Experimental Study on Hydrate Formation and Flow Characteristics with High Water Cuts

Shidong Zhou, Xiaokang Chen, Chengyuan He, Shuli Wang, Shuhua Zhao and Xiaofang Lv
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Shidong Zhou: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Xiaokang Chen: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Chengyuan He: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Shuli Wang: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Shuhua Zhao: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Xiaofang Lv: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: The rapid increasing amount of produced water in the deep-water and ultra-deep-water fields, especially those at their later development stages, increases the risk of the occurrence of hydrates plugging. In order to prevent and remediate the hydrates risks, it is important to understand the hydrate formation, slurry flow, and plugging characteristics and mechanisms under high water cuts conditions. In this paper, experiments with high water cuts ranging from 60–100% were conducted using a high pressure flow loop with observation windows. The whole processes of the hydrate formation, slurry flow and plugging is visually seen and recorded, and has been discussed and explained in detail in this paper. Moreover, it is found that the increasing water cuts shorten the induction time, but increase the volume fraction of hydrates. As the water cuts increase, the flow time of the hydrate slurry decreases, which serves as a critical parameter for the safe operation of the pipeline. In addition, different hypothetical mechanisms have been proposed for the medium and high water cuts conditions. We believe that this research can provide theoretical support for the safe transportation of oil and gas development in the high water cut oilfield.

Keywords: high water cut; hydrates; formation; plugging; mechanisms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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