Wax control

Arild Stokkenes
Leading advisor Multiphase Fluid Control

Outline
Flow Assurance in Statoil
What is wax and what problems may it cause?
How to control wax deposition

How to monitor wax deposition

Case example: How to not control wax deposition
2/10/2014

Flow Assurance
Process
Separator
Slug catcher

Main deliverables/competence:

Thermohydralic multiphase analysis

System design
Hydrate- and wax control philosophies
Slug control
Operational support
Multiphase metering

Scale control

Asphaltene control

Wax control

Chemical Injection
Package
Fluid properties
Rheology

Hydrate control

Emulsion control

Corrosion control

Multiphase equipment:
Wellbore hydraulics

Transient pipeline
thermohydraulics

Multiphase meter
Multiphase pump

Flow assurance = safe, uninterrupted and simultaneous

transport of gas, oil and water from reservoirs to processing facilities.

2/10/2014

Fluid control the problems

Gas hydrates
Asphaltenes

Wax
Kristin-NJ/DR Wye
- wax deposition and temperature profile after 600 h

70

50
0.003

40
30

0.002

20
0.001

10
0

0
0

20

40

60

Pipeline length [km]

2/10/2014

Wax
deposition

60

0.004

80

100

Temperature [C]

Wax deposition [m]

0.005

Fluid
temperature

The future .
Arctic / harsh
environment

Longer distance
Deeper
water

More difficult
fluids

2/10/2014

Increased field
complexity

Outline
Flow Assurance in Statoil
What is wax and what problems may it cause?
How to control wax deposition

How to monitor wax deposition

Case example: How to not control wax deposition
2/10/2014

What is wax?

Wax consistency
range

Soft wax

2/10/2014

Hard wax

n-alkane

What is wax?
Natural constituents of crude oils and
most gas condensates

Typical wax content 1-15 wt%

Mostly long chain n-alkanes
Solubility strongly dependent on
temperature

Operational consequences:
Gelling
Deposition

2/10/2014

wax
crystal

Wax-forming components in crude oils

C10+

Mainly n-alkanes
Non-wax

Wax

C7
C8
C9

Lab. analysis Pseudo-components

subtype of the saturates (non-polar
compunds without double bonds)
Mainly alkanes of > C18
Can be linear, branched or cyclic

9 - 2/10/2014

Simple questions difficult to answer !

Steady-state
Wax deposition

Shut-down/restart
Gelling

Will wax accumulate on the pipe wall

when the oil flows?

If so, where and how fast?

How often do we have to pig the line?
Is chemical assistance needed (wax
inhibitor)?

Key parameters:

2/10/2014

When we shut down a pipeline, do we

have enough power (pressure) to make it
flow again?

How long will it take to reach normal flow

rate?

Is chemical assistance needed (pour

point depressant)?

Wax appearance temperature (WAT)

Wax content
Pour Point

Wax precipitation and wax depositon

Wax precipitation is defined as the formation of solid particles out of the liquid,
directly related to thermodynamic properties.

Wax deposition is describing the formation and growth of the precipitated solid
on a surface, related to flow and transport process.

3 inch
2 inch

Cold finger device

2/10/2014
11

Flow loop

Wax precipitation curve

Norne crude at 1 bar
8

Wt% solid wax

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-20

-10

10

20

Temperature (C)

2/10/2014

30

40

50

Wax diffusion towards cold surface

1. The cold wall removes wax molecules from the oil
2. Give rise to a diffusion of wax molecules toward the wall

n wax DM
n
wax
DM
dC / dr
dC / dT
dT / dr

2/10/2014
13 -

dC
dC dT
wax DM
dr
dT dr

mass flux of dissolved wax molecules towards the pipe wall

density of solid wax
molecular diffusion coefficient of dissolved wax molecules
concentration gradient of dissolved wax in the laminar sub-layer
solubility of wax components as a function of the temperature
radial temperature gradient close to the wall

Wax deposition by molecular diffusion

Laminar boundary
layer

Turbulent core
Temperature gradient

Heat loss

WAT

dT/dr
dC/dr = dC/dT * dT/dr

Dissolved

Pipe wall

wax

2/10/2014
14 -

Wax concentration gradient

dC/dr
Velocity profile

Wax depositon_Process
1. Transport
to pipe wall

2. Inital wax
layer formation

sites

3. Growth

or

4. Aging

Thickness

thin gel

Roughness
Hardness

Diffusion
Dispersion

Fluid-solid
interaction

Crystal growth
Trapping of oil

Time
Shear/hydrodynamics
Diffusion/Counter diffusion

Wax deposition process shown by Rnningsen

Rnningsen HP, 6th Int. Conference on Phase Behaviour and
Fouling, Keynote speech, 2005

15

2/10/2014

What happens in the pipeline?

