In offshore oil production, sometimes unexpected situations may occur, resulting in full blockage of a subsea oil pipeline. The blockage is often due to wax freezing in cold sea. In such cases the solution is to remove the blocked oil pipeline from the subsea. In Campos Basin, Brazil, the launcher ship brings the pipelines to the Vitória Harbor, E.S (southern Brazil). The solution adopted there for blockage removal is the application of differential pressure to promote block displacement. The maximum allowed pressure is equal to the rating pressure for the pipeline, but sometimes it is not enough to move the wax core. A new solution has been developed to allow the recovery of those flexible pipes. It consists of an electrical heating process to melt the wax residues. The electrical current circulates through a metallic layer of the flexible pipeline. This solution was accomplished with success and more than 20 km of pipelines have already been recovered. This paper presents the numerical simulation and the experimental results of a flexible pipeline reel electrical heating operation and the method to control it.
Skip Nav Destination
2000 3rd International Pipeline Conference
October 1–5, 2000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Conference Sponsors:
- Pipeline Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4025-2
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Removal of Wax Deposits in Flexible Pipelines by Electrical Heating Free
Marcelo de Albuquerque Lima Gonçalves,
Marcelo de Albuquerque Lima Gonçalves
PETROBRAS R&D Center, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Search for other works by this author on:
Carlos Henrique da Silva Dittz
Carlos Henrique da Silva Dittz
PETROBRAS R&D Center, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Search for other works by this author on:
Marcelo de Albuquerque Lima Gonçalves
PETROBRAS R&D Center, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Carlos Henrique da Silva Dittz
PETROBRAS R&D Center, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Paper No:
IPC2000-231, V002T07A006; 6 pages
Published Online:
October 21, 2016
Citation
de Albuquerque Lima Gonçalves, M, & da Silva Dittz, CH. "Removal of Wax Deposits in Flexible Pipelines by Electrical Heating." Proceedings of the 2000 3rd International Pipeline Conference. Volume 2: Integrity and Corrosion; Offshore Issues; Pipeline Automation and Measurement; Rotating Equipment. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. October 1–5, 2000. V002T07A006. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IPC2000-231
Download citation file:
189
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Research on the Pump–Vessel Combined Ore Lifting Equipment for
Deep-Sea Rigid Pipe Mining System
J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng (February,2008)
Scaling of Solutions for the Lateral Buckling of Elastic-Plastic Pipelines
J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng (August,2009)
Profiles of Two JOMAE Associate Editors (A Continuing Series)
J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng (October,2021)
Related Chapters
Thermoelectric Coolers
Thermal Management of Microelectronic Equipment
Introduction to Pipeline Systems
Pipeline Pumping and Compression Systems: A Practical Approach
Development of Nuclear Boiler and Pressure Vessels in Taiwan
Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Volume 3, Third Edition