Muhammad Ali Theyab, SF J Petroleum, 2018, 2:1

SciFed Journal of Petroleum

Review Article Open Access

Fluid Flow Assurance Issues: Literature Review

*
Muhammad Ali Theyab
*
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq, Iraq

Abstract
Increasing hydrocarbon production from the conventional and unconventional reservoirs in the cold
environments has led oil companies to face a critical operational challenge of one or more of the fluid flow assurance
issues during production and transportation of pipelines. Challenging flow assurance and field development issues
affect both well completion design and production operation strategies.
Flow assurance issues such as hydrates, wax deposition are one of the important areas being studied today
due to the high cost of deepwater exploration and production. The focus of flow assurance analysis and design has
often been from flowline entry to the initial separator at the production facility. This manuscript illustrates the flow
assurance issues that affect the flow of hydrocarbon stream transport from the reservoir to the point of sale, on the
onshore and offshore oil fields located in cold environments. Also, presents the mitigation methods used for each issue
of the fluid flow assurance issues. These issues are hydrates, waxing, asphaltenes, slugging, naphthenates, scales,
corrosion, erosion and emulsions. The chemical strategy and selecting the optimal injection points are the best way to
prevent deposit build up and to avoid any future criticalities; and allow re-establishing the desired production flow rate.
This manuscript reviewed the fluid flow assurance issues and it was found that managing these issues is the
best solution to prevent the causes of the loss of production.

1. Introduction mechanisms due to the complex dual porosity: matrix

The world demand for energy has led oil companies system (micropores and macropores) and cleat system
to expand their operations in cold environments such as (micro fracture), [3, 1]. Natural gas from unconventional
the offshore deepwater and onshore for more conventional shale and tight gas reservoirs has attracted considerable
reservoirs. interests due to its abundant reserves, wide distribution,
Recently, as one of the most promising potential low CO2 emission and economic efficiency [4]. Horizontal
alternatives for the conventional reservoirs, the exploration
and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs attract a
great deal of attention for oil companies [1]. *Corresponding author: Muhammad Ali Theyab, Ministry of Higher
Education and Scientific Research of Iraq, Iraq. E-mail: theyabm@lsbu.
Unconventional reservoirs are essentially any ac.uk Tel: +447833846288
reservoir that requires special recovery operations outside
the conventional operating practices. Unconventional Received January 8, 2018; Accepted February 14, 2018; Published
February 28, 2018
reservoirs include reservoirs such as tight-gas sands, gas
and oil shales, coalbed methane, heavy oil and tar sands, Citation: Muhammad Ali Theyab (2018) Fluid Flow Assurance Issues:
and gas-hydrate deposits [2]. Literature Review. SF J Petroleum 2:1.

The exploration and exploitation of coal-bed Copyright: © 2018 Muhammad Ali Theyab. This is an open-access article
methane reservoirs attract a great deal of attention. distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
Apparently different from conventional gas reservoirs, medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
coal seams possess unique methane storage and transport

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 Citation: Muhammad Ali Theyab (2018) Fluid Flow Assurance Issues: Literature Review. SF J Petroleum 2:1.

