Over the past decade and a half, TUHFP, working together with member companies, has generated well over 500 hydrate tests. Hydrate testing is primarily conducted in a pilot scale flowloop, however, other hydrate testing facilities exist. This flowloop has been under continuous development to meet the challenging oil producing demands. Recently, a vertical deposition spool was added to the flowloop to study and characterize solids deposited on the pipe wall. The spool is equipped with a high pressure camera used to make visual observations inside the spool and a rotating nuclear densitometer used to estimate deposit thickness. This device may be used to study deposit growth as a function of hydrate (or wax or ice) volume fraction. Analysis of the melts from the deposits allows monitoring of wax, asphaltene and/or additive distribution in the flowing mixture.
The current focus is flow assurance solids interaction – mainly hydrate-wax-ice. With this state-of-the-art designed deposition spool, the program will continue to generate data and models to better understand how operating conditions, flow conditions, and wax or hydrate volume fraction may affect hydrocarbon transportation.
There are a number of ongoing projects including hydrate transportability studies, ice deposition, restart studies, plug generation and dissociation strategies, inhibitor evaluation, pigging, jumper displacement and solid-solid interaction.
- The Hydrate transportability studies is aimed at correlating hydrate volume fraction to test variables such as liquid loading, watercut, pressure, fluid composition, etc.
- Hydrates tests have been used to model/hypothesize hydrate transport mechanisms. Safe generation and transportation of hydrates, if achieved, would save the oil and gas industry millions per year.
- Plugging mechanisms and prediction studies are aimed at developing a predictive tool that can be used to predict plugging/bedding onset. Plug dissociation studies are aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the different plug dissociation methods including DEH and THIs such as MEG/MeOH/N2.
- Jumper/riser studies (currently operating at low pressure) are focused on evaluating the effectiveness of MEG/MeOH in displacing hydrocarbons in riser geometry.
- Additives and fluid characterization studies are focused on evaluating the performance of additives such as inhibitors and also correlating hydrate transportability to carrier fluid properties.
- Restart studies are aimed at establishing insights and developing a better understanding of the transient behavior of hydrate forming/carrying systems.
- Ice deposition studies are aimed at establishing baseline insights into hydrate and wax interaction.
- An analytical lab that supports the most critical feed and deposit characterization testing is also available for quick on-site analysis of test samples.