Life cycle management of scale control within subsea fields and its impact on flow assurance, gulf of mexico and the north sea basin

Jordan, Myles Martin; Sjuraether, K.; Collins, I.R.; Feasey, Neil D.; Emmons, D.H.

doi:10.1039/9781847550460-00223

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Seawater is rich in sulphate ions and reacts with cations (such as Ba 2+ and Sr 2+ ) in the reservoir and the formation of sulphate scale can result. Although in some cases to prevent sulphate scale problems, de-sulphated seawater is injected into an oilfield, it is not economically efficient (Jordan et al 2001). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Vazirian

Charpentier

Penna

et al. 2016

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

102

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Scale formation on surfaces can normally be divided into two distinct processes: a "deposition process" which refers to the process of heterogeneous nucleation and growth at the asperities of the surface and an "adhesion process" which refers to the sticking of preexisting crystals, which have nucleated in the bulk solution, and which build up as a layer on the surface. It has been presented in this paper that the surface scale formation rate is more dominantly controlled by the "deposition process" rather than the "adhesion process"; however, the level of agitation could have inverse effects on one process to another. Only a small amount of research has been done to understand the differences of the kinetics of each of these processes. The presented work represents an experimental study of scaling tests to assess the effect of hydrodynamic conditions, using Rotating Cylinder Electrode (RCE), in a complex scaling environment, particularly supersaturated with barium/strontium sulphate and calcium carbonate, on the stainless steel substrate coated with a wide range of different industrial coatings.In addition, the effect of the surface energy and surface roughness on both processes has been studied. The paper provides data that will assist in the understanding of the controlling parameters in scale formation in different conditions, and also describes what characteristics of the surface can make it a good anti-scale surface for inorganic scale; however, the results have showed that merely one parameter cannot assure a surface as a good antifouling surface.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Vazirian

Charpentier

Penna

et al. 2016

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

102

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“…The various scale management techniques are also given elsewhere (Oddo and Tomson, 1994;Hinrichsen, 1998;Clemmit et al, 1985;Mendoza et al, 1999;Tanner and Wittingham, 1986;Boreng et al, 1994;Collins et al, 1997;Bourne et al, 1997;Jordan et al, 2001;Hardy and Simm, 1996;Davis et al, 1996;Vu et al, 2001), as are the particular considerations for deepwater systems (Graham et al, 2002;Mackay et al, 2003b;McElhiney, 2003). In recent years the integration of reservoir simulation into the scale risk evaluation process (Mackay et al, 2005) has resulted in extra information being available to assess the challenge of squeeze treatment placement and the impact of scale reactions within the reservoir impacting the produced water composition.…”

Section: Field Overviewmentioning

confidence: 97%

Reservoir Simulation and Near-Well Bore Modelling to Aid Scale Management in a Low Temperature Development with Multilateral Wells

Ishkov¹,

Mackay²,

Vazquez³

et al. 2015

SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry

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This paper presents results of a reservoir and near wellbore modelling study to assist with the evaluation of inorganic scale risk management for a cold sandstone reservoir in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Reservoir temperature is in the range 32-48°C and poses a challenge to manage the scale risk.The field is heavily supported by aquifer water, and the development includes five production wells and seven seawater injection wells. The small number of high-cost, highly productive subsea multilateral wells with long horizontal sections, some with sliding sleeves to enhanced flow management, coupled with a high barium sulphate scaling tendency (up to 350ppm barium concentration in the formation water) requires effective scale management.This paper addresses questions of timing and nature of seawater breakthrough, when scale inhibitor squeeze treatments will be required, what is the impact of any reservoir reactions between the formation water and injected seawater on the scale risk at the production wells, what squeeze placement profiles look like under a range of squeeze treatment scenarios (various injection rates and sleeve position options). The treatment of multilateral wells by bullhead scale squeeze treatments is not a subject extensively covered in the literature, so the focus of this paper is to understand the impact on squeeze treatment life of bullhead deployment as a function of pump rate with both laterals open and the impact on treatment lifetime and treatment cost of selective placement into each lateral by treating one lateral at a time via activation of the sliding sleeve mechanism.The paper draws on a wide range of technical inputs to make scale management decisions including: thermodynamic modelling techniques, reservoir simulation of fluid mixing and reaction, laboratorygenerated coreflood data to assess chemical selection for scale inhibitor squeeze, and squeeze treatment design drawing on all the information outlined above.Sharing the scale management technical challenges associated with such low temperatures and treating multilateral wells provides an example of the factors that should be taken into account during project design in similar fields under development in Northern Norway, offshore West Africa and offshore Brazil.

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Therefore, for new high cost complex subsea fields, especially those in deepwater environments, the costs associated with scale management throughout the fields productive life must be considered and evaluated at the pre-FEED stage. Accordingly, the impact of mineral scaling is now mostly taken into account as part of the concept selection phase of new developments with the challenges associated with such fields often providing the driver for new developments from chemical, engineering, and application-based approaches.…”

Section: Spe 95049mentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical and Economic Analysis of the Downhole Scale Risks and Uncertainties for Subsea and Deepwater Field Developments

Graham¹,

Collins

Johnson³

2005

All Days

Self Cite

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Scale control is conventionally achieved by the use of chemical inhibitors, introduced to the production system either by squeeze treatment into the reservoir or continual injection into the well.However, as new field developments encounter more challenging production environments or when the associated economic impact of chemical intervention is large (e.g. subsea completed wells with poor chemical placement by bullhead treatments, or limited access to wet subsea wellheads), other methods of scale control such as sulfate removal must be considered during the front end engineering design (FEED) stage for the development. However, the final selection of a fields scale management strategy relies on various technical and economic factors which themselves are controlled not just by the severity of the anticipated scaling regimes but also on the proposed field development plan.For subsea completed wells, especially those located in deepwater, the initial field development concept and drainage strategy can have a significant bearing on the costs ultimately associated with various scale management strategies and can, in extreme cases, significantly reduce the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project.The decisions taken at the concept selection stage for scale management in such environments are therefore crucial to the success not only of the chosen scale management strategy but also to the fields economic viability. This paper reviews the various challenges associated with scale formation and control in subsea and deepwater environments and the impact that different field design scenarios may have on the potential success of various scale management options. In particular, the paper will focus on technical, economic and risk-based analysis conducted for a number of new and proposed subsea field developments with different scaling challenges.The options for scale management in selected subsea and deepwater developments including examples from the North Sea (Shallow water), offshore Angola, and Gulf of Mexico cases will be reviewed.The impact of the various risks and uncertainties associated with determining the severity of the scale challenge (including the quality and source of initial water compositions, the accuracy of simulation tools used for the prediction of future scaling challenges prior to field production, the ability to effectively squeeze treat and place scale inhibitors into particular wells and the potential for changes in the field drainage strategy) are assessed in terms of the total costs associated with particular cases.In summary, the paper will describe the decision process used at the pre-FEED stage to determine a field scale management strategy for different development concepts.Detailed economic analysis of different options considered in recent field cases will be presented to support the different strategies adopted.

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Life cycle management of scale control within subsea fields and its impact on flow assurance, gulf of mexico and the north sea basin

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Surface inorganic scale formation in oil and gas industry: As adhesion and deposition processes

Reservoir Simulation and Near-Well Bore Modelling to Aid Scale Management in a Low Temperature Development with Multilateral Wells

Technical and Economic Analysis of the Downhole Scale Risks and Uncertainties for Subsea and Deepwater Field Developments

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