well combined with multi-stage slick water hydraulic this goal, early identification of possible tribulations and
fracturing makes the shale gas develop economically and development mitigation strategies plays a key role in a
effective [5]. At present, heavy oil resource is showing its successful completion and operation of a well. These are
importance with the increase of energy demand [6]. accomplished through an effective sampling and analysis
These above reservoirs require assertive recovery program that gives insight into the tentative flow assurance
solutions such as stimulation treatments or steam injection, issues.
innovative solutions that must overcome economic The flow assurance issues in deepwater are
constraints in order to make recovery from these reservoirs primarily due to the deposition of solids in the production
monetarily viable. To help improve well economics in path. The tentative areas of solids deposition, amongst
unconventional reservoirs it is important to evaluate others, can be as near wellbore region, production tubing,
wellbore architecture as integral to well performance and subsea wellhead, subsea flow lines, and separators [12].
total recovery [2]. Flow assurance plays a critical role both from
Increasing hydrocarbon production from the a technical and an economic perspective. The design
conventional and unconventional reservoirs in the worse problems have become greater and the cost of solving
environments has led oil companies to face a critical them went up. Lower seabed temperatures -typically in the
operational challenge of one or more of the fluid flow 1-4ºC range at 1500 - 3000m depth - made the wax and
assurance issues during production and transportation of hydrate problem worse. Large elevation differences across
pipelines in the cold environment. deepwater marine risers not only make evacuation of
Therefore, to overcome these operational liquids for hydrate management difficult, but also intensify
challenges it should illustrate the fluid flow assurance slugging to the point where riser operating ranges have
issues in details, where it is the subject of this study. become significantly narrowed.
Flow assurance is defined as the process of ensuring the Solid deposition in crude oil production systems
successful and economical flow of hydrocarbon stream can be reduced or prevented by a chemical, mechanical,
transport from the reservoir to the point of sale [7]. Flow or thermal remediation method or by a combination of
assurance issues include hydrates, waxing, asphaltenes, some of them [13, 8, 14]. If preventive methods for wax
slugging, naphthenates, scales, corrosion, erosion and deposition (e.g. insulation of pipeline, injection of wax
emulsions [8, 9]. These flow assurance issues require inhibitor, or combination of both) are not successful, a
the application of multiple disciplines, in particular deposit layer grows rapidly in thickness and impedes
a combination of production chemistry, multiphase the flow of oil due to the flow restriction [15, 16]. Those
hydrodynamics, thermodynamics and materials science. mitigation methods become increasingly significant as the
Add to that the need to have a strong understanding of oil industry continues to expand deepwater operations to
operational constraints, and it becomes clear why expertise greater depths and distances in cold environments, which
in flow assurance remains highly valued by the industry poses a great challenge to the industry [17, 18, 19, 20, 21].
[9].
In recent years, flow assurance has been considered 2. Fluid Flow Assurance Issues
the most critical task in deep-water energy production due The major flow assurance issues that need to be
to long distances, high pressures and low temperatures considered for the production of multiphase flow through
[10, 11] that cause financial losses based on production pipelines and risers in offshore or onshore oil and gas field
interruption and damage in pipeline or surface facilities developments are hydrates, waxing, asphaltenes, slugging,
due to solid deposits. naphthenates, scales, corrosion, erosion and emulsions.
Flow assurance is applied to the petroleum flow
path during all stages of production, including system 2.1 Hydrates
selection, detailed design, surveillance, troubleshooting Hydrates are crystalline materials similar to ice in
operation problems, increased recovery in late life, etc. structure and form; at high-pressure and low-temperature
[10, 7]. conditions when light hydrocarbons (e.g. methane, ethane,
With an increase in number of deepwater wells, it propane, isobutane and inorganic molecules such as CO₂
is imperative to minimize risks caused by solids deposition and H₂S) meet with water, crystalline molecular complexes
due to the high costs and difficult accessibility. To achieve form that cause blockages in gas flowlines [11, 22], as

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 Citation: Muhammad Ali Theyab (2018) Fluid Flow Assurance Issues: Literature Review. SF J Petroleum 2:1.

shown in figure 1. As stated, in oil dominated systems, water is

These crystalline compounds of water and low present in the form of dispersed droplets along with a
boiling gases are forming a special form of molecular free gas phase. At high pressure and low temperature
structure. Because of their hydrogen bonding properties, conditions, hydrate shells are formed around the dispersed
the water molecules are able to form cavities, which can water droplets thus converting the water droplets to hydrate
accommodate low molecular weight molecules. The particles as shown in Figure 3.
inclusion of these gas molecules stabilizes the metastable
Figure 3: Conceptual Picture Illustrating Hydrate Formation, Growth,
water lattice structure. There are different types of common Agglomeration and Plugging Phenomena in Water Dispersed Oil
hydrate structure, which are containing numerous small Continuous Systems [25]
and large cavities. Only molecules of modest size and
appropriate geometry are able to enter the cavities [23].
Figure 1: Hydrate Plug Formed in a Subsea Hydrocarbon Pipeline [7, 24]

