Module 4 – Introduction to Subsea Engineering

Topic 3 – Flow Assurance

Module 4 – Introduction
to Subsea Engineering

Topic 3 – Flow Assurance

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Topic 3 – Flow Assurance

Topic 3: Flow Assurance

Introduction
Flow assurance in the oil and gas industry is associated with moving
hydrocarbon liquid and gases through pipelines and flowlines. It
includes all issues important in maintaining flow of oil and gas from
reservoir to reception facilities. The term “Flow Assurance” is
thought to have been coined by Petrobras in the early 1990s as
'Garantia de Fluxo' which literally translates as 'Guarantee the
Flow', or Flow Assurance.

Flow Assurance is a multi-discipline activity, requiring engineers

with detailed technical backgrounds to "follow the flow" from
reservoir through to reception facilities. Communication between
disciplines is essential for Flow Assurance.

Flow Assurance includes the following:

• Integration with reservoir and facilities

o Setting design conditions in terms of pressure and
temperature
o Understanding the impact of production profiles

• Hydraulic analysis
o Pressure drop
o Deliverability

• Thermal behaviour
o Heat conservation and insulation

• Impact of thermal behaviour on pipeline

o Upheaval buckling
o Rock dumping

• Investigation of potential blockage

o Hydrates
o Wax
o Scale
o Sand

• Operability investigation
o System warm up
o System cool down
o Slugging

• PVT and Rheology investigation

o Phase behaviour and characterisation
o Fluid physical property
o Non Newtonian behaviour
o Emulsion characterisation
o Biodegradation

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• Mechanical integrity
o System damage (corrosion / erosion)
o Reliability and availability

Each of the above topics is discussed in this topic.

Integration with Reservoir and Facilities

It is vitally important that engineers deliver systems that are
adequately designed in terms of pressures and temperatures over
the full economic life of a field. In this respect, it is vital that the
flow assurance design takes into account how the reservoir is
expected to behave through field life and also that the impact of
variations is understood.

As shown in Module 2, Topic 1, reservoir engineering has many

uncertainties. These are governed by the fundamental
‘unknowability’ of many key parameters. Generally, prior to a
development being sanctioned, only a small number of wells will
have been drilled. These wells give information that can establish
key parameters such as the oil/water contact and reservoir virgin
pressure and temperature. The subsurface team will take the data
obtained from the well together with other information such as
seismic surveys to then estimate the volumes of hydrocarbons in
place.

The estimation process begins by characterising the gross rock

volume of the reservoir. Following this the engineers determine
how much of this volume is pore space and finally how much of the
pore space is occupied by hydrocarbons. This process has
significant uncertainties caused by the accuracy of the base data.
For example, for an oil bearing field that has a payzone of 200ft
vertical thickness, the uncertainty in the seismic interpretation may
be ±30ft, this plus uncertainties in aerial extent gives an overall
uncertainty in volume of ±50%. This is fairly typical for marginal
developments.

Exploration and appraisal wells are generally of different design to

development wells therefore only limited information can be
gleaned from any well tests. However, reservoir engineering
analysis, and judgement, gives an indication of hydrocarbons in
place and sets expectations of the likely production profile. These
are almost always presented as a range from low, to mid, to high,
to cover the varying possible outcomes.

Well productivity and deliverability is a complex area for the

subsurface team to evaluate. They must determine how a well is
likely to flow, taking into account all of the pressure losses from the
heart of the reservoir, into the wellbore. This is primarily dictated
by the quality of the reservoir rocks and how much faulting is in
place. In this evaluation, they will need to consider the placement
of the wells into the reservoir to maximise production of
hydrocarbons whilst minimising overall development risk. The team

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must also consider competing demands, for example minimising the

risk of sand production (through the use of screens that partially
block the entry to the wellbore), against the need to maximise
production.

The composition of the reservoir fluid is a key consideration. The

relative amounts of oil and gas present and the quality of the
hydrocarbons is of importance to the design. The key parameters
of interest are as follows:

• Fluid gas to oil ratio (GOR)

• API gravity
• Wax Appearance Temperature
• Pour Point
• CO2 Content
• H2S Content
• Formation Water Analysis

The GOR and API gravity will dictate how the fluid behaves in the
pipeline. The wax appearance temperature and pour point will be
important considerations in the thermal design of the system. The
CO2 and H2S contents have a large bearing on the material selection
for pipelines. Formation water analysis is an important
consideration in terms of the material selection, for example,
extremely salty formation water can be corrosive, however, it can
also auto-inhibit against hydrate formation.

