Ormen Lange Location West of Norway

Marine Pipelines - Hydraulics 3a

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Flowlines - Start-up and Operation

Gert van Spronsen - Pipelines

Shell Global Solutions International (SGSI) - Rijswijk
Email :
Tel :

Gert.vanSpronsen@shell.com
+31 70 447 3427

Subsea to beach gas & condensate

850 m water depth,

120 km to onshore plant at Nyhamna

Irregular topography, steep inclines

Sub-zero sea bed temp. 1.7 C

Recoverable reserves

400 billion sm3 dry gas

30 million m3 condensate

Export capacity 70 Msm3/d gas

- 2.5 Bscf/d

Export pipeline to UK 1200km

- Langeled - Worlds longest

20% of the UK supply at peak

Start-up September 2007

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Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

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Ormen
Lange Offshore. Initial Development
Ormen
Lange
Flow Assurance

Ormen Lange Subsea Layout

Onshore facilities

Slugcatchers (2x1500 m3)

Gas backflow and circulation

MEG regeneration facilities

Pipeline monitoring system

MEG injection control and monitoring system

Pigging loop

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Operations

In-line Tees

2x6 MEG injection lines

Redundancy
Subsea MEG distribution system

MEG dosage unit

Wet gas metering

Formation water detection

Manifolds with dual headers

Wells may be routed to either
of the two manifolds

Subsea chokes

Balance/control well production

Control slugcatcher pressure

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

2x30 multiphase production pipelines

Turndown and swing flexibility

Reduced slug volumes

Increased availability

HUBS for future

hot-tap tees

HUBS for future

hot-tap tees

30 PLET

20 spools
a
mn
B
ha
te
Ny
pla
ds tem
r
wa
o
m
T
fro
m
2k
12

MULTIPHASE PRODUCTION LINE

MEG LINE

UMBILICAL

Pigging loop

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

Wells:

Upto 24, Max. well production 10 MSm3/day (350 Mscf/d)

Templates:

2 x 8-slot templates (initial)

Production flowlines:

2 x 30, 120 km multiphase flowlines

Umbilical:

2 hydraulic-electrical umbilical

Slug catchers:

2 x 1500 m3 surge capacity

Ormen Lange Operations

1 slug catcher associated with each 30 flowline

MEG delivery lines:

Valving and instrumentation:

2 x 6, 120 km

6-position MEG Dosage Valve

Wet Gas Meter and MEG flow meter

Template branch valves allow fluid to Pipeline A or B

Several sets of temperature & pressure sensors

200-position production choke valve

Storegga
Slide
Uneven Seabed
Topography

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

4 cleaning pigs before dewatering train

2 km filtered & treated sea water
5 pigs in dewatering train

Remove water from the flowlines

Remove seawater salts
Remove solid corrosion products

Bi-directional cleaning pigs

100 m3 freshwater pig 1-2

3 x 50 m3 MEG pigs 2-3-4-5

Challenges:
MEG

Water discharge at Nyhamna

Fine black solids returned

into 2 x 30 lines  hydrate inhibition

flowline A 1,500 m3 MEG from onshore

flowline B 2,500 m3 MEG via well injection

Commissioning

Sleipner gas 15 Msm3/d (High velocity recirculation)

MEG return time onshore

- 32 hours (expectation)

MEG volume injected

- 7000 m3 (expectation)

Gas

MEG hold up & distribution depend on gas

recirculation rate & sequence.

Sleipner gas was 3.4 Msm3/d less than reported

Gas compression trips  unstable gas rate

Liquids flow back down inclined sections when

gas recirculation tripped  delays in first gas

Lower density of dry Sleipner gas

recirculation planned at 14.4 Msm3/d.

Sleipner gas lighter  actual rate only 11 Msm3/d
14

100

Start Gas Recirculation:

8 September 2007 20:00

MEG Arrival time:

12 September 2007 13:00

First Gas:
13 September 2007 11:00
90

MEG

injection continued at 850 m3/d

Start

up experience:

MEG to return onshore

- 89 hours

MEG in the flowlines

- 8100 m3

12
80
10

70
8

60
6

50

40

0
8-sep-07

Dewatering pigs from B flowline

7

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

procedure:

Gas Recirculation Rate Msm3/d

Sleipner gas (via Langeled) to drive pig train

Pigs:
- into A-line  subsea loop  out of B-line
Non-stop pigging at ~ 0.8 m/s
4 cleaning pigs & 5 dewatering pigs
Pigging achieved:

