SPE 60191
Chemical Inhibition of Halite Scaling in Topsides Equipment
1 2 2 1
D.M. Frigo , SPE, L.A. Jackson , S.M. Doran , and R.A. Trompert , SPE
(1) Shell International Exploration and Production, SEPTAR, P.O. Box 60, 2280 AB Rijswijk, The Netherlands
*
(2) Shell UK Exploration and Production, P.O. Box 4, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 2TH, UK
Copyright 2000, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 Second International Symposium on
Oilfield Scale held in Aberdeen, UK, 26–27 January 2000.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Steering Committee following review of
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Abstract
Carbonate or sulphate scaling is usually mitigated by using
chemical inhibitors that alter the growth mode of the scale
mineral, but with halite scaling the apparent absence of a
suitable inhibitor has meant that periodic removal with low-
salinity water has been favoured. We report laboratory testing
and the first field application of a chemical inhibitor for halite
scaling. The inhibitor was field-tested in the Leman gas field
(North Sea), where halite scaling occurs in gas-compression
equipment due to evaporation of water from brine droplets
carried over from the gas-water separator. The scale reduces
the efficiency of both compressor and cooler, necessitating
regular costly cleaning of the internals. After a recent system
clean out, the cheap, non-toxic halite inhibitor was dosed
continuously for 3 months into the production stream
downstream of the gas-water separator. Whilst halite
deposition was not completely suppressed, an increase in
compressor efficiency was observed for all compression stages
compared with recent non-inhibited data. A significant
improvement in gas-cooler efficiency and a reduced tendency
to block gas-flow meters, were also observed. This indicates
that the inhibitor has considerable potential for cost-effective
control of halite scaling, possibly as an alternative to periodic
removal or in combination with it.
*
Note: Shell UK Exploration and Production operates on behalf of
Shell and Esso in the UK.
Introduction
Scale deposition is a widespread problem that causes
production deferment, necessitates costly intervention, and can
also compromise safety systems. It can be particularly severe
when highly saline (typically > 200,000 mg/litre) or even salt-
saturated formation water is involved, because of the potential
to generate large quantities of halite scale (rock salt, NaCl),
normally by evaporation of water into the gas phase. Although
halite deposits tend to be easier to remove than most other
scales – most commonly by periodic washing with low-
salinity water –, the rate of build-up can be orders of
magnitude greater,1 and thus very frequent intervention may
be required to limit hydrocarbon deferment and prevent
equipment malfunction.2
Unlike carbonate and sulphate scales, which can be
controlled by the use of threshold inhibitors that influence
crystal nucleation and/or growth, preventing the build-up of
halite scale has only been achieved by continuous dilution of
the fluid stream with water upstream of where deposition
occurs. Whilst successful, this can require significant amounts
of low-salinity water to be available, which preferably is
chemically compatible with the produced water and has been
deoxygenated to limit corrosion. Sea water is often unsuitable
without addition of large amounts of inhibitor chemicals
against sulphate scale, because high-salinity formation waters
frequently contain extreme levels of barium, strontium and
calcium ions, and are hence highly incompatible with the high
concentration of sulphate in sea water.3 Moreover, the
introduction of even small amounts of additional liquid can be
highly detrimental to the performance of some equipment,
such as gas compressors.
We report here the evaluation and first field application of
a threshold inhibitor for halite scaling. The inhibitor, called
potassium hexacyanoferrate (HCF), is a well-known species
which has been applied (i) as an anti-caking agent for cooking
salt, where it acts by preventing re-growth of salt at the contact
points of crystals; and (ii) in the oilfield as a drilling-fluid
additive for drilling through salt layers, where it both limits
hole wash-out (because it also reduces the rate of salt
dissolution) and prevents salt from crystallizing from the
returned fluid as it cools and becomes supersaturated in salt.4
We demonstrate its effectiveness in laboratory tests, evaluate
2 D.M. FRIGO, L.A. JACKSON, S.M. DORAN, R.A. TROMPERT
its thermal stability, and describe its success in helping to
prevent salt deposition in gas-compression equipment in the
Leman field in the southern North Sea.
