Flow Assurance of Deepwater Oil and Gas Production: A Review

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Su
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Flow Assurance ◽  
Wax Deposition ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Flow Regime Transition ◽  
Drop Flow ◽  
Physical Phenomena

Flow assurance is essential for economic and reliable production of oil and gas in deep water environment. The present paper discusses the complex physical phenomena involved in deep water production and the challenging engineering problems of flow assurance; and reviews recent works to understand the processes and tackle the problems. The following topics are discussed: flow regime transition, pressure drop, flow pattern, slug flow and severe slugging, transient multiphase flow, thermal insulation, insulation materials, active heating and wax deposition.

HYDRATES—A CHALLENGE IN FLOW ASSURANCE FOR OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION IN DEEP AND ULTRA-DEEP WATER

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
R. Freij-Ayoub ◽  
M. Rivero ◽  
E. Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Stability Domain ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Flow Assurance ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Main Technique ◽  
Pipe Line ◽  
Formation Of Hydrates

Offshore exploration and production is going to deep and ultra deep waters, driven by the depletion of continental shelf reserves and the high demand for hydrocarbons. This move requires the continued extension of existing technologies and the development of new technologies that will make the investment economically viable. Innovative flow assurance technology is needed to support ultra deepwater production, particularly within the concept of platform free fields where there is a need to minimise interventions.Hydrates present one of the major challenges in flow assurance. Deep and ultra deep water operations together with long tiebacks present the ideal conditions for the formation of hydrates which can result in pipeline blockage and serious operational and safety concerns. Methods to combat hydrates range between control and management. One main technique has been to produce the hydrocarbons outside of the thermodynamic stability domain of hydrates. This is achieved by keeping the temperature of the hydrocarbon above the stability temperature of hydrates by insulating the pipe line, or by introducing heat to the hydrocarbon. Another efficient way of combating hydrates has been to shift the hydrate phase boundary to lower temperatures by using chemicals like methanol and mono ethylene glycol (MEO) which are known as thermodynamic inhibitors. Within the last decade a new generation of hydrate inhibitors called low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHI) has been introduced. One type of these LDHI are kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHI) that, when used in small concentrations, slow down hydrate growth by increasing the induction time for their formation and preventing the start of the rapid growth stage. Another approach to managing hydrates has been to allow them to form in a controlled manner and transport the hydrate-hydrocarbon slurry in the production pipe. In this paper we describe the various approaches used to combat hydrates to ensure flow assurance and we discuss the cons and pros of every approach and the technology gaps.

On the Feasibility of Using Underwater Acoustic Data Transmission for Subsea Equipment Monitoring

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bessie A. Ribeiro ◽  
Viviane Rodrigues ◽  
Viviane Ferreira ◽  
Fabio C. Xavier ◽  
Theodoro A. Netto
Keyword(s):  
Data Transmission ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Transmission Loss ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Acoustic Propagation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Propagation Channel ◽  
Oil And Gas Production

The present work uses the BELLHOP ray tracing model to simulate an acoustic propagation channel in a deep water environment in order to analyze its viability to provide data transmission for monitoring submarine equipment. The simulated scenario is located in the Campos Basin, Rio de Janeiro, on the Brazilian coast, responsible for more than 80% of Brazilian oil and gas production. Temperature and salinity data from five stations were used to calculate the sound speed profiles required to the transmission loss simulations of the acoustic propagation channel. In order to estimate the signal detection capacity according to the medium characteristics, a characterization of the parameters that influence the physical propagation channel was performed. The parameters of three modem models with different operation frequencies were selected and analyzed in order to obtain the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the transmission signal.

Establishing Operational Fatigue Limits for Short-Term Riser Operations

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shankar Sundararaman ◽  
Mark Cerkovnik ◽  
Luiza Ferreira ◽  
Phil Ward
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Fatigue Analysis ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Environmental Event ◽  
Internal Fluid ◽  
Operating Limits ◽  
Time Required

