Looping subsea flowlines is one method being utilized for flow assurance. Looping allows the possibility of circulating chemicals and/or tools to remediate partial flowline blockages due to wax, paraffins, asphaltenes, hydrates, sand, and scale. This study considers if flow testing can provide an a priori knowledge of the presence and/or size of the partial blockage before remedial action is taken. The techniques developed are for single-phase liquid flow and can be applied during circulation operations in looped flowlines or in single-phase oil transportation lines. Using these models, a blockage map is created to indicate what size of blockage can be detected and what size of blockage can be characterized as to length and diameter of the restriction. Field-scale verification was obtained by placing fixed length and diameter partial blockages in the 9460-ft LSU flowloop (3.64-in. i.d.). Tests were conducted with liquid rates to 11 bpm (15,840 bbl/day) and pressures to 4000 psia.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Topics:
Flow (Dynamics), Ocean engineering, Testing, Sands, Transportation systems
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