Arto Voutilainen, Ossi Lehtikangas, Antti Nissinen, and Mika Tienhaara, Rocsole Ltd, Finland, explain how the company’s deposition inline inspection tool can contribute to effective pipeline monitoring.
T
he key objective in flow assurance in the oil and gas industry is to enable and maintain continuous, safe and cost-effective flow of fluids in different stages of hydrocarbon production and transportation. One of the main issues in this field is the control and management of deposits, such as waxes, scales, asphaltenes and hydrates, since they can lead to severe production inefficiencies and even catastrophic blockages, causing significant losses.
Deposition management The presence of deposition buildups in pipelines has many unwanted effects. Most importantly, they constrict the flow and therefore reduce the throughput, causing pressure abnormalities and increased risk of equipment failures. In the worst case, excessive amounts of deposits can even cause blockages that mean production needs to be suspended for a long time and extensive remediation effort may be needed. Deposits may also
29