Regarding the system design for the field, the challenge for the
surface development team is to develop a collection network that is
adequate for the likely range of pressures and temperatures it will
see through field life. The chosen conduit sizes must also be
optimised for the overall development economics. The larger the
pipeline, the less the pressure drop, however, larger pipelines are
more costly and can be compromised in terms of operability due to
slugging.

It is also important to ensure that the development solution fits the

overall reservoir depletion strategy. Different depletion strategies
require different approaches and the defining conditions for
pressure and temperature through field life can dictate the chosen
strategy.

In general, the initial reservoir pressure will dictate the design

pressure of the system. The initial closed-in tubing head pressure
will be calculated in conjunction with the sub-surface team. If this
pressure is excessive for the subsea pipeline system design then
consideration would be given to using an instrumented protection
system for the subsea pipelines. However, the general preference
in subsea design is to rate all pipelines to the full closed-in tubing
head pressure that is likely to be delivered from the well. In some
cases, such as oil developments with relatively low initial pressures,

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the use of gas lift or Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP’s) in the

wells can dictate the design pressure of the system.

The following graph shows how much the reservoir pressure can
vary based on different reservoir depletion and production
strategies.
Scenario01 Scenario02 Scenario03 Scenario04
Scenario05 Scenario 06
Reservoir Pressure (psia)

Time

Figure 4.3.1: Reservoir Pressure vs. Development Strategy

Given that the reservoir pressure is the fundamental driving energy

for the whole system, it can be clearly seen from the above graph
that its movement during field life needs to be understood to ensure
a robust solution.

In terms of an appropriate design temperature for the system, the

selection is more complex and depends much more on the depletion
strategy. Table 4.3.1 demonstrates the challenges for the different
depletion strategies:

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Reservoir
Behaviour
Management Typical Issues
Through Life
Strategy
Depletion – Peak flow early Low temperatures later in field
No Aquifer in life, steeply life
Support decreasing rates
as water cut Change in flow regime with
increases and reducing rates
reservoir
pressure Below bubble point production
declines
Depletion – Flowrates Peak temperatures at
Strong gradually decline intermediate point in life
Aquifer as water cut
Support increases Gas lift requirements increasing
through life

Flow regime changing because of

gas lift
Pressure Flowrates Peak temperatures in late life
Supported constant
through field life Gas lift gradually increases to
meet increase in static head
Table 4.3.1: Reservoir Depletion Strategies

As can be seen from the table above, the choice of an appropriate

design temperature is a challenge that requires close interaction
with the subsurface team. This is discussed in more detail below in
the thermal analysis section.

Another key part of the overall depletion strategy is the selection of

appropriate artificial lift techniques. The typical range of choices
that are now deployed are:

• Natural flow
• Gas lift
• Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESPs)
• Multiphase Booster Pumps

These have been described in module 2, Topic 2.

In addition to the above, there are a number of emerging

technologies such as subsea separation and wet gas compression
that are under development and expected to be used in the near
future.

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As can be seen from the above, integration must occur between the
subsurface team and the surface design team with respect to flow
assurance and that understanding must be communicated to ensure
an overall system design that is fit for purpose.

As well as understanding the interaction with the reservoir, it is

important that the development team understands the interaction
with the topsides. For example:

• For a development that is likely to produce large quantities of

water, does the chosen host facility have the ability to treat
this water?
• Can the host facility process the peak gas rates at the start
of field life?
• What is the likely economic impact to the project of not being
able to produce at peak rates?

All of these questions need to be addressed at the development

screening stage and can be addressed using Integrated Asset
Models (IAMs). Other more complex aspects of operability, such as
the impact of slugging on facility uptime must also be considered
during the design process.

In addition, the impact of new production on existing production

where services are being shared should be understood. This is to
determine if any existing production may be backed out by the new
production coming on stream. This can significantly dent project
economics if the new production backs out a large amount of
existing production.

Flow Assurance Analysis

Introduction
The primary job in flow assurance analysis is determining
appropriate pipeline sizes. This applies to production, gas lift, water
injection, chemical injection and pipelines.

Pressure Losses
For the sizing of surface production networks, it is important to
identify the pressure losses through the system, preferably from the
reservoir right through to the production facility. In general, the
overall pressure losses can be broken down into the following
elements:

• Well Deliverability
• Tubing
• Choke valve
• Production pipeline
• Riser

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An example of the relative importance of each pressure drop is

given in the graph below for a case where the system tubing
dominates the overall system pressure loss. It should be noted that
the relative effect of each element will be different for each system.

