Statoil slug control

Gisle Otto Eikrem, Statoil RDI

Guest lecture at NTNU - 24/3-2014

Outline
Riser slugging
Slugging in gas-lift wells
Slug control
Slug control at sgard A

Riser slugging

Riser slugging cyclic

unstable flow. Liquid
blockage at riser foot,
pressure build-up, blow out,
back-flow

Stabilized riser flow

Stabilized by feedback
control from subsea
pressure (Schmidt et.al.
1979)

Slugging

Uneven flow: liquid slugs and gas bobbles in multiphase pipelines

In slug control we simplify to two main types of slug flow:

small slugs (< 5 min. periode): limited effect on receiving facilities

Often hydrodynamic or short terrain induced, water slugging
severe slugs (10-180 min. periode): can result in shut down
Riser slugging, well slugging, transient slugging during start-up

Fixed choking, Riserslugging

Active slug control, Even flow

Examples from experiments at Sintef Lab at Tiller

Hydro dynamic slugs

Made when waves hit the top of the pipe, liquid blocks gas
flow, wave tops combine to slugs
Short slugs with high frequency (typ. 10-20 seconds)
Gas rate, liquid rate, pressure, gas volume, topandraphy
decide degree of slugging
May trig riser slugging

Example from Tiller.

Stable Single Gas-Lift Well

Multiphase Video I

Video of controlled multiphase flow

Stable flow

Unstable Single Gas-Lift Well

Multiphase Video II

Video of severe slugging in gas lift well

Gas-Lift Wells

Total Production for Unstable Well

350
300

Production (m 3/hour)

250
200
150
100
50
0
0

8
Time (hour)

10

12

14

16

Effects of slug flow

Reduced production
Large variations in liquid rates into 1st stage separator
Level variations: alarms, shut downs
Bad separation/water cleaning:
WiO: carry-over, emulsions
OiW: hydro cyclones do no handle rate variations well
Pressure pulses, vibrations and eqipment wear
Fiscal rate metering problems
Variations in gas rate
Pressure variations high pressure protection gives shut down
Liquid carry over into gas system
Flaring
Fiscal gas rate measuring problems

Gas-Lift Wells
80

Production from Gas-Lift Well

Production (m3/h)

70

60

50

40

30

20
0

Stable Production
Unstable Production
0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Choke Opening (-)

0.7

0.8

0.9

Methods for for slug reduction and handling

Design changes for new projects

Increase processing capacity, f.ex. separator size
Slug Catcher (expensive and space demanding)
Increase velocities by reduced pipe diameter: several pipes or
reduced prod. by increased pressure drop
Gas lift in riser-foot or in well

100-1000 MNOK/pipe?

Operational changes and procedures for existing fields

Topside choking: increase receival pressure, reduces prod.
Shut in wells

100 MNOK/year/pipe?

Slug control, where active use of topside choke is used to

Reduce and avoid slug flow

0.5-2 MNOK/pipe?

Advanced control of receiving facilities to improve handling and reduce

consequenses of slugs
Model based control (MPC)

1-3 MNOK/pipe?

Slug control

Objectives of slug control:

1. Improved regularity: stabile rater and redusert risiko for trip
2. Reduced pipeline pressure: increased and prolonged tail production
and increased recovery

Available inputs:
fast topside choke (f.ex. <3 min closing time)
Measurements:
subsea pressure transmitter (<20 km away, time delay, etc)
pressure up- and downstream topside choke
multiphase meter, or densitometer and diff.press., for topside choke
Solution: active control to stabilize pressure and rates and to smear out
transient slugs during start-up/rate changes

Available Measurements

Control Structure

Shell Gas-Lift Laboratory

Production
Tubes
Control Panel

Shell Gas-Lift Laboratory,

Rijswijk, the Netherlands

Reservoir
Valve and
Gas Injection

Experiment DHP Control

Downhole Pressure

Pressure (bara)

3
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
0

10

15
20
Time (min)

25

30

35

15
20
Time (min)

25

30

35

Valve Opening

Opening (-)

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0

10

Production
3.2

Production (kg/min)

Production from Laboratory Gas Lift Well

Production wo/ Control
Production w/ Control

2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2
1.8
50

60

70
80
Valve Opening (%)

90

100

Process modelling for control

Complicated and complex to model multiphase flow

nonlinear, partioned system

OLGA is the world leading transient multiphase flow simulator:

must be tuned to reproduce field data

some times not possible to reproduce results (ex. Tordis water slugging)
used to investigate potential for slug flow
not suitable for controller design (black box model, hidden equations)
can be used to test controllers
Simpler models have been developed to reproduce riser slugging:
better suited for controller design
not suited to predict flow regime