These partially converted and fully converted

particles can remain homogeneously dispersed in the
continuous oil phase depending on flow conditions.
Once a certain hydrate concentration is reached, the
probability of the hydrate particles coming in contact with
each other increases. As these hydrate particles come in
contact, the cohesive force between hydrate particles,
via liquid capillary bridge, induces agglomeration. The
agglomeration process can result in the formation of a large
Oil dominated systems (i.e., water dispersed in the hydrate mass in the flowline, thus increasing the viscosity
oil phase) as shown in Figure 2 are commonly encountered of the overall system. This large hydrate mass eventually
during the initial stages of a well’s life where the amount may result in settling/accumulation and formation of
of produced water is relatively low. However, this type of a moving and/or stationary bed thereby leading to the
flow pattern is a function of oil properties, salt content, formation of a hydrate plug in a pipeline [25].
temperature, surfactants present (natural or artificial), and The most effective solutions to resolve this
flow parameters associated with the system. Oil dominated issue involve the use of the chemical inhibitors such
flowlines are proven to be prone to hydrate formation at as monoethylene glycol (MEG) or methanol, pipeline
subsea low temperatures and high pressure conditions, insulation, depressurisation, direct electrical heating, or
thereby leading to hydrate-related flow assurance issues the cold flow method [11, 22].
[25].
Figure 2: Cross Sectional View of the Pipeline Depicting an Oil 2.2 Wax Deposition
Continuous System with Complete Water Dispersion [25] Wax deposition is, a common problem, a critical
operational challenge and one of the main flow assurance
problems in the oil industry around the world including
the offshore and onshore oil fields. Wax deposition occurs
when paraffin components in crude oil (alkanes with
carbon numbers greater than 20) precipitate and deposit
on the cold pipeline wall when the inner wall temperature
falls below the wax appearance temperature [15].
The formation of wax in the pipe during the

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fluid production from the bottom hole of the well to the efficiently be utilized without a proper wax deposition
surface can restrict the flow of crude oil, creating pressure prediction. For example, pigs at times get stuck inside
abnormalities and causing an artificial blockage, as shown the pipeline in the presence of thick hard deposits making
in figure 4, leading to the reduction or even cessation of the situation worse, which occurred in a Gulf of Mexico
production [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31]. Wax deposition also pipeline. In the worst cases, production must be stopped in
leads to formation damage near the wellbore, reduction in order to replace the plugged portion of the line, which is
permeability, changes in the reservoir fluid composition estimated to cost approximately $40,000,000 per incident
and fluid rheology due to phase separation as wax solid [21].
precipitates [18]. Another notable remediation technique is to use a
Wax precipitation is impacted by several fused chemical reaction with controlled heat emission to
factors, such as: crude oil composition [32], flow rate, remove the wax deposit. However, in order to successfully
temperature gradient [33], pipe wall temperature (inlet use this technique, it is critical to know the thickness
coolant temperature), crude oil temperature, shear stress, profile and the wax fraction of the deposit as a function of
recirculate time of oil in the rig (production time in the axial location and time. If this technique were to be used
field) and oil viscosity [34]. based on inaccurate information on the location of wax
Figure 4: Wax Deposition Plug in the Wellbore On Platform C in the
deposit and its wax fraction, there could be unwanted local
North Sea [35] high temperature in the pipeline due to the failure of re-
dissolving wax deposit.
Successful management of wax deposition
will become more important in the future because new
explorations and productions are being made farther
offshore. The wax deposition management cost to the
petroleum production industry is enormous and will
increase both in terms of capital costs (e.g. preventive
methods) and operating costs (e.g. corrective methods)
[16].
Recently, three technologies are used for
mitigating wax deposition in the offshore and onshore oil
fields around the world, namely, wax inhibitors (chemical
inhibitors), thermal management, and pigging. Most of
the oil companies are using the wax inhibitors, as a main
Wax deposition in crude oil production systems mitigation method to reduce wax, combined with pigging
can be reduced or prevented by a chemical, mechanical, or or thermal insulation.
thermal remediation method or by a combination of some
of them [13]. If preventive methods for wax deposition 2.3 Asphaltenes
(e.g. insulation of pipeline, injection of wax inhibitor, or Asphaltenes are polar compounds, as shown in
combination of both) are not successful, a wax gel layer figure 5, which present in the heaviest fractions of the
grows rapidly in thickness and impedes the flow of oil due crude oil and are defined by their solubility characteristics.
to the flow restriction [15, 16]. Those mitigation methods Asphaltene that mostly leads to choking in pipelines
become increasingly significant as the oil industry and reservoirs’ wells is a highly viscose compound with
continues to expand deepwater operations to greater a high boiling temperature. Normally, due to its high
depths and distances in cold environments, which poses a tendency toward association and aggregation, it is called
great challenge to the industry [17, 18, 19, 20, 21]. as “Cholesterol of Petroleum”. Chemically, Asphaltene
One of the most commonly used corrective consists of some simple heteroatoms, such as carbon,
methods used in the fields is pigging. In pigging, a pig hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfide, and has aromatic
(a solid object with the diameter smaller than the inner cyclic structures [36, 37, 11, 12, 38].
diameter of the pipe) passes through the pipeline to scrape Asphaltenes have different ratios of solubility with
off the wax deposit. However, the pigging method cannot different solvents. Although they have a strong solubility