Choke Valve
Pipeline

Riser
Topsides

Well
Deliverability Tubing

Figure 4.3.2: Relative Pressure Losses

The losses for each part are discussed below:

Well Deliverability
Inflow performance varies largely between wells. In general
terms, this loss represents an entry loss between a datum
pressure point in the reservoir and the inside of the completion
string. The relationship to flowrate is called the Inflow
Performance Relationship (IPR). Typically for oil wells, this is
expressed as a linear relationship with flowrate and drawdown,
called the Productivity Index (PI). For gas wells, this
relationship tends to depend on pressure squared and a number
of alternative formulations exist. For oil wells, the PI can vary
from tight reservoirs with around 1 stbpd/psi to unconsolidated
sands with a PI of 200- 400 stbpd/psi.

Tubing
The well tubing pressure drop is a combination of frictional plus
static pressure drop. Generally, the smaller the tubing the
greater the frictional pressure drop. As wells produce more
water through field life, the static pressure drop increases and
this tends to decrease the flowing wellhead pressure. To
overcome the increase in the static pressure drop, gas lift is
often used. This will also decrease the static pressure in the
well. However, if too much gas lift is used then the frictional
pressure drop becomes greater and this will negate the benefit.

Choke Valve
Subsea wells generally include choke valves to restrict the flow.
A typical example of a subsea choke valve is show below.

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Figure 4.3.3: Subsea Choke Valve

The pressure drop across these choke valves is generally defined by

the valve coefficient, known as the Cv. Typically, for subsea choke
valves, a wide range in Cv from small to large is required to enable
the valve to control a range of different operations. During initial
start up it may be desirable to limit rates which means a small
choke opening. However, to ensure the maximum production from
the wells, it is most likely that the valve will be open as widely as
possible. The following figure shows a typical Cv vs. opening profile
for a subsea choke valve.

Figure 4.3.4: Subsea Choke Valve CV vs. Opening

Generally, these would only be used to restrict flow in early field life
to keep production at a plateau rate dictated by the maximum
allowable production rate at a host facility. Choke valves could also
be used for reservoir management purposes to prevent excessive
solids production if that were found to be an issue in operation.

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Production Pipeline Network and Risers

The production pipeline collection network offers a modelling
challenge in two respects. Firstly, the fact that flow is generally
multi-phase and secondly, the fact that there is a network.
Being able to model these systems relies on the use of
specialised software. Several packages are commonly used for
this analysis. Examples are Pipsim, Pipephase, ReO and
Prosper/GAP. These all calculate multiphase pressure drops and
liquid hold up for a range of empirical and mechanistic
correlations. These correlations have been developed and
advanced through many years of research at institutions such as
the University of Tulsa and SINTEF in Norway. Improvements in
the prediction of multiphase pressure drops are constantly
published.

In addition to the consideration of pressure drop, flow regime is

also very important and this is discussed in more detail later.

Risers
In terms of risers, the most important consideration tends to be
erosion. In general, it is preferable to have the riser the same
size as the pipeline. Having risers smaller than the pipeline is
detrimental in terms of the potential for erosion. Also, should
operational pigging be a requirement then this limits the
selection of pigging devices. Risers are discussed in more detail
in Topic 7 of this Module.

Production Line Sizing

The size of the production line is determined by taking into account
the following:

• Arrival Pressure
• Peak Rate
• Erosional Velocities
• Fluid Composition

The arrival pressure is generally dictated by the need to separate

the fluids on the host facility and to process the accompanying gas
through the compression train. This generally dictates that arrival
pressures for subsea developments are typically in the range of 10
to 20 barg. In some cases, where very high pressures are
available, developments may have a period of arriving at higher
pressures initially, say around 60 barg, with a drop to lower
pressures later in field life. This would be typical for any situation
where it may be possible for gas to free flow into an intermediate
compression stage.

Given a known peak rate and arrival pressure, the selection of line
size is made by calculating the back pressure at the wellhead of
each well and comparing this to the well deliverability.

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When selecting the line size, the potential for erosion should be
taken into account. Erosion is essentially wastage due to
mechanical removal of surface material by flowing environments.
Such wastage is extreme when solids are present in the flowing
environment. Erosion can occur in straight pipes, elbows and tees.
Erosion is discussed further in Topic 4 of this Module.

