Schlumberger PIPESIM Flow Assurance Ensure fluid flow to maintain production from pore to process ‘THE PIPESIM APPLICATION ENABLES YOU TO " identify and preci the occurrence of flow assurance issues and develop nitigation strategies * use industry-standard mutiphase flow correlations and advanced heat transfor median arcuratnly medal fi flow * uso a wide variety of black-oil and ‘compositional fd 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 flowiines overtime * determine lquid-handing capacitios at the processing facility by modeling slug flow and pigging operations, Asphaltene Inorganic scale Popelneersin depositor of asphahones, hydrates, and wax. Some ofthe mast severe production-operation hazards ate risks associated with the transportation offluds, When oil, water, nd gas simutaneously fow in a well or pipeline, a numberof potetial problems can arise, These problems can be related to flow instability, erosion, corrosion, and solids formation, and can load to serious risk of blockages. How te design wells and piplines to ensure thst produced fluids willbe safely and economical ‘vansported tothe downstream processing facilities is a major challenge for enginoers. ‘An accurate description of uid properties is ctcal t correcty model the production system. PIPESIM software ofes the choice between industry-sandard black-ol correlations ora range of equation-f-state compositional models. Multiphase lw models supported by PIPESIM software ilu the Taleo OLGA-S and TUFFP unified mechenistic models. Heat transfer models supported bythe PIPESIM application include a fw regime-dependent inside fim cooticiont model and an ‘nalytical heat ransfermodel for convection in buried and perialy buried pipes thathas been shown to match complex finite-element numerical methods to within 2% eccuracy.PIPESIM Flow Assurance PIPESIM sofware offers the industy’s mast comprehensive steady-state flow assurance workfiaws, both for front-end system design and produc- tion operations. Specific flow assurance modeling capabilities include "= erosion prediction for sand-laden fluids * C0; induced corrosion prediction ‘emulsions handling = hydrate prediction including mitigation with inhibitors * slug characteristics and pigging operations = wax and asphaltenes predietion * time-dependent wax deposition * liquid loading prediction * detalled heat transfer modeling Corrosion and erosion Understanding corrosion fundamentals is essential to design sound strategies that will effectively control corrosion. Corrosion accurs because an aqueous phase is almast ahvays presentin oil and gas fluids. Corrsivity depends on the concentration of CO, temperature, Buea pressure, low regime, and flow rate Corosion can resin the loss of milins of dollars pipeline is nat protacted. PIPESIM software identifies locations prone to corrosion and specifically predicts CO, corrasion rates. The de Weard corrosion model calculates ‘ corrosion rate caused by the presence of CO, dissolved in water. The concentration of CO, is obtained from fluid property definitions (biack-oil or compositional. Erosion also potentaly very damaging t ean occur in solds-freefuids butis exacerbated by entrained sods sand). The rate of sand production isthe main dotorminant of erosion rate. With PIPESIM software, enginoors ‘can model erosion to select proper equipment and materials, PIPESIM erosion-modeling methods include the API 14E and Salama ee ae ee (ote ene es eas a Sto) models. The erosional velocity limits calculated based on the prevailing Syma ig ate =) flow conditions and presented as a ratio with the fluid mean velocity, inwhich values of one or greater indicate the degree of risk Additionally, FIPESIM softwar que detormines tio maximum orosion and corosion rates the Salama model predicts the rate of material loss due to erosion for iferent production rates. fluids containing sand. Results along the low profile, branch maximum erosion rates, and velocity ratios are reported in an output file andi pots. Emulsions Emulsions resulting from oil and water midures can lead to processing problems and higher treatment costs. High liquid viscosities resutng from ‘emulsion formation can cause high pressure loses in wells and flowines. ‘Anumber of emulsion correlations are available within PIPESIM software, including Woelin, 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 Water and hydrocarbon fluids can form hydrates, which, ifleftuntreated, ‘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 i required ‘that may resuitin significant downtime. itis, therefore, very important ‘to design and operate an offshore pipeline system to effectively manage hydrate risks. PIPESIM software includes the following hydrate migration stratagies. ' Thermal insulation: The best way to mitigate the hydrate riskis ‘0 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 dasign, + Chemical inhibition: I flowline insulation isnot sufficient to maintain ‘temperatures above the formation pont, thermodynamic inhibitors such ‘2s methanol and MEG can be modeled to determine the necessary dosage rates to prevent hydrates. Hydrate curves can be caloulated by using the PIPESIM Multflash- Hydrate module and superimposed onthe phase envelope, These curves {are useful for subsee pipeline design and operations, providing the pres- sure and temperature conditions the system should maintain to avoid hydrate formation. Additionally the hydrate subcooling equipment is reported along the profile as wel as maximum subcooling value for each branch, Liquid slugging ‘lugging can cause major operational problems to downstream processing fcities. Slugging refers to varying or irregular flows and surges of gas and lquidin a pipeline. PIPESIM software models two types of slug fow. "Severe slugging: This can occur in a multiphase transport system ‘consisting f alg flawine followed by a riser. In PIPESIM software, ‘the ikahood of severe riser slugging is determined by the Pots correlation, which computes the ratio between the pressure buildup rates ofthe gas phase and that ofthe liquid phase in a lowiine ‘followed by a vertical riser. Values less than one indicate that severe riser siging is likely to occur. "= Hydrodynamic slugging: Slugs are formed by waves growing on ‘the liquid surface ofa height sufficient to completely fill a horizontal cor near-horizontal pipe. The repeating impacts of hydrodynamic slugging can cause pipeline fatigue. PIPESIM software calculates ‘te mean slug length as a function of distance traveled. A probabilistic ‘madelis then applied to determine a distribution of slug lengths and frequencies. The calculated sizeof slugs may be used to design liquid separators and slug eatchers. Phaze reo Plot Use rigorous equations of stato to create phaso envelopes to model and dagnase lw assurance issves—in this case fr hyat formation oy a & ‘Wax depos vemee creme Determine wax deposition rates along the How profs 28 2 function f tin,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 erude olis reduced, heavy solids like parafvwax (C18-60] may precipitate and deposit onthe pipe wal The decreased ID results ina higher pressure drop. In PIPESIM software, Mutitash is used to define the solids mode, including Coutinho, wich ropesents wax as a sold solution, and Mut solid KSA, which approximates waxing behavior by representing tha ‘wax as @ mixture of separate phases. ‘A proprietary wax deposition model developed by Schlumberger is availabe in PIPESIM software to predict wax deposition overtime. This method is integrated withthe dbrSOLIDS' fuid analysis software ‘to accurately prodict the thermodynamic properties ofthe wax based on laboratory experiments. ‘Schlumberger Information Solutions ‘Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS)is an operating uit of ‘Schlumberger that provides software, information management, IT, and rolated services. SIS collaborates closely with oil and gas companies to salve today's tough reservoir challenges with an open business ‘approach and comprehensive solution deployment. Through our tach- nologies and services, ol and gas companies empawer their people to improve business performance by reducing exploration and development riek and optimizing oporationaleficoncios. E-mail sisinfo@slb.com or contact your local Schlumberger ropresentative to leam more. wwwslb.com/pipesim