF insulation 0.120” .038
Epoxy coating 1.000” .100
• conductivity units in BTU/Hr-Ft-°F
Insulating Packer Fluid
An insulating packer fluid in the casing/tubing annulus is
designed to perform the duty of a normal completion fluid
while contributing important thermal resistance to the heat
flow system. Insulating packer fluids are aqueous- based gels
and are environmentally friendly. One of the features of an
insulating packer fluid is its resistance to formation of
convection cells. Convection in annular fluids has been
recognized as a source of heat loss and identified in the
literature (Ref. 2,3,4,5). Convection can add to the heat loss by
a factor of 10-20 times that of conduction (Ref. 1-5). The
overall heat transfer coefficient for insulating packer fluids are
3.5 BTU/Hr-Ft2-°F as compared to standard completion brines
which have a value of 44.8 BTU/Hr-Ft2-°F (Ref. 10).
A gas filled annulus is subject to convection when placed
under pressure and temperature resulting in a substantial
reduction in its ability to impede heat loss.
An insulating packer fluid eliminates the concern about
heat loss from convection and it helps to provide heat
resistance in areas of the wellbore that are not insulated by
other means.
Computer Model
Several computer simulation flow models were run using
generic well data in order to determine the theoretical effect
on flowing wellhead temperature when TF insulation is used
and then when TF insulation and an insulating packer fluid are
combined. The results were compared to a completion that
used uninsulated tubing and standard completion brine.
The oil case was run using flowrates ranging from 5000
BPD down to 500 BPD. As expected the greatest
improvement for FWHT is at lower rates. The improvement
at 5000 BPD was on the order of 12-15°F whereas at 500 BPD
the improvement was 25-30°F. (Fig. 2)
The gas cases were run using flow rates of 15, 12.5 and
10.0 MMCFD. The results were similar to the oil case where
at the higher rate the impact on FWHT was 8-10°F but as the
rate declined the impact was 16-20°F. It is anticipated at gas
rates of less than 5 MMCFD the impact would be more
dramatic. (Fig. 1)
4 G. LIVELY OTC 14118

Other Potential Applications insulation to lower development costs while providing an

While TF insulation is very effective for downhole effective insulation system.
applications it is versatile enough to use in other areas such as
flowlines and production risers. Table 2 - Material Properties for TF Insulation
Test Method Results Testing
In small offshore field developments where thermal Facility
Elongation at ASTM-D638 12% ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc
insulation is required on the flowline but the type of pipe-in- Break

pipe system that is typically used in larger deepwater Density ASTM-D792-A 1.04 gr/c³ ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.

developments does not fit project economics, TF insulation Adhesion to steel ASTM-D4541 >3300 psi ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.

offers an attractive alternate. Uniaxial ASTM-D1621 >4500 psi ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.
Compression

Impact Resistance ASTM-D2794 >140 psi ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.

For developments where flowline issues and cost control Cathodic NACE RP0394 Avg. 4.8mm ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.
Disbondment
are important, the combination of TF insulation with a
Thermal ISO-8302 0.063BTU/Hr-Ft-°F Danish Tech. Institute
traditional insulation product can be a solution. For instance, Conductivity

0.125” of TF insulation and 1” of syntactic material can Salt Fog ASTM B-117 5000 hrs./no failure The Coatings Lab

provide the same insulation value as 2” of syntactic material, Hot Water Soak CSA 245 .20-98 Excellent/28 days/95°C Bredero-Shaw

reducing the overall dimension of the flowline at significantly Cathodic CSA 245.20-98 28days @ 95°C/3.69mm Bredero-Shaw
Disbondment
less cost. Handling and installation offshore are less
Flexibility NACE 0394-94K 6.76% @ 0.014” ITI Anti-Corrosion, Inc.
complicated due to the weight reduction and smaller OD,
Autoclave NACE TMO 185 No blistering w/ 25% CO2 Partech
further decreasing field development cost. A reduced OD can
Reel Test 30 Cycles/72”reel No cracks Quality Tubing, Inc.
make reeling flowlines possible where traditionally it was not
Surface RMS 35± µin Anderson & Assoc.
an option. Smoothness