Laboratory testing of the inhibitor
Inhibitor efficiency. To test the effectiveness of inhibitors for
sulphate or carbonate scales the supersaturated solution is
usually created by mixing two incompatible solutions: one
carrying the scaling cation and the other the anion.5 In
contrast, most previous studies on the growth of halite have
produced supersaturated solutions by cooling of solutions
saturated at higher temperatures.4 Unfortunately,
supersaturation by cooling means that the solution is subjected
to coupled effects of time and temperature, which complicates
assessment of the kinetics. Other authors have supersaturated
solutions by evaporation of water from the concentrated
brine,6 which mimics more closely the scaling mechanism
most commonly observed in the oilfield.1 However, the degree
of supersaturation that can be obtained thus is very limited
because of the low rate of evaporation that can be achieved
relative to the rate of precipitation. Therefore, to obtain
relatively large supersaturations rapidly we devised a test
procedure based upon incompatible mixing of a saturated
solution of NaCl with one containing CaCl2 plus NaCl. This
enables relatively large supersaturations to be obtained
essentially instantaneously and isothermally, upon mixing.
Typical compositions of the incompatible brines are shown in
Table 1, which result in a saturation level of 1.05 upon mixing
at 85 °C. Other supersaturations can readily be obtained by
slight modification of the NaCl contents of each brine.
The effect of addition of various amounts of HCF inhibitor
to this scaling solution at 85 °C is presented in Table 2. It can
be seen that whilst the uninhibited scaling mixture produces
extremely rapid and massive precipitation under these
conditions, the HCF inhibitor has a profound effect on
precipitation at concentrations as low as 10 mg/litre; at a
concentration of 25 mg/litre, precipitation was completely
inhibited for several weeks. Another effect of the HCF is a
change in morphology of the precipitated halite from its
characteristic cubic form to a dendritic, feathery form. Also
observed was confirmation of earlier reports,4 that HCF
reduces the rate of dissolution of halite crystals in water to
some extent, but appears to have no effect on dissolution of
calcium chloride.
The initial presence of halite seed crystals appears to
reduce the inhibitor effectiveness slightly, since traces of
halite precipitate even at 250 mg/litre inhibitor concentration,
whilst 25 mg/litre inhibits completely if no seeds are present.
Although such seeds are certainly present in field situations,
the observed reduction in performance is unlikely to be
operationally significant, since the vast majority (> 98 %) of
possible scale is inhibited in all cases.
The amount of halite kept in solution relative to the
uninhibited case can be seen as an “inhibition efficiency”, by
analogy with that determined in static “bottle” tests for
carbonate or sulphate scaling.5 However, it is difficult to relate
SPE 60191
this efficiency to the Minimum Inhibitor Concentration (MIC)
to prevent scaling in the field: the mechanism of
supersaturation in these tests is different from field cases of
halite scaling, the temperature and pressure are not
representative, and little is known about the influence of
species that are present in the field water which may interfere
with either the precipitation process or the action of the
inhibitor itself. Some of these limitations are also true for
laboratory tests on sulphate and carbonate scaling, but at least
for these there is a large body of field experience to relate such
tests to real MIC values required in the field. For halite
inhibitors no such correlation has been made. Therefore, in the
Leman field trial we opted for an inhibitor concentration for
initial testing of 25 mg/litre of the active HCF component,
since this gave almost 100 % inhibitor efficiency in the
laboratory under conditions where precipitation was very
severe in the non-inhibited case.
Thermal stability. Samples for inhibitor efficiency testing
(Table 2) were held at 85 °C for several weeks, and showed no
visual indication of thermal decomposition nor reduction in
inhibitor performance, during that time. To evaluate the
inhibitor’s stability at higher temperatures, samples of the
HCF compound were dissolved in a solution containing NaCl
and CaCl2, purged with nitrogen gas to remove air, pressurized
to pressures above 20 bar with nitrogen to prevent boiling, and
heated in an autoclave. After 24 hours at 180 °C a blue-black
precipitate had formed above the clear, colourless solution,
showing that some decomposition of the HCF had occurred.
Nevertheless, when an aliquot of the supernatant, equivalent to
25 mg/litre HCF of the non-decomposed inhibitor, was added
to a scaling mixture (formed by mixing brines described in
Table 1), halite was inhibited to > 99 % efficiency. This shows
that, even though HCF is thermally unstable at this
temperature, enough of the inhibitor had survived after this
time. In contrast, after heating the HCF solution to 180 °C for
3 days, the supernatant showed almost no significant inhibitor
activity against halite. In addition to the blue-black precipitate,
the supernatant effervesced and evolved a gas that appeared to
be ammonia (based upon smell and upon fuming when reacted
with HCl). The precipitate was not fully characterized, but it
was shown not to contain Prussian Blue (a compound related
to the potassium HCF compound; see below) on the basis of
infrared spectroscopy; it is rich in iron and is perturbed by a
magnetic field, perhaps indicating an iron carbide7 or oxide
species.