Drilling and intervention risers are widely used for oil and gas production in deep as well as shallow waters in oil fields around the world for subsea operations. The risers come in a diverse array of configurations, some of which may be challenged by fatigue if operated in high currents or seastates. The suitability of the selected riser and the operating limits are assessed by conducting strength and fatigue analysis based on design codes such as API RP 2RD, [7], API RP 16Q, [9], and API RP 17G, [10]. Typically, drilling and intervention activities are conducted for short periods of time but used repetitively. The codes are clear about the return period of the design environmental event which must be checked to insure safe operation with respect to strength; however, assessment of fatigue integrity can be more difficult to determine. The allowable fatigue operating environment should account for the ability to disengage, the time required to disengage, the damage rates in particular seastates, prior accumulation of fatigue damage, and variations in soil, tension and internal fluid weights. In this paper, an orderly method of establishing the allowable fatigue operation limits for drilling and intervention risers is presented based on Monte Carlo simulations along with a case study implementing the methodology in a shallow water environment. To illustrate this concept, a riser with wellhead and conductor system is assessed and is subjected to directional loading from several long-term seastates. The variation in effects is studied by doing fatigue analysis for different durations: 3 days, 1 week, 3 months, 1 year and 10,000 hours.

scholarly journals Prediction of the wellhead uplift caused by HT–HP oil and gas production in deep-water wells

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 740-749
Author(s):  
Shuangjin Zheng ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Chenguang Cao ◽  
Chao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Water Wells

NOVEL PRODUCTION CONCEPTS FOR DEEP WATER AND ASSOCIATED HYDRODYNAMIC PROBLEMS

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 855
Author(s):  
K.P. Thiagarajan
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Cylindrical Structures ◽  
Campos Basin ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Motion Characteristics ◽  
Offshore Oil

Offshore oil and gas production is now reaching to great depths, in excess of 1000 m, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. It will not be long before Australian companies look towards probable reserves in deeper waters that still remain within the Australian exclusive economic zone. Production concepts for deep and ultra deep water thus need to be studied and researched, and a constant watch should be maintained on developments around the world in this area.This paper presents two popular, and constantly evolving, concepts for deep water, namely: tension leg platforms (TLP) and spars. Tension leg platforms have been in existence for about 14 years, and are actively sought for deep water by worldwide operating companies. They are vertically moored by means of taut tethers which present interesting motion characteristics and unique hydrodynamic problems. Spar platforms are currently being installed for production purposes. These are large deep draft cylindrical structures moored by catenary or taut spread mooring systems. Physical details, advantages and limitations of both systems are discussed.While many aspects of these production systems are now understood, there are still several unknowns. Deeper waters translate to newer problems. Potential problems of the future are discussed in this paper, and research needs are highlighted.

World’s First Carbon Sequestration Project in Salt Caverns Built Offshore in Ultra Deep Water in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Vassalo Maia da Costa ◽  
Alvaro Maia da Costa ◽  
Julio Romano Meneghini ◽  
Kazuo Nishimoto ◽  
Gustavo Assi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Thick Layer ◽  
Gas Storage ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Salt Rock ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Well Design ◽  
High Level

Abstract In 2006, giant oilfields were discovered in Brazil in a water depth of ∼ 2200 m and under a caprock of 2000 m of continues salt rock overlaying the reservoirs, called pre-salt. Currently more than a half of the Brazilian oil and gas production comes from these reservoirs. However, some of these assets have big Oil & Gas ratio with a high level of CO2 contamination, which are currently being reinjected in the reservoirs. This procedure gradually increases the CO2 content associated with the oil extracted, reducing well productivity and leading to high costs of CO2 and CH4 separation by the membrane technology. The Research Center for Gas Innovation (RCGI) located at the State University of São Paulo in Brasil, sponsored by Shell Brazil, is developing a technology that uses the thick layer of salt rock overlying the pre-salt reservoirs to build caverns where the contaminated gas will be injected and decontaminated. After 2 years of extensive research, several studies have been carried out to analyze the main critical aspects of the technology in order to evaluate its feasibility, and now it has been decided to advance to the field proof stage. The salt dome studied can accommodate the construction of 15 caverns, thus providing the confinement of approximately 108 million tons of CO2. Before the system be construct in full scale, it was decided to initially build an experimental cavern with smaller size to obtain field parameters of the final design of the caverns. This paper describes this development denominated Offshore Salt Cavern Ultra-deep Water CCS System, that aims to perform the natural gas storage, a natural gravitational separation between CO2 / CH4 inside the caverns, and the confinement of CO2 (CCS). It presents important results related to structural integrity analysis of the giant and experimental caverns, well design using the same methodology applied in more than 200 projects of the pre-salt oil wells, instrumentation plan of the experimental cavern, storage capacities and other relevant data. If the economics proves feasible, this offshore gas storage station will be the first of its kind and possibly the biggest CCS Project in the world.

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