Fluid composition is also an important consideration in the selection

of line size. For example, in a depletion case where the reservoir
drops below its bubble point, there may be an intermediate point in
the field life where increased gas rates become important. The
increase in gas rates late in the field life, which may not have been
allowed for in the planning stage, may become defining in terms of
pipeline hydraulics.

Gas Lift Lines

The sizing of gas lift lines is relatively straightforward in term of the
pressure drop calculation. However, the complexity tends to be
related to distribution networks and with defining the required
casing head pressures at each well. The design of gas lift systems
depends on understanding the rates and pressure available from
topsides and the pressure required at the wellhead subsea. The
design of gas lift mandrels within wells is complex as these need to
be balanced against the production expectations from the wells.

Water Injection Systems

For water injection systems, the sizing is relatively straightforward.
Consideration has to be given to the available water injection
pressure, the required pressure at the reservoir and the rates
required. These calculations need to take into account the
injectivity of the formation into which the water is being injected.
This is generally expressed as an Injectivity Index (II) which is a
linear function of the flowrate, exactly analogous to the PI of liquid
production wells.

Erosion should always be checked for water injection pipelines as

this will determine the selection of line size.

An additional consideration that must be taken into account for

settling the design pressure of water injection lines is the potential
for hydro-dynamic surge. This water hammer effect occurs on rapid
shutdown and can result in large pressure surges travelling at the
speed of sound in the fluid, generally around 1250 m/s. Hence the
pipelines should be adequately rated to accommodate such
pressures.

Chemical Injection Systems

For chemical injection line sizing, the purpose of each service has to
be defined before a criteria can be determined. Typical chemical
injection services are as follows:

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• Methanol
• Scale Inhibitor
• Corrosion Inhibitor
• Wax Inhibitor

Methanol is generally used for inhibition against hydrates but is also

used to balance pressures across subsea Xmas tree valves. For gas
wells, methanol can also be required for hydrate inhibition. In
these cases, it is generally supplied at high rates and low pressures.
It is then recovered on-shore and shipped back to the injection
points offshore.

Scale inhibitors are used in carbon steel pipelines and are generally
injected based on the bulk liquid present, downstream of the
production choke.

Corrosion inhibitors are described in Topic 4 of this module.

Wax inhibitors are injected downstream of the production choke if

the arrival temperature is below the wax appearance temperature.
The dosage rates are determined based on the oil flowrate.

The hydraulic calculation of the pressure drop in chemical injection

systems is relatively straightforward once the dosage
concentrations and target pressures are defined.

There are many other chemicals that may be deployed subsea, such
as MEG instead of Methanol, threshold hydrate inhibitors, pour point
depressants and biocides. The sizing principles remain the same for
each one.

Thermal Analysis

Need for Heat Conservation

The thermal performance of a subsea pipeline system is crucially
important in a number of respects. High temperature can be
difficult for pipeline mechanical design whereas low temperatures
run the risk of wax drop out and/or hydrate formation. On start up,
very low temperatures can exist for relatively short periods as
systems reach equilibrium conditions.

The general aim in subsea developments is to get the fluids from

the reservoir to the processing facility with the minimum amount of
heat loss that is technically and economically feasible. Generally,
this means that there is an emphasis on heat conservation through
insulation. This is to prevent wax or hydrate formation in the
pipeline. However, the practical implications for pipeline design and
installation, plus the overall development economics, are important
factors to bear in mind.

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For gas wells, it is impossible to conserve heat along the length of

the pipeline and these tend to be un-insulated. Methanol or other
hydrate inhibitor injection is generally used in these situations to
mitigate the risk of hydrate formation.

Flowing Wellhead Temperature

One of the first factors that needs to be understood is the flowing
wellhead temperature and how this is likely to vary through field
life. This is heavily influenced by the depletion strategy adopted.
For example, in a straight depletion drive, flowrates are likely to
drop through field life whilst flowing wellhead temperatures also
tend to drop during field life. However, for cases where these
pressures are supported and water cut increases through field life,
rates tend not to drop off as much. In these cases temperatures
tend to increase as the water cut increases through field life.
Understanding this interaction is vital in determining the
appropriate pipeline design temperature.

The following graph shows how flowing wellhead temperature can

vary with flowrate and various water cut percentages for a typical
field example:

0% 25% 50% 75% 99%

FWHT ( C)
o

Liquid Rate

Figure 4.3.5: Flowing Wellhead Temperature Variation

Thermal Impact on Pipeline Mechanical Design

Pipeline design is very sensitive to high temperature. Temperatures
of over 1000C are likely to be challenging for pipeline mechanical
design, and temperatures of over 1200C are difficult to
accommodate using standard pipeline materials.

