SafeHeat Flow Assurance
SafeHeat® technology, custom thermal fluids, and flow assurance engineering provide total approach for plugged GoM pipeline.
Location: Gulf of Mexico
PIPELINE SPECIFICATIONS
6 inch Oil Sales Pipeline
9,900’
346 bbl. capacity
BACKGROUND
A GoM operator experienced increased differential pressures on a bulk crude sales pipeline. Failed production chemical soaks deemed ineffective in mitigating the issue and indicated paraffin deposition near the subsea tie-in location. Once differential pressures levels reached severe ranges, well production rates dramatically overshadowed oil sales capacity.
SOLUTION
BlueFin was challenged to develop a remediation plan that alleviated the accumulation of solids material. Combining in-depth analysis on the oil and deposit material with a modeled estimate of deposition severity, BlueFin’s approach utilized customized Inferno® thermal fluids coupled with SafeHeat® technology.
Plan of Execution
Isolate the operator’s crude pipeline through closure of the SSTI valve adjoining the 16-inch sales pipeline to the 20-inch liquids transmission pipeline.
Pump Inferno® 4030 to the SSTI manifold via the bypass line and into the flowline covering 25% of the flowline geometry.
Utilize crude production and platform pumps to flow back Inferno® 4030 treatments to the marine vessel.
Repeat this step until pressure differentials reach 100 psi.
Technical Achievements
175 bbl. of solids were removed.
An additional 30 bbl. of liquid deposition was removed in solution form with our Inferno 4030 solvent.
Decreased differential pressure from 1,300 psi at 26 gpm to 100 psi at 80 gpm.
Increased production and reduced pump wear through excessive utilization.
Remediated obstructions that would have eventually caused a total line restriction.
Alleviated the need for expensive coil tubing intervention.
Project executed with assistance from a major marine contractor onboard a DP2 vessel.
Project completed with zero incidents and no environmental impact.