7

40

Wax after 7 days

35
30

25

Wax after 2 days

20
3
15
Wax after 1 day

Temperature

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Length (km)

2/10/2014

10

80

90

0
100 110 120

Temperature (C)

wax thickness (mm)

Wax deposition modelling in Statoil

Commercial tools like OLGA, PVTsim

Wax precipitation curve tuning developed internally
Mutivariate analysis
3

Wax content [wt%]

2.5

Cold flow cool

down section

1.5

Subsea separation and

multiphase pumps

Water injection
pumps

0.5

0
0

10

20

30

40

Wax thickness (mm)

Data
Power and control
Before tuning
distribution unit
After tuning

Predicted value
Measured value

50

Temperature [ C]

Wax precipitation curve tuning

17
2/10/2014

Multivariate analysis validation

The wax build-up can be reproduced

30

.. but is hard to predict !

The pressure build-up can also be reproduced by

proper tuning of the roughness effect of the wax
deposit, i.e.

Wax roughness factor

Rough. 0.5 - Diff. 7 - Shear C3 0.7

Rough. 1.0 - Diff. 2 - Shear tuning
Rough. 0.5 - Diff. 6

200 m wax

20
280 m3 wax
15
10

The wax deposition profile can be reproduced by

various combinations of model parameters:

Diffusion coefficient
Wax porosity
Shear stripping

wax thickness (mm)

The wax build-up profile in a pipeline can be

reproduced using the OLGA (RRR) model.

210 m3 wax

5
0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

Length (km)

220
Field Pressure

210
Heimdal Export Pressure (bara)

25

Rough. 0.5 - Diff. 6

200
190
180
170
160
150
140
130
120
110
100

Different ongoing JIP and internalt research

ongoing for improving the models

2/10/2014
18

50

100

150

200
250
Time (days)

300

350

400

Outline
Flow Assurance in Statoil
What is wax and what problems may it cause?
How to control wax deposition

How to monitor wax deposition

Case example: How to not control wax deposition
2/10/2014

Wax deposition
challenges

Stuck pigs
HSE
Inspection tools
Plugged pipelines

2/10/2014

The most famous wax illustration !

Pipeline between Snorre B and Statfjord
B platforms (N. Sea)

3 m3 of accumulated wax ahead of pig

Nearly stuck non-bypass pig in riser
Now the line is pigged regularly with
optimized bypass pig

Ref. SPE 77573 (2002)

2/10/2014

Methods for controlling wax deposition

Pipeline insulation
External insulation coating on single pipes
Pipe-in-pipe systems
Pigging
Chemicals
Inhibitors
Dispersants
Dissolvers
PPD treated oil; this work
Heat
Bundles
Electric heating
Hot oil flushing
2/10/2014

PP-Solid
PP-Solid
PP-Syntactic
PP-Solid
PP-Adhesive
FBE

PP-Foam

1.
2.

3.

Wax control strategies

Single phase oil/condensate pipelines:

Wax control normally by regular pigging

Medium length multiphase oil and gas condensate pipelines:

Normally insulated (or heated)

Prevents wax deposition and hydrate formation

Long-distance multiphase pipelines:

a) Low-wax gas condensates (Snhvit):

Wax deposition will normally not be an issue
b) Oils and waxy gas condensates:
No general, proven way to control wax deposition
Wax-repellent surface coatings?