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with benzene and toluene, their insolubilities in n-pentane 2.4 Slugging

and n-heptane in room temperature is clear. Asphaltene in Slug flow is one of the flow patterns occurring
heavy oil can find an opportunity to precipitate when the in multiphase pipelines. It is characterised by a series
oil’s conditions are manipulated by changing pressure or of liquid plugs (slugs) separated by relatively large gas
temperature and composition of phases. These changes pockets, as shown in figure 6. Slugging in production
can be occurred during the primary recovery, secondary pipelines and risers has been a major operational issue due
recovery, and tertiary recovery in porous media in to the creation of instability in production flow as a result
reservoirs or in wells, pipelines, separators and refinery of pressure fluctuation, thereby causing considerable and
facilities [38]. unnecessary loss in production and revenue [41].
Asphaltene precipitation is more likely to occur in an under- Severe slugging is a phenomenon occurring in
saturated, light reservoir fluid than a heavy hydrocarbon two-phase flow through a downward inclined flow line
system. Various problems result due to asphaltene followed by a vertival riser at low gas flow rates. In this
precipitation, including a decline in the production rate phenomenon, the liquid accumulations in the riser and
and other operational problems, such as higher viscosity curvature section of the flow line blocking the passage of
and water-oil emulsion, etc. gas in the lowest point of the system. As a result, the gas
Usually, asphaltene dispersant chemicals can be front penetrates the liquid blockage intermittently, causing
used successfully. However, the chemical injection point extremely large sluge, severe fluctuations, and flooding of
must be at the reservoir depth. This requires high-pressure downstream equipment [42].
injection at appreciable rates (e.g. 300 ppm in oil). There are several techniques that can be used to
Asphaltene inhibition is exceeded in injection facililties, mitigate production slugging, such as the riser base gas-
volume, and cost only by hydrate inhibition [39]. In the lift system, complex detection and control systems, use of
industry, there is a consensus that the prevention principle large slug catchers, and intelligent slug mitigation systems
is the best way to solve the problems caused by solids [41, 11, 43, 42].
deposition [11, 12]. Figure 6: Slug Formation in the Riser of the Hydrocarbon Pipeline,
There is a confined area named Asphaltene Modified from Johal 2012 [11]
deposition enveloped (ADE) region where provokes
Asphaltenes of heavy oils to be agglomerated and to be
fallen down. So far, a large number of researchers have
attempted at identifying the ADE region for a specific
crude oil by presenting an effective manner, whereby
Asphaltenes precipitation due to either gas injection or
pressure reduction can be quantitatively estimated or even
to be inhibited [38].
Figure 5: Polar Compounds of Asphaltenes [40]

2.5 Naphthenates
Over the past two decades, many operators have
faced the complex deposition problem of naphthenate
along with other higher organic and inorganic scale.
Such deposits can hinder oil production in two possible
ways, formation of hard and sticky deposit, and creation
of sludgy foam contributing to forming tough emulsion.
Naphthenates can cause serious oilfield issues, such as
the potential shutdown of the offshore facilities due to
naphthenate deposits, or the formation of tough micr-

