PIPESIM Flow Assurance

the pipesim application enables you to

Ensure fluid flow to maintain production from pore to process

identify and predict the occurrence of flow assurance issues and develop mitigation strategies use industry-standard multiphase flow correlations and advanced heat transfer models to accurately model fluid flow use a wide variety of black-oil and compositional fluid models to accurately characterize fluid behavior and predict the hydrate, wax, and asphaltene formation assess pipeline integrity by predicting rates of erosion and corrosion assess the operational risk from deposition of wax along flowlines over time determine liquid-handling capacities at the processing facility by modeling slug flow and pigging operations.
Asphaltene Wax

Inorganic scale
Pipeline erosion, deposition of asphaltenes, hydrates, and wax.

Hydrate

Some of the most severe production-operation hazards are risks associated with the transportation of fluids. When oil, water, and gas simultaneously flow in a well or pipeline, a number of potential problems can arise. These problems can be related to flow instability, erosion, corrosion, and solids formation, and can lead to serious risk of blockages. How to design wells and pipelines to ensure that produced fluids will be safely and economically transported to the downstream processing facilities is a major challenge for engineers. An accurate description of fluid properties is critical to correctly model the production system. PIPESIM* software offers the choice between industry-standard black-oil correlations or a range of equation-of-state compositional models. Multiphase flow models supported by PIPESIM software include the latest OLGA-S and TUFFP unified mechanistic models. Heat transfer models supported by the PIPESIM application include a flow regime-dependent inside film coefficient model and an analytical heat transfer model for convection in buried and partially buried pipes that has been shown to match complex finite-element numerical methods to within 2% accuracy.

PIPESIM Flow Assurance

PIPESIM software offers the industrys most comprehensive steady-state flow assurance workflows, both for front-end system design and production operations. Specific flow assurance modeling capabilities include

erosion prediction for sand-laden fluids CO2 induced corrosion prediction emulsions handling hydrate prediction including mitigation with inhibitors slug characteristics and pigging operations wax and asphaltenes prediction time-dependent wax deposition liquid loading prediction detailed heat transfer modeling.
Corrosion can result in the loss of millions of dollars if a pipeline is not protected.

Understanding corrosion fundamentals is essential to design sound strategies that will effectively control corrosion. Corrosion occurs because an aqueous phase is almost always present in oil and gas fluids. Corrosivity depends on the concentration of CO2, temperature, pressure, flow regime, and flow rate. PIPESIM software identifies locations prone to corrosion and specifically predicts CO2 corrosion rates. The de Waard corrosion model calculates a corrosion rate caused by the presence of CO2 dissolved in water. The concentration of CO2 is obtained from fluid property definitions (black-oil or compositional). Erosion is also potentially very damaging. It can occur in solids-free fluids but is exacerbated by entrained solids (sand). The rate of sand production is the main determinant of erosion rate. With PIPESIM software, engineers can model erosion to select proper equipment and materials. PIPESIM erosion-modeling methods include the API 14E and Salama models. The erosional velocity limit is calculated based on the prevailing flow conditions and presented as a ratio with the fluid mean velocity, in which values of one or greater indicate the degree of risk. Additionally, the Salama model predicts the rate of material loss due to erosion for fluids containing sand. Results along the flow profile, branch maximum erosion rates, and velocity ratios are reported in an output file and in plots.

corrosion and erosion

1.3 1.2 Erosion rate maximum (mm/year) 1.1 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 8,000 9,000 10,000

Erosion/Corrosion Analysis 1.12 Corrosion rate maximum (mm/year) 1.04 0.96 0.88 0.8 0.72 0.64 16,000

11,000

12,000

13,000

14,000

15,000

System Data-Liquid Rate (STB/d)

PIPESIM software quickly determines the maximum erosion and corrosion rates for different production rates.

emulsions

Emulsions resulting from oil and water mixtures can lead to processing problems and higher treatment costs. High liquid viscosities resulting from emulsion formation can cause high pressure losses in wells and flowlines. A number of emulsion correlations are available within PIPESIM software, including Woelfin, Brinkman, Vand, Richardson, and Leviton and Leighton. The inversion point that defines the continuous phase may be specified by the user or calculated using the Brauner-Ullman equation.

hydrates

Pressure (PSIA)

Water and hydrocarbon fluids can form hydrates, which, if left untreated, can cause blockages. The physical properties of hydrates are similar to those of ice, but hydrates can form at relatively high temperatures in high-pressure systems. Once a plug is formed, intervention is required that may result in significant downtime. It is, therefore, very important to design and operate an offshore pipeline system to effectively manage hydrate risks. PIPESIM software includes the following hydrate migration strategies.

