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http://dx.doi.org/10.5916/jkosme.2015.39.6.662

Analysis of Influential Factors on Wax Deposition for Flow Assurance in Subsea Oil Production System  

Jung, Sun-Young (Energy and Resources Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University)
Kang, Pan-Sang (Energy and Resources Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University)
Lim, Jong-Se (Energy and Resources Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University)
Publication Information
Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology / v.39, no.6, 2015 , pp. 662-669 More about this Journal
Abstract
There has been an increased interest in the mitigation of wax deposition because wax, which usually accumulates in subsea oil-production systems, interrupts stable oil production and significantly increases the cost. To guarantee a required oil flow by mitigating wax deposition, we need to obtain a reliable estimation of the wax deposition. In this research, we perform simulations to understand the major mechanisms that lead to wax deposition, namely molecular diffusion, shear stripping reduction, and aging. While the model variables (shear reduction multiplier, wax porosity, wax thermal conductivity, and molecular diffusion multiplier) can be measured experimentally, they have high uncertainty. We perform an analysis of these variables and the amount of water and gas in the multiphase flow to determine these effects on the behavior of wax deposition. Based on the results obtained during this study for a higher wax porosity and molecular diffusion multiplier, we were able to confirm the presence of thicker wax deposits. As the shear reduction multiplier decreased, the thickness of the wax deposits increased. As the amount of water increased, there was also an increase in the amount of wax deposits until 40% water cut and decreased. As the amount of gas increased, the amount of wax deposits increased because of the loss of the light hydrocarbon component in the liquid phase. The results of this study can be utilized to estimate the wax deposition behavior by comparing the experiment (or field) and simulation data.
Keywords
Wax deposition; Flow assurance; Subsea oil production system;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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