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emulsion contribute to a decline in oil quality and solution [47, 48]. Several existing techniques are followed
production rate [44]. to reduce scale, such as mechanical means, chemical
Naphthenates are formed from the salts of dissolution and scale inhibitors [11, 48].
naphthenic acids when they precipitate as acidic fractions Deposition of inorganic salts such as calcium
resulting from the processing of petroleum products. A carbonate (CaCO3) can cause formation damage and
naphthenate is composed of a heavy mixture of organic production equipment failure during the development of a
acids such as cycloalkyl carboxylic acids, see figure 5 [11]. reservoir. In case of waterflooding, complex geochemical
The formation of naphthenate salts is an emerging problem processes between the injection water, formation water and
and occurs in the production of crudes with significant rock occur and the concentration of ions increases. Major
amount of naphthenic acids and produced water with contribution of scale control concentrates on understating
significant amounts of alkali or alkali earth metals [45]. the conditions scale formation and its inhibition [49].
In general, all kinds of naphthenates can cause Inorganic salt precipitation can occur during the
production losses in oil fields. Naphthenates can also fluid flow in reservoir and wellbore as well as the wellhead
have a major effect on separation efficiency of the host in petroleum operations. Salt deposition could have
processing facilities, especially calcium and sodium types, extremely undesirable consequences such as reduction of
which the most are commonly found naphthenates in oil production rate, well productivity and the turnaround time
fields [11, 45]. of electrical submersible pumps, as well as plugging the
Figure 7: An Example of a Naphthenic Acid Structure [11]
perforations, premature failure of downhole equipment
and formation damage [50, 51, 49]. These phenomena
could result in a significant deterioration of development
process. The control of the inorganic salt formation is
complicated due to the complex reservoir fluid composition
[52]. Calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate
and magnesium carbonate are the most common types of
inorganic salts deposited in oil and gas industry.
A water system with a high concentration of
salt-forming ions is essential for precipitation. Different
conditions and parameters affect CaCO3 deposition
during the oilfield operations. CaCO3 precipitation can be
determined by the loss of chemical equilibrium between
ions, and carbon dioxide (CO2) in water. The CO2 balance
determines the possibility of CaCO3 precipitation. When
the pressure is below the saturation pressure, gas releases
2.6 Scales from the liquid primarily in the reservoir and on the
Scales can develop in the transportation system walls of the production equipment. Therefore, multiple
as a result of water forming deposits, as a crystalline interfaces are formed in phase separation. This condition is
growth of insoluble salt or oxides held within the water favorable for the nucleation and crystal growth of CaCO3.
component. Scale compounds will precipitate out of water Salt deposits can also serve as adsorbents to the heavy
when their individual solubility in water is exceeded as a components of the reservoir fluid and result in adhesion of
result of incompatibility, and this will reduce the transport solid particles to gas bubbles [46, 49].
capacity of flowlines and potentially cause plugging, as Organic components, specifically naphthenic
shown in figure 6. The formation of scale deposits depends acids and their salts, have a profound influence on
on temperature, the concentration of scale forming species, scale formation. Aromatic compounds, unsaturated
pH, water quality and hydrodynamic conditions [46]. hydrocarbons, sulfur compounds, asphaltenes, resins
There are different types of scale inhibitors for and paraffin are the most common types of organic
preventing different kinds of inorganic salt formation; components, which affect the salt precipitation. The effect
including CaCO3 Scale inhibition mechanism is based on of the inorganic components in CaCO3 scale formation is
the prevention of nucleation and salt crystal growth in the explained by hydrophobization of the salt crystals due to

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adsorption of a watersoluble organic material in porous In recent years the number of corrosion failures
media, substantially naphthenic acids and their salts. in onshore and offshore pipelines has steadily decreased
Adhesion of CaCO3 particles on the walls of downhole due to the introduction of corrosion management strategies
tools is described solely by the hydrophobicity of solid by pipeline operators. A vital component in effective
surfaces [49]. corrosion management is an accurate determination of
Waterfloodinng is the main method of secondary corrosion growth rates.
oil recovery. In this case, complex geochemical processes Pipeline corrosion is one of the main causes of
of interaction between the injection water and formation subsea pipeline failure. It is necessary to monitor and
water and rock occur in the reservoir [50]. These processes analyse pipeline condition to effectively predict likely
lead to formation of saturated solution with ions. Scale failure. Subsea pipeline corrosion weakens the resistance
formation depends on reservoir temperature, pressure, level of pipelines to internal and external forces, and it becomes
of solution saturation with ions in the mixture of injection the leading factor that causes the integrity loss of the
and formation waters and hydrodynamic behavior of fluid pipelines [54].
flow. These parameters control the amount and morphology When carbon steel pipes are used in transporting
of salt crystals during waterflooding. Therefore, when oil and multiphase flow containing a fraction of water,
mixing two incompatible waters with high concentrations there is usually a high risk of corrosion. The decision to
of bicarbonate and calcium ions, CaCO3 crystallization use carbon steel is usually economic - in order to minimise
and its precipitation occurs in the near wellbore formation capital expenditure - and its use usually requires the
zones depending on the reservoir pressure and temperature implementation of a full internal corrosion management
[49]. strategy to control corrosion levels throughout the system
Inhibitor injection into reservoirs is widely used life.
for reservoir and equipment protection from salt deposits. Various mechanisms have been postulated for the
This treatment provides a reliable long-term protection corrosion process; all of these involve the formation of a
against scaling [49]. The efficiency of scale prevention carbonic acid ion or bicarbonate when CO2 is dissolved in
depends on the processes which affect the formation of water. This process can lead to corrosion, see figure 7, of
inorganic salts in the saturated solution. the material at a rate that is greater than that from general
Figure 8: Formation of Scale in the Pipe [53] acid corrosion with the same pH value. The mechanism of
corrosion is dependent on the quantity of the CO2 dissolved
in the water phase, and predictions of corrosion levels are
currently based on the knowledge of CO2 partial pressure
and the use of correlations such as De Waard Milliams [11,
54].
Figure 9: Corrosion Formation in the Pipe [55]