Pre Start-up MEG Injection & Distribution

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Operations

Pre Start-up Dewatering & Gas Filling

9-sep-07

10-sep-07

11-sep-07

12-sep-07

13-sep-07

14-sep-07

15-sep-07

30
16-sep-07

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

MEG Level in Slug Catcher B

Ormen Lange Operations

Wells & Subsea Data

MEG Injection & Distribution Key Findings

highly sensitive to recirculation gas rate

strongly effected by onshore compressor trips

MEG inventory tracking is essential

8100 m3 of MEG in the pipelines

Only 2.5 days MEG onshore at current injection rates

MEG volumes onshore to cater for uncertainty in pipeline hold-up

MEG properties for pure MEG or 90% MEG has a significant

impact on simulations results

13 Sept 2007 at 11:00  start up of well A2

Wells A3 & A7 started up on the 14 Sept 2007

Liquid hold-up managed by Gas recirculation rate (kept above 23 Msm3/d)

Gas recirculation was stopped on 25 November 2007

Production rate reached 27 Msm3/d

35

30

Stop Gas Recirculation:

25/11/07

First Gas
13/9/07
11:00Export G as R ate
T otal W ell Production

25

Gas rate (Mln Sm3/d)

MEG hold up & distribution time

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange First Gas

20

15

10

0
5-sep

15-sep

25-sep

5-okt

15-okt

25-okt

4-nov

14-nov

24-nov

4-des

10

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

First Gas & Change in Liquid Hold-up

Current Steady State Operation

Pressure Drop v Gas Rate in 30" Flowlines
100

MEG hold-up reduces quickly once gas production starts

Discrepancy field data &

modelling

Model predicted MEG return

earlier than experienced in the field
2000 m3 MEG return predicted by
model before actual MEG return

Model adjustment

9000

First Gas
13/9/07 11:00

8000

Estimated Field
Data (corrected)

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

Olga
Simulation

1000

Simulation adjusted by 2000 m3 to

allow comparison of predicted
times and volumes

0
Sep-12

Sep-19

Sep-26

Oct-03

Oct-10

Oct-17

Oct-24

Oct-31

80

Flowline Pressure Drop (bar)

10000

90

Pressure Drop:
Ormen Lange Operations

MEG Liquid Inventory in Flowlines after Start-up (m3)

Flow Line A+B MEG Inventory

Ormen Lange Operations

70

60

50

40

30

Steady State Pressure Drop in Flowline A

SC Pressure 100

10

Steady State Pressure Drop in Flowline B

0

Liquid hold-up:

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Gas Flow Rate (MSm3/d)

Flow Assurance System (FAS)

Online, real time simulation of liquid hold-up condition in flowlines

Calculates hold-up of 2600 m3 at 27 Msm3/d gas, of this 1000 m3 is aqueous phase

Modelling predicted 1900 m3 total liquid hold-up for 27 Msm3/d gas

Higher actual hold-up aligns with higher pressure drop seen in the field

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Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

SC Pressure 90

20

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Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

Successes & Lessons Learnt

Conclusions
A significant achievement for the project team and operations

What went well:

Robust system design is key for successful start up and managing FA risks:

Dual production flowlines with pigging loop

Capacity for gas recirculation & redundancy in MEG injection system

Ormen Lange Operations

Ormen Lange Operations

On-site engineering support and use of modelling tools:

Flow Assurance, Subsea and Process Engineers working onsite throughout start-up

Multi-phase modelling capability on site to predict operating conditions

Lessons Learnt:

Onshore plant trips impact on subsea commissioning and start-up

Need for float in commissioning schedules

When relying on liquid returns from large multiphase system

Consider impact of unstable operating conditions!

Sensitivity of multi-phase calculations to fluid physical properties

Pure MEG vs. 90% MEG (high concentration, high P, low T)

Large impact on hold up predictions

Overall performance of Ormen Lange subsea systems and flowlines is excellent

System started up on time and without incident

No hydrate or liquid handling related problems

Versatile system design allows flexibility during start-up and operations

Adequate site team to monitor & advise on flowline ops contributed to success

Continuous multi-phase modelling to reflect the real operational conditions

allowed better decisions

Need for float in commissioning schedules when relying on liquid returns from
large multiphase subsea systems

Acknowledgements:

Norske Shell, Ormen Lange Operator & StatoilHydro, Project Team

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Ormen Lange Operations

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

Ormen Lange Operations

Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

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Shell Multiphase Flow Experience

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Shell Multiphase Flow Experience