The issues associated with pipeline design are covered in more

detail in Topic 4 of this Module. In summary, the factors of primary

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interest are stresses, expansion forces and upheaval buckling. In

pipeline systems with high temperatures, the forces can only be
mitigated by dumping large quantities of rock on top of the
pipelines to prevent their movement during operation, although
there is generally a desire to minimise the amount of rock dump
required.

Heat Transfer Design of Pipelines

The heat loss in pipelines is modelled by applying what is known as
an overall heat transfer coefficient, or ‘’U’’ value to the pipeline.
This is used when calculating the heat loss from the fluid due to the
external environment. These U values are then utilised for coating
arrangements for insulation materials. Pipeline insulation ranges
from no coating and natural back fill to solid plastic coatings and to
pipe/in pipe type arrangement.

At present, the use of solid plastic coatings plus rock dump/back fill
is the generally preferred insulation method as this provides a good
degree of heat conservation. In these cases, coating such as solid
polypropylene, polypropylene layered systems or synthetic
polyurethane are used. These typically have thermal conductivities
in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 W/MK. The practical limit on the
thickness to which these materials can be applied is in the range 50
to 80 mm and this limits the best U value achievable to around 2.5
W/m2K based on the pipeline external diameter. An example of a
pipeline with a conventional coating system is shown below.

Figure 4.3.6: Conventionally Coated Pipeline

Flexible pipelines normally achieve similar levels of insulation to

conventional pipelines. The insulation is made up of many layers of
different material.

Pipe-in-Pipe systems offer better insulation but are generally much

more expensive due to the need for an additional pipe surrounding
the dry insulation. The insulation materials must remain dry and
are generally made from low density polyurethane foam or
Rockwool. In practice, for a typical 6’’ pipeline inside an 8’’ carrier,

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U values in the range 1 to 1.5 W/m2K based on the pipeline

external diameter can be achieved.

In addition to the steady state considerations for insulation, the

system cool down must also be taken into account. When a flowline
is shut down, liquid settles into ‘dips’ and gas rises into the ‘humps’.
The system gradually cools to the ambient temperature. As gas has
much lower heat capacity than liquid, sections filled with gas cool
much quicker than those filled with liquid.

Cool down can be a cause for concern in subsea and especially

deepwater developments due to the potential for hydrate formation.
Hydrates are crystalline compounds that form when water
molecules encage light hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, or
propane at high pressures and low temperatures.

It is important to ensure that the time to enable hydrate formation

is understood to allow the operators to manage the field in a
manner that minimises this risk of hydrate. This may dictate the
level of insulation required, particularly around connection spools.

Low Temperature Start Up

A particular heat transfer issue for subsea systems is low
temperature start up. Low temperature start up only exists for
wells that are allowed to pressurise up to their closed in tubing
head pressure when the connected pipeline has been depressurised
to near atmospheric. This scenario leads to very low gas
temperatures downstream of the choke due to Joule Thompson
cooling. The effect on metal temperatures depends on the balance
between cooling from cold gas and the warming effect of the
surrounding sea water. If the gas flow rates are relatively high and
sustained, then a rapid opening of the choke will result in a shorter
time to reach full temperature but potential exposure to lower
minimum temperatures. In practice, a choke minimum CV of 1 is
found to be optimal for these restart scenarios. In addition,
injecting Methanol through the choke on start up limits the
minimum fluid temperatures through its impact on the Joule
Thompson effect.

Flow Regime

Introduction
The flow regime is important in two aspects, one with respect to
calculating the pressure drop and liquid hold up for use in the
hydraulic calculations and the other with respect to whether or not
the system is slugging. In systems that are in the slug flow regime,
careful consideration should be given to ensure that the line size
selection and topsides reception facilities are appropriate for the
development. The impact of slugging will alter the selection of
pipeline size.

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The flow regime is a description of the geometrical distribution of a

fluid moving through a pipe. When a gas and a liquid are forced to
flow together inside a horizontal pipe, there are at least 6 different
geometrical configurations, or flow regimes, that are observed. The
exact regime depends on the fluid properties, the size of the
conduit, and the flow rates of each of the phases. The flow regime
can also depend on the configuration of the inlet. The flow regime
may take some distance to develop and it can change as the
pressure, (which affects the gas density) changes. For fixed fluid
properties and conduit, flow rates are the independent variables
that, when adjusted, will often lead to changes in the flow regime.