4,800

Phase Envelope Plot

4,000

3,200

2,400

Thermal insulation: The best way to mitigate the hydrate risk is to maintain the fluid temperature inside the pipeline above the hydrate formation temperature. By considering detailed heat transfer mechanisms, the effects of insulation and pipeline burial can be investigated with PIPESIM for front-end design. Chemical inhibition: If flowline insulation is not sufficient to maintain temperatures above the formation point, thermodynamic inhibitors such as methanol and MEG can be modeled to determine the necessary dosage rates to prevent hydrates.

1,600

800

0 -160 -80
HYDROCARBON 0.00 HYDROCARBON 0.40 HYDRATE 2

80 Temperature (F)

160

240
HYDROCARBON 0.30 AQUEOUS

320

HYDROCARBON 0.10 HYDROCARBON 0.50 HYDRATE 1

HYDROCARBON 0.20 CRITICAL POINT ICE

Hydrate curves can be calculated by using the PIPESIM MultiflashHydrates module and superimposed on the phase envelope. These curves are useful for subsea pipeline design and operations, providing the pressure and temperature conditions the system should maintain to avoid hydrate formation. Additionally, the hydrate subcooling equipment is reported along the profile as well as maximum subcooling value for each branch.

Use rigorous equations of state to create phase envelopes to model and diagnose flow assurance issuesin this case, for hydrate formation.

Wax Deposition 0.28 0.24 Wax deposit thickness (inches) 0.2 0.16 0.12 0.08 0.04 0

liquid slugging

Slugging can cause major operational problems to downstream processing facilities. Slugging refers to varying or irregular flows and surges of gas and liquid in a pipeline. PIPESIM software models two types of slug flow.

Severe slugging: This can occur in a multiphase transport system consisting of a log flowline followed by a riser. In PIPESIM software, the likelihood of severe riser slugging is determined by the Pots correlation, which computes the ratio between the pressure buildup rates of the gas phase and that of the liquid phase in a flowline followed by a vertical riser. Values less than one indicate that severe riser slugging is likely to occur. Hydrodynamic slugging: Slugs are formed by waves growing on the liquid surface of a height sufficient to completely fill a horizontal or near-horizontal pipe. The repeating impacts of hydrodynamic slugging can cause pipeline fatigue. PIPESIM software calculates the mean slug length as a function of distance traveled. A probabilistic model is then applied to determine a distribution of slug lengths and frequencies. The calculated size of slugs may be used to design liquid separators and slug catchers.

0
TIME=0 Hr

2,000
TIME=12 Hr

4,000
TIME=24 Hr

6,000 Distance (ft)

TIME=36 Hr

8,000
TIME=48 Hr

10,000
TIME=60 Hr

12,000
TIME=72 Hr

Determine wax deposition rates along the flow profile as a function of time.

PIPESIM Flow Assurance

Wax and asphaltenes
Wax and asphaltene deposition problems can become so severe that they can completely block a pipeline and may cost millions of dollars to remediate. When the temperature of crude oil is reduced, heavy solids like paraffin/wax (C18C60) may precipitate and deposit on the pipe wall. The decreased ID results in a higher pressure drop. In PIPESIM software, Multiflash is used to define the solids model, including Coutinho, which represents wax as a solid solution, and Multisolid (RKSA), which approximates waxing behavior by representing the wax as a mixture of separate phases. A proprietary wax deposition model developed by Schlumberger is available in PIPESIM software to predict wax deposition over time. This method is integrated with the dbrSOLIDS* fluid analysis software to accurately predict the thermodynamic properties of the wax based on laboratory experiments.

schlumberger information solutions

Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS) is an operating unit of Schlumberger that provides software, information management, IT, and related services. SIS collaborates closely with oil and gas companies to solve todays tough reservoir challenges with an open business approach and comprehensive solution deployment. Through our technologies and services, oil and gas companies empower their people to improve business performance by reducing exploration and development risk and optimizing operational efficiencies.

e-mail sisinfo@slb.com or contact your local schlumberger representative to learn more.

www.slb.com/pipesim
*Mark of Schlumberger Other company, product, and service names are the properties of their respective owners. Copyright 2010 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 10-IS-0563