The maximum temperature the HCF inhibitor is expected
to see in the field application in Leman is around 150 °C in the
first-stage compressor, and then only for a period of seconds.
Therefore, we conclude that the thermal stability of HCF is
adequate to maintain its activity throughout the entire
compression system.
Other properties. The potassium salt of HCF, applied to
inhibit halite in these tests, is soluble in water up to around
30 wt% at ambient temperature, and even more soluble at
elevated temperature. Even high concentrations yield a
solution with viscosity comparable with that of water, which
SPE 60191 CHEMICAL INHIBITION OF HALITE SCALING IN TOPSIDES EQUIPMENT
makes handling and injection of such solutions relatively
problem-free. Solutions of HCF have a pH close to neutral,
which means that low concentrations of inhibitor have
negligible effect on the pH of the brine stream.
The analogous HCF salts with Na, Mg, Ca, Sr are also
extremely soluble in water, and even the Ba salt is sufficiently
soluble (0.17 wt% at ambient temperature) that incompatibility
with the applied inhibitor is not expected with even the most
saline of oilfield brines. The only species that is commonly
present in such brines that could cause compatibility problems
is iron, which reacts with the potassium HCF to precipitate
Prussian Blue.* The produced water from Leman contains very
high levels of iron, commonly > 100 mg/litre, which could
limit the effectiveness of the HCF; this is discussed further
below.
The HSE aspects of HCF are being evaluated fully, but
initial indications are that it is of low toxicity (or it would not
have been used in cooking salt) and is environmentally benign.
One potential safety issue is that addition of sulphuric acid
(but not hydrochloric acid) has been reported to release toxic
hydrogen cyanide gas,7 but this is very unlikely to occur in the
oilfield setting. At the applied concentration of HCF of
25 mg/litre, the chance of release of hydrogen cyanide gas is
negligible because of its high solubility in water.
Halite inhibition in the Leman field
Halite scaling before inhibition. The field has been
producing gas from the Leman Rotliegend sandstone since
1968, and has produced more than 80 % of the reserves in the
Shell/Esso part of the field. The formation water (Table 3) is
highly saline but is not completely saturated in halite, either
under reservoir or ambient conditions, which confirms that
evaporation is the cause of scaling. Salt deposition was first
recognized in the wells fairly late in field life, in 1989. (This is
often a characteristic of evaporation from highly saline
produced water that is not totally salt-saturated, as is described
in the Appendix.)
Salt deposition in the gas-compression equipment is due to
carry over of brine droplets from the gas-brine scrubbers (units
S-20 and S-25 in Figure 1), from which water evaporates
during compressional heating in the first-stage compressors
(LP1 in Figure 1). Even relatively limited amounts of
deposited salt increases the “roughness” of the compressor
surfaces and the increased turbulence reduces compression
efficiency. This necessitates periodic winding down of the
compressors and spraying wash water through an inter-stage
nozzle to remove the salt build-up, before increasing the
compressors’ velocity back up to full rate.
The salt released during washing then deposits on the inlet
side of the inter-stage coolers (E-2100 and 2400) and also
fouls the gas-flow metering devices, which are an essential
control element of the compression system. (The outlet of the
gas coolers remained clear of salt by the washing action of
water condensing from the cooled gas.) The gas coolers are
*
Prussian Blue is KFe2(CN)6.xH2O, a deep-blue pigment used in
painting and dyeing.
3
tube-in-air heat exchangers, and after 3 – 6 weeks of operation
the tubes are sufficiently blocked by halite (typically, when the
pressure drop increases by 3 – 4 bar) that the compressors
have to be shut down and the salt removed mechanically using
hydroblasting. A typical saw-tooth pattern of the flow
resistance in the coolers is shown in Figure 2. Besides the
increased pressure drop, the halite deposits reduce the
efficiency of the gas coolers, so the gas leaving them is hotter,
which has a knock-on effect on the efficiency of subsequent
compressors.