The following diagram shows the different flow regimes:

Figure 4.3.7: Flow Regimes

The flow regimes are described in more detail below.

Plug flow
This is a multiphase flow regime in pipes in which most of the gas
moves as large bubbles which are dispersed within a continuous
liquid. The bubbles may span much of the pipe. There are also
small bubbles within the liquid, but many of these coalesce to form
the larger bubbles, or plugs. Plug flow is similar to slug flow, but
the bubbles are generally smaller and move more slowly.

Slug flow
The slug regime is characterized by the presence of liquid rich slugs
that span the entire channel or pipe diameter. These travel at a
speed that is a substantial fraction of the gas velocity and they
occur intermittently. Slugs cause large pressure and liquid flow rate
fluctuations. Some movement shows the approach of a large wave
at first followed by a long slug. Others show more gas entrainment
and a flow that looks much more violent. The length to diameter
ratio of slugs varies greatly with flow rates, pipe diameter and fluid
properties. Liquid may coat the entire pipe because of substantial
atomization.

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Stratified flow
This is a multiphase-flow regime in which the fluids separate into
different layers, with lighter fluids flowing above heavier fluids.
Stratified flow is more likely to occur at low flow rates and in flat or
downhill sections of horizontal pipes. In uphill sections, and as the
flow rate increases, the interface between the fluids becomes mixed
and irregular; hence the term wavy stratified flow is often used.

Bubble flow
This is also a multiphase fluid-flow regime characterized by the gas
phase being distributed as bubbles through the liquid phase. Where
the bubbles congregate and combine to form a less uniform
distribution of the gas phase, some slippage will occur between the
phases with the gas tending to cut through the liquid phase.

Annular flow
In annular flow, the liquid coats the walls. However, because of
gravity, the liquid distribution is not symmetric. There is much
more liquid on the bottom of the pipe than the top. The velocity of
the gas is large enough to cause waves to form in the liquid and
also to atomize some liquid.

The flow assurance team on a project should identify where the

system will operate in terms of flow regime. This is done with
reference to flow regime maps. A typical example of a flow regime
mapping exercise is shown on the graph below.

Dry Oil No Gas Lift Dry Oil Gas Lift

2.0
Superficial Liquid Velocity (ms )

Sintef Loop (30 bar diesel air flow map)

-1

INTERMITTENT
1.5
Increasing Gas Lift
DISPERSED

1.0 HIGH FREQUENCY SLUGGING

Increasing Liquid Rate

0.5 1500 sm³/day

LOW FREQUENCY SLUGGING

STRATIFIED
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10
-1
Superficial Gas Velocity (ms )

Figure 4.3.8: Flow Regime Mapping

The flow assurance team can interpret these maps to determine the
impact on the overall system design and if necessary, recommend
changes to the proposed development scheme. Slugging is
sufficiently important to be a consideration in flowline and riser
sizing.

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Where slug flow occurs, flowrates out of the system can vary
considerably with time and there can be considerable spikes in flow
of gas and liquid. The following graph shows a typical plot of liquid
flowrate vs. time for a system that is slugging.

30000

25000
Liquid volume rate (bbl/d)

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
11500 11600 11700 11800 11900 12000
TIME (s)

Figure 4.3.9: Liquid Rate Variations Due to Slugging

This shows that very unsteady conditions are expected and

therefore, very variable flows can be expected.

Operations

Flow assurance does not end with the system design. Flow
assurance generally provides the link between subsea, topsides and
operations.

The operating philosophy will describe the sequence for a facility

and the following diagram outlines what would be covered,
particularly:

• Start up
• Normal operation
• Shutdown

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Figure 4.3.10: Operations Overview

The aim is to demonstrate how the development will be managed

during its operating phase. All of the elements of the operating
philosophy would be backed up by calculations.

Generally, at the stage of putting together an operating philosophy,

transient pipeline simulations would be carried out, typically using
OLGA, to determine features of start up and shutdown that are not
possible to calculate using steady state tools. OLGA is a dynamic
multiphase pipeline analysis programme developed by Scandpower.

The transient simulations would generally be used to replicate the

steady state modelling results, and then they would be used to
determine how the system shuts down, cools down and then
restarts. Generally, on start up, consideration would be given to
low temperature and also to liquid surges from the system.

Once systems are up and running, it is very important to

benchmark their performance against predictions to understand
how they are behaving against what was calculated. This is
important to ensure the validity of future calculations.

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Introduction to Subsea Engineering