Theory

Flow assurance
Flow assurance is a term that describes the transport of several fluids in one pipeline,
normally water, oil, gas and condensates. This creates a complex flow that can lead to
several problems for the flow in the pipeline. Usually the fluid is transported from a
manifold on the seabed to a production and processing plant either onshore or offshore.

Flow assurance is a relatively new term, as it was introduced in the oil-and gas industry
when the wells moved further from shore and to deeper depths, creating longer flow-
distances and different temperature-affections than traditionally experienced. There are
several risks related to this kind of flow, and one want to avoid them both in terms of
economy and successful retrieval of the fluid from the wells.
Wax formation
One of the many risks with flow assurance is wax formation. Wax is formed on the inner
walls of the pipeline when the hydrocarbons are below a certain temperature and
pressure, as can be read from a wax-curve. For lower pipeline-lengths insulation can be
sufficient to avoid wax-formation, while at greater lengths electrical heating has been a
solution. Wax can be formed in a pipeline until no fluid can pass any longer, causing
great problems for the system and may often lead to system shutdown.

PVTsim
PVTsim is a program used to create the correct fluid and in this program one also finds
the wax-curve for the given fluid. The curve made by using the data from PVTsim is what
is used for later analysis of was formation when using other software.
OLGA
While using the software OLGA, the properties for the system are implemented and
OLGA analyses the pipeline-system and calculates the temperature and pressure at each
sector. One can change both the pipeline-diameter and the insulation thickness and
create boundaries to ensure flow. The results from the OLGA-analysis can be compared
to the wax-curve from PVT to analyse for wax formation.