2.7 Corrosion
Corrosion is the deterioration of a metal as a result
of chemical reactions between it and the surrounding
environment. Both the type of metal and the environmental
conditions, particularly gasses that are in contact with the 2.8 Erosion
metal, determine the form and rate of deterioration. Erosion occurs when solid particles in the

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multiphase/fluid flow, or droplets in the gas flow, impinge 2.9 Emulsions

or scrape against the walls of pipes and equipment [56]. With a combination of low ambient sea temperature
Erosion due to solid particles is a major problem in and high fluid viscosity due to inversion water cut
many industrial applications, particularly in the field of oil conditions, tight emulsions can occur between the water
and gas [57]. Sudden change in the flow direction in elbows and oil phases, see figure 9. This can impair the separation
leads to considerable changes in particle distribution in the efficiency at the processing facility, and thus cause a
flow and consequently higher erosion rate. For example loss in the production of the asset. In system shutdown
Lin et al. showed that the erosion rate of 90º elbows is 50 conditions, the rheology of the fluids may change from
times bigger than in straight pipes [58]. Newtonian to non-Newtonian, exhibiting characteristics
Erosion due to sand production has been of high yield stress during low shear rate production start-
considered the cause of a number of problems associated up operations. In these conditions there may be a need to
with separation efficiency, material loss and flow path inject de-emulsifiers into the subsea facilities and also to
blockages, see figure 8. Sand screens are generally ensure that sufficient pressure is available to re-start the
installed in the horizontal sections of production well system following an unplanned shutdown [11, 60].
bores in order to minimise sand production. The erosion Inappropriate handling and management of the
predictive technique should include the mechanisms of petroleum emulsions can cause serious detrimental effects
kinetic energy imparted by the sand particle velocity and on public health and environment due to its high toxicity
size, and the angle of the impact on the material should and high production quantity worldwide; naphthenic acids
also be included in the erosion prediction calculations in and heavy metals are the major toxic components in the
order to estimate an accurate erosion rate [11, 58, 57]. petroleum emulsions, which are highly lethal for micro-
There are some suggestions to reduce erosion organisms, aquatic algae and aquatic organisms [60].
on the pipes and equipment, for example, the number
Figure 11: Photomicrograph of a Water-in-Oil Emulsion [61]
of bends and twists should be limited. Additionally, he
suggests that bends and twists should also be as gradual
as possible. Since impingements happen when the flow
domain changes, making a straighter pipe will limit this
variance in flow. For areas that are prone to erosion, for
instance, engineers can change the material of the pipe
or assure a liquid film along the pipe. Since the rate of
erosion is dependent on the material properties of the pipe,
stronger, harder pipes will experience less erosion. The
liquid film, however, acts as a shield slowing down the
particle impingement [56].

Figure 10: Erosion Formation in the Pipe [59]

Conclusion
Flow assurance is successful operations that
generate a, manageable, and profitable flow of fluids
from the reservoir to the sales point. The flow assurance
discipline that enables these operations is an integration of
disciplines, from operations to engineering to business to
science.
The study focused on a comprehensive review
of fluid flow assurance issues to show the risk of scale
deposition associated to asphaltenes, and wax precipitation
in wellbores and pipelines that reduce production, and

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presented hydrates and emulsion formation, corrosion and 6. Sun Z, Li X, Shi J, et al. (2017) A semi-analytical model for
erosion and identify the appropriate chemical strategy to drainage and desorption area expansion during coal-bed methane
guarantee the production. production. Fuel 204: 214-226.
The current work reviewed the most effective
7. Irmann-Jacobsen Tine Bauck (2013) Flow Assurance - A
solutions to resolve the fluid flow assurance issues
System Perspective. MEK4450-FMC Subsea technologies.
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be at the reservoir depth. There are several techniques (Keynote). Offshore Technology Conference. Houston, Texas,
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