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Flow-Assurance Aspects of Subsea Systems Design for Production of Waxy Crude Oils
H. Alboudwarej, SPE, Schlumberger; Z. Huo, SPE, Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.; and E. Kempton, SPE, Multiphase
Solutions Inc.
Abstract
Development of deep offshore fields is costly. As such, accurate
information is required before a decision can be made on the
feasibility of prospect development. Such sets of information
include the reservoir fluid characterization and flow assurance
data. The subject of this paper is to demonstrate the importance
of accurate and representative fluid characterization and
resulting flow assurance data on optimum facility and
production method design for development of offshore fields.
In this study, fluid characteristics and flow assurance aspects
of a live waxy crude oil from offshore West Africa is
investigated. Experimental work included determination of the
wax appearance temperature (WAT) and rheological studies
which included pour point, gel strength, and shear-dependent
viscosity measurements under both dead and live oil conditions.
The wax deposition tendency of the dead crude oil was also
investigated. The experimental data were used for a case study to
demonstrate the effect of live oil data versus dead oil data on the
subsea system design and operating procedures.
The case study indicated if dead oil data was utilized, the
subsea system design and operating procedures would be
considerably more conservative than if live oil data was the basis
of the design. For a marginal field, these differences could be the
difference between an economical field and an abandoned field.
Introduction
Waxy crude oils pose unique production and transportation
related challenges1. Variation in temperature is the dominant
factor affecting the waxy crude oil properties. Below a certain
temperature, called the wax appearance temperature (WAT), the
wax crystallizes out of the liquid solution. The precipitation of
the wax components out of the oil is responsible for the changes
in the waxy crude oil properties, including the gelation of oil and
an increase in viscosity. When the fluid temperature falls below
the WAT, there is the possibility of wax deposition on the