2/10/2014

Outline
Flow Assurance in Statoil
What is wax and what problems may it cause?
How to control wax deposition

How to monitor wax deposition

Case example: How to not control wax deposition
2/10/2014

Methods for monitoring of wax deposition

Method

Features

Pressure drop

Kind of proven
Gives no deposit profile

Pressure pulse

Proven for single phase lines

Gives axial deposit distribution

Distributed temperature sensing with fiberoptics

Proven for temperature measurements

Potential for deposit detection (utilize insulation effect)
Local measurement

Heat pulse monitoring

Not fully qualified (WO 2009/051495)

Deposit detection by response to heat pulse (utilize
insuation effect)
Local measurement

25 2/10/2014

Outline
Flow Assurance in Statoil
What is wax and what problems may it cause?
How to control wax deposition

How to monitor wax deposition

Case example: How to not control wax deposition
2/10/2014

Heimdal Brae condensate export pipeline

Huldra

Vale
Vale
Skirne

Heimdal

Statpipe
Brae

2/10/2014

Introduction of Vale fluids in 2002

Before 2002, no wax and no pigging performed. Then Vale field started up with
high wax content.

Normalized pressure drop, bar

80

WAT (C)
WAX in STO (wt%)

70

Volume rate (Sm3/d)

60

50

Heimdal

Vale

3,2
4,2

24,6
7,3

-22,3
0,5

13,1
4,9

1000

700

300

2000

Start-up waxy cond.

40
30
20
10
0
19.4.01

5.11.01

24.5.02

10.12.02

28.6.03

14.1.04

1.8.04

- Build up of line differential pressure was insignificant until 2004

28
2/10/2014

Huldra Mixture

2004 - 2008
- Foam pigging
program
- Stuck pigs

2008
-

Fill and soak operation

Chemical dissolvant
Very good effect in laboratory
Only minor effect in field

2008 - 2010
- Foam pigging
- Stuck pigs

2/10/2 29
014

Heimdal Brae wax characteristics

Heimdal Brae wax consists mainly of high molecular weight paraffins that are hard to dissolve.
Supported by indications of high melting temperature (60 C +).
Wax removal must be based on a combination of dissolution and break-down of the wax
deposit.

2/10/2014
30 -

2010: Aggressive pigging!

Why change strategy?
1. The pipeline NEEDS to become wax free due to inspection requirements
2. Progressive approach with foam pigs does not work

Two Alternatives for consideration:

1.

Hydraulically Activated Power Pig (HAPP)

Limited experience

Assumed best for downstream facilities

2. High Friction Jetting Pig (HFJP)

Well proven technology
New application

Overall risk was evaluated together with our downstream

partners, and the HAPP was chosen

2/10/2014

HAPP pigging operation January 2012

Markland tests before and after

Pig stopped 15.01.12 at 8357 m

2/10/2014

Estimated wax removed by HAPP = 80 m3

Remaining wax in pipeline = approx 350 m3

2013 High Friction Jet Pig

Brae

Heimdal

- Launch 1 off pig from Heimdal using condensate

- Pig to be tracked through topsides down to riser hang-off
- Pigging speed: ca 0.4 m/s

2/10/2014

500m zone

Finally SUCCESS
~10 m3 wax left in the pipeline (+/- 50%)
Reduced from ~350 m3
Wax layer of ~1mm
Reduced from up to 20mm

Learning
A main learning:

Consequences of
changed operating conditions (e.g.
new fluid composition) have to be
carefully evaluated and wax control
philosophy updated accordingly.

New tie-backs or reservoirs

Retrograde gas condensates may
become significantly leaner as
reservoir pressure declines

An original wax problem may in

fact disappear !

2/10/2014
34

WAT (C)
WAX in STO (wt%)
Volume rate (Sm3/d)

Heimdal

Vale

Huldra Mixture

3,2
4,2

24,6
7,3

-22,3
0,5

13,1
4,9

1000

700

300

2000

Year

Mole% C1

Mole%
C18+

Bottomhole
pressure
(bar)

Condensateto-gas ratio
Sm3/MSm3

Simulated
WAT
(PVTsim)
(deg C)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

76,91
77,91
78,39
78,76
79,72
79,89
79,53
79,45
79,30
78,65

0,928
0,406
0,280
0,173
0,098
0,036
0,017
0,009
0,007
0,004

485

549
418
346
290
226
189
166
146
132
122

22
16
11
6
-2
<0
<0
<<0
<<0
<<0

65

Thank you

2/10/2014