Deep water developments in the Gulf of Mexico have increased the complexity of flow assurance issues due to colder environments, higher pressures, longer well offsets, and increased difficulty of problem remediation. Controlling heat losses is usually the best choice for preventing hydrate formation and paraffin deposition but is often expensive. The commercial and technical trade-offs of various methods for controlling heat losses have to be considered. Heat losses can be controlled by burying non-insulated pipe, using insulated flowlines or heated flowlines. The manufacturing and installation costs of flowline types have to be considered and compared to the cost of chemical injection systems and remediation methods. In addition to capital expenses, operating costs have to be compared for the various options. Changes in production rates during the life of the project have to be considered. System operability related to start-up and shutdown scenarios also have to be included in the design. This paper presents cost and performance comparisons of the flowline options, analyzes the merits of each type and discusses the technical trade-offs and flow assurance risks. These design issues are discussed based on several factors including fluid type, operating pressure, offset distance, and reservoir size. Performance comparisons of various flowline types are based on computer simulation. Ambient temperatures, water depths, pressures, and fluid types are typical of deep water Gulf of Mexico fields.
Economic consideration for flowline heat loss control
2000
10 Seiten, 6 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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