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HYDRATE BLOCKAGE POTENTIAL IN AN OIL-DOMINATED SYSTEM STUDIED USING A FOUR INCH FLOW LOOP

University of British Columbia. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; International Conference on Gas Hydrates (6th : 2008 : Vancouver, B.C.)

An understanding of the blockage potential for an oil dominated system is an important step in moving from hydrate prevention to hydrate management. To better understand this problem a series of experiments were performed by varying the water cut, fluid velocity, and gas-liquid volume fraction using the ExxonMobil (XoM) flow loop in Houston, Texas, USA. The XoM large loop is a three pass, four inch internal diameter flow loop with a sliding vane pump capable of generating liquid velocities of up to 4 m/s. The systems that were studied include a range of water cuts from 5%-50% in a light crude oil (Conroe crude) and a gas phase of either pure methane for sI or 75% methane and 25% ethane which has sII as the thermodynamically stable phase. The results are compared with the hydrate plug prediction tool, CSMHyK, integrated into the multiphase flow simulator OLGA5®. The comparison between the model and the flow loop results serve as a basis for improving hydrate formation and plug prediction. In addition, the experimental variables that promote plug formation in the flow loop and how these may translate into the field are discussed.

Flow assurance; Hydrate kinetics; Hydrate transportability; Flow loops; OLGA

Text

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0041023

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/