Model of Single Gas-Lift Well

Model of Single Gas-Lift Well

Model of Single Gas-Lift Well

Simulation vs. Laboratory

Opening of Production Choke

Valve Opening (-)

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

10

Time (min)

12

14

16

18

20

Downhole Pressure

Pressure (bara)

2.5
2
1.5
1
0

Model
Laboratory
5

10

Time (min)

15

20

25

Statoils slug controller

Controls the pressure at the subsea manifold by the pipeline

inlet
Helps liquid up by opening choke
Limits pressure increase after slug by choking
Pressure controller gives set point to rate controller
Controls flow into separator - ensures even flow
Automatic start-up and shut down of single wells
PB-SP

PC

QP-SP

FC
QP

Topside choke is
used for control

uP

FT
PSep

PT

Topside
choke

Pi
QSub PT
uSub

Subsea
wells

PW

Subsea
choke

Inlet
separator

Riser
PB

Removes severe slugging

Reduces smaller slugs

Multiphase flow test facilities at Tiller

Lab set- up:
3 pipe, 200m length, 15m riser height
Laboppsett
3"rr, 200m,
15valve
m riser
Control
at riser top
Reguleringsventil p toppen av riser
ogRiser
parts of
pipe(gjennomsiktig)
in PVC
Riser
flereand
rrstrekk
i PVC
9
tetthetsmler,
6 trykktransmittere
9 densitometers,
6 pressure transmitters
Xoil, SF6.
Xoil and SF6
sluggtyper (tyngdedominert, hydrodynamisk, transient)
slug types: gravity dominated, hydro
dynamic, transient

Results from Tiller

Control of inlet pressure, volumetric rate and cascade control.
OLGA slug periode 50-200 sec verified experimentally
Flow map and valve characteristics
Controller tuning
Control based only on topside measurements, i.e. without inlet
pressure
Slow ventiler: max closing time?

Experiment with inlet pressure controller

Slugging stopped effectively

Step response in closed loop

Slug control in Statoil

Barentshavet
Snhvit

Norne

Norskehavet
Heidrun

sgard A

Gullfaks C

Huldra
Huldra

sgard
Tyrihans
Kristin

Statfjord Snorre

Nordsjen
Statfjord C

Heidrun

Norne

Gullfaks

Snorre B

Huldra

sgard Q - 3 types of terrain slugging from well and riser

Possible slugging in low
point in S-riser with typcal
periode 5 minutes and 1
bar variation in manifold
pressure (neglectable)
P
T
Q template

P
T
Well Q-2A

16 km long pipeline

sgard A test
separator

Possible slugging in riser

with typical periode 30
minutes and 5-10 bar
variation in manifold
pressure

Possible slugging in well

with typical periode 6-7
hours and 20-40 bar
variation in down hole
pressure

Pressure variations without slug control

Pressure downstream
subsea choke varies
from 85-98 barg

Topside choke 53%

Downstream pressure
varies from 220-260
barg
Temperature topside
varies from 25-35 degrees

sgard A slug control 06-24.11.05

Downstream pressure

Controller
set point
Controlled pressure
downstream subsea choke

Topside choke in manual

Control of pressure
downstream subsea choke

Control of
downstrea
m pressure

Slug control downstream subsea choke

Pressure downstream
subsea choke varies
from 92-94 barg

Downstream pressure
varies from 220-250
barg
Topside choke 20-70%

Tuning slug control of downstream pressure

controller tuning periode

Stability achieved

Fast variations from slugging in S-riser

Pressure upstream topside choke

varies 70-77 barg with 5 min
periode
Downstream pressure +-0.5
barg with 5 min periode
Topside choke 31-35%
with 5 min periode

Oscillations restart when controller is turned off

DHP starts to oscillate

controller turned off

DHP stabilized at set point

controller in auto

New method to stabilize well Q-2A

Pressure
controller
(PID)

PC
sgard A test
separator

P
T
Q
template

P
T
Well Q-2A

16 km long pipeline

Even better solution to handle well slugging:

Downstream pressure stabilized by control with subsea
choke
Set into operation 08.02.2006

Summary
Good results achived at several offshore installations from 2001 with simple PI-

controllers that control inlet (subsea) pressure and rate into receiving facilities with
topside choke simple and inexpensive solution

Qualified technology after more than 5 years in operation

Achives even rates and reduced pipeline pressure and improves regularity and makes
it possible to increase and prolonge production, since it then is possible to operate
closer to given constraints, f.ex. bubble point pressure, max sand free rate, hydrate
temp., etc.

Well: results indicate that it is possible to stabilize wells by control of the downstream
pressure with topside or subsea choke and a PI controller

Extended to handle other types of flow:

Gas dominated flow with surge waves
Start-up slugs
Subsea production facilities