Since TF insulation has excellent corrosion protection

characteristics as well as a lower thermal conductivity than
Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE), TF insulation can be used
instead of FBE for corrosion protection on flowlines, while
also providing thermal insulation. Using TF insulation in that
Table 3 - Fluid Conductivity
role eliminates the cost of the FBE and improves overall
thermal performance of the insulation system.
Fluid k, thermal conductivity
BTU/Hr-Ft-°F
Operators using production risers with threaded
Base Brine 0.36
connections to join the pipe together can benefit from using
Insulating Fluid 0.16-0.28
TF insulation on the OD, enabling the pipe to be installed in
Viscosified Oil 0.09
much the way casing is installed. TF insulation is tough and
durable enough to handle make-up with minimal damage to
the coating. Installing a production riser with such a system in
place would be fast and easy.

Conclusion
Table 4 - Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient for
The impact of downhole insulation on FWHT is dramatic, thus
Insulating Packer Fluid
helping significantly with flow assurance issues. Flow
assurance problems exist in mature fields as well as in
Fluid OHTC
deepwater developments. A very effective alternate method to
VIT for heat retention and to improve FWHT is a combination BTU/Hr/Ft2°F
of TF insulation and insulating packer fluids. TF insulation Base Brine 44.8
and insulating packer fluids are readily available and cost Partial Base 25.0
effective. TF insulation is versatile and should be used in Insul.Pack. Fl. 3.5
applications where thermal insulation is required but where
project economics limit the design engineer’s choice of
materials and systems.

The versatility of thin-film insulation allows its use in a

number of areas other than downhole applications. In severe
applications TF insulation can be combined with traditional
OTC 14118 FLOW ASSURANCE BEGINS WITH DOWNHOLE INSULATION 5

Fig.1

Impact on FWHT with Downhole Insulation

Gas Case

150

145
Temperature (F)

Coating & InsulGel

140
Coating only
135 No Insulation

130 4.5"OD x 3.5" ID

7.50" Csg. ID
125
9800' perfs.
120 205F BHT

15.0 12.5 10.0

Gas Rate-MMCF/D

Fig. 2

Impact on FWHT with Downhole Insulation

180

160
Temperature (F)

140
No insulation
120 Coating only
Coating and InsulGel

100

80

60
5000 3000 2000 1000 500
Oil Rate--BPD
6 G. LIVELY OTC 14118

Nomenclature 14. Jocob, S., Kasthurirengan, S., Karunanithi, R., “Investigations

°C = Degree(s) Celsius into the Thermal Performance of Multilayer Insulation” (300-
BPD = Barrels per day 77K) Part1: Calorimetric Studies, Cryogenics, Vol 32, No.
12, 1992, pp 1137-1146.
BTU = British thermal unit
15. Shu, Q.S., Fast, R.W., Hart, H.L., “An Experimental Study of
°F = Degree(s) Fahrenheit Heat Transfer in Multilayer Insulation Systems from Room
Hr = Hour Temperature to 77K”, Advances in Cryogenic Engineering,
Ft = Foot Vol. 31, 1986, pp 455-463.
ID = Inside diameter 16. Babcock & Wilcox, Steam: Its Generation and Uses, 40th
MMCF/D = Million cubic feet per day Edition, Chapter 4.
OD = Outside diameter 17. Hudso, Dykhno, Lorimer, Schoppa, Wilkens, “Flow Assurance
Psi = Pounds per square inch for Subsea Wells”, OTC Paper 11968 presented at the 2000
OTC Conference in Houston, TX, May 1-4.
18. Kreith, F., Principals of Heat Transfer, Second Edition,
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