With halite inhibitor. A solution of the HCF inhibitor was
injected continuously downstream of the scrubbers, using a
temporary injection skid for the 3-month trial period. The
injection rate was calculated to yield a concentration in the
carried-over brine of 25 mg/litre active HCF,† which was
typically 12 litres per day of a 20 kg/m3 solution. The cost of
dry HCF is in the order of US$ 30/kg, which means the
chemical cost for the trial was around US$ 14 per day. It was
calculated that the volume of solution was sufficiently low not
to require deoxygenation to limit its corrosiveness for the
carbon steel of the compressor system. In view of the possible
detrimental effects of halite scaling on the ability to fulfil gas-
supply contracts, it was considered too risky to eliminate
periodic washing of the equipment and rely solely upon a
hitherto-untested chemical inhibitor. Hence, during the trial
period water washing was continued, and the effects of the
halite inhibitor were evaluated as possible improvements over
recent base-line performance.
Application of the inhibitor caused the subsequent halite
deposits found in the system as well as liquid drained from the
coolers, to turn blue. This is presumably due to the formation
of Prussian Blue, by reaction with the iron present in the
produced brine. The most obvious benefits of the HCF
inhibitor were:
• Elimination of the characteristic saw-tooth fouling trend
of the gas coolers (Figure 3). Upon examining the cooler
tubulars, only slight fouling with salt was found, and none
of the tubulars was completely blocked. This is in contrast
with pre-trial clean-outs, where fouling was much more
severe and typically 5 – 10 % of the tubulars were
completely blocked by salt.
• Complete elimination of fouling of the in-line gas-flow
meters, which resulted in considerably reduced operator
burden.
Examination of the gas compressors revealed that halite
deposits were reduced but not completely eliminated by the
inhibitor. However, those deposits that did form appeared to
possess much less mechanical strength then prior to inhibitor
application, thus facilitating rapid and effective periodic
removal by wash water. This is consistent with the laboratory
observations of a shift in crystal morphology of precipitated
halite from the usual compact cubes to feathery dendrites. The
†
Some 50 mg/litre of the actual potassium salt of HCF
[K4Fe(CN)6.3H2O] was applied because only around half of this mass
is the active HCF component.
4 D.M. FRIGO, L.A. JACKSON, S.M. DORAN, R.A. TROMPERT
combination of applying the HCF inhibitor together with
periodic water washes has led to a considerable increase in
both polytropic efficiency and head performance of all three
compression stages. This is illustrated in Figure 4, where the
modelled values prior to inhibitor application (solid lines) are
compared with spot measurements during the 3-month
inhibitor trial (individual points). It can be seen that in
virtually all cases, both the efficiency and head values exceed
those of the pre-trial trends. From this we conclude that
application of the inhibitor has improved both polytropic
efficiency and head performance. A statistical analysis of the
data shown in Figure 4 has yielded an overall improvement in
compressor efficiency of at least 3 %.
Hitherto no change has been detected in produced water
quality since beginning the HCF inhibitor trial, besides the
aforementioned change in colour to pale blue due to the
formation of the industrial dyestuff, Prussian Blue.
Discussion
Despite the clear benefits of applying the HCF inhibitor, it
appears that, in contrast to the laboratory tests, significant
amounts of halite are still depositing in the topsides facilities
in Leman. We have identified two possible reasons for this.
One is that the formation of Prussian Blue by reaction with
iron in the produced water deactivates the inhibitor. In
laboratory tests we observed that Prussian Blue possesses
some activity as a halite inhibitor (like HCF, it contains the
hexacyanoferrate species, which has been identified as the
active part of the compound),7 but it is much less effective
than the HCF inhibitor, in part because of its very low
solubility in water. If this were the case, application of a
higher concentration of HCF to account for scavenging by the
naturally occurring iron in the water may lead to more
complete inhibition of halite deposits in Leman. An alternative
is to include a sequestering agent that inactivates this iron,
although this would have to be highly selective in view of the
very high concentrations of magnesium and calcium in the
Leman water (Table 3). Either way, there is a clear need to
include iron in the formulation during laboratory testing of
inhibitor effectiveness, despite the experimental difficulties of
maintaining it in the appropriate oxidation state.
Another reason for incomplete inhibition may relate to the
different ways that halite supersaturates in the laboratory tests
and in the field. Whilst the inhibitor may lead to halite
precipitating as invisible, microscopic crystals that remain in
suspension if a solvent is present, the complete removal of all
solvent water by evaporation is expected to result in some
deposition of the desiccated, involatile micro-crystals of salt.
The main benefit of the inhibitor in this case, would be that the
halite deposits in a form that is mechanically easier to remove
by periodic washing, as is observed in Leman. If this is the
case, then increasing the concentration of HCF or sequestering
the iron may have little or no benefit. It would also imply that
a halite inhibitor could never be 100 % effective against halite
deposits in compressors except in combination with periodic
washing.
SPE 60191
Further study is necessary to elucidate whether either of
these hypotheses is correct.
It is noteworthy that although HCF retards halite
dissolution, which must impede efficient clean up by wash
water to some extent, the change in crystal shape to yield
“softer”, more easily removed deposits is clearly the more
dominant effect in the Leman gas-compression system.
Despite the above observations, HCF has shown its value
in assisting in the control of halite deposition in gas-
compression equipment, and may prove to be capable of
completely inhibiting deposition in wells. Even where the
scaling mechanism is evaporation of water, so long as a
significant liquid phase (supersaturated in halite) still flows,
then complete inhibition of scaling seems possible, and is
hence worth pursuing.
Conclusions
Potassium hexacyanoferrate (HCF) has been applied to
mitigate halite (rock salt) scaling in gas-compression
equipment in the Leman field, which is caused by carry over
of brine droplets from the separator and scrubbers/de-misters.
Continuous addition of low concentrations of this cheap, non-
toxic chemical was found to reduce greatly halite deposition in
the gas coolers and to eliminate halite fouling of in-line gas-
flow meters. Whilst the HCF did not completely inhibit halite
deposition in the compressors, the resulting deposits were
removed much more readily by periodic washing with low-
salinity water; an apparent consequence of the inhibitor
altering the crystal-growth mode of halite from compact cubes
to more feathery dendrites. A significant improvement was
observed in the head and polytropic efficiency of all
compression stages, leading to an overall improvement in
compression efficiency of at least 3 %.
Despite the clear benefits of applying HCF, its
performance in the field was lower than that in laboratory
trials (where ~ 100 % inhibition was achieved), possibly due
to incompatibility with the high levels of iron present in the
produced water, or because such inhibitors are inherently less
effective when virtually all the liquid phase has been
evaporated.
The HCF system should be investigated further for
inhibition against downhole halite deposits.
References
1. Jasinski, R. and Frigo, D.: “The Modelling and Prediction of
Halite Scale” Proc. IBC International. Conf. Advances in Solving
Oilfield Scaling, Aberdeen, 22-23 Jan. 1996.
2. Place Jr., M.C. and Smith, J.T.: “An Unusual Case of Salt
Plugging in a High-Pressure Sour Gas Well” paper SPE 13246
presented at the 59th SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, Houston, (1984) Sept. 16-19.
3. Graham, G.M., Dyer, S.J., Sorbie, K.S., Sablerolle, W.R., Shone,
P. and Frigo, D.: “Scale Inhibitor Selection for Continuous and
Downhole Squeeze Application in HP/HT (High
Temperature/High Pressure) Conditions” paper SPE 49197
presented at the 1998 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, New Orleans, Sept. 27-30.
 SPE 60191 CHEMICAL INHIBITION OF HALITE SCALING IN TOPSIDES EQUIPMENT 5

4. Earl, S.L.: “Use of Chemical Salt Precipitation Inhibitors to

Maintain Supersaturated Salt Muds for Drilling Salt formations”
paper 10097 presented at the 56th Annual Fall Technical
Conference and Exhibition of the SPE of AIME, San Antonio,
Oct. 5-7, 1981.
5. Graham, G.M., Sorbie, K.S. and Jordan, M.M.: “How Scale
Inhibitors Work and How This Affects Test Methodology” Proc.
3rd IBC International. Conf. Advances in Solving Oilfield Scaling,
Aberdeen, 22-23 Jan. 1997.
6. Glasner, A. and Zidon, M.: “The Crystallization of NaCl in the
Presence of [Fe(CN)6]4- Ions” J. Crystal Growth (1974) 21, 294.
7. Svehla, G. (edit.): Vogel’s Qualitative Inorganic Analysis,
Longman Scientific & Technical, John Wiley & Son, New York,
6th edition (1987) 170.

Appendix: Selected factors affecting halite scaling in

gas wells
Gas produced into the well initially contains enough water to
saturate it under reservoir conditions, but under “bottom-hole”
conditions it is undersaturated in water because its pressure is
significantly lower (due to the production drawdown) but its
temperature decreases only slightly. If W is the saturated water
content for gas under given conditions, the magnitude of
dW/dP increases with decreasing pressure, P. Therefore, for
comparable gas-brine ratios, drawing down a low-pressure
reservoir causes much greater evaporation of water than
similar drawdown of a high-pressure reservoir. This can mean
that early in field life, undersaturated formation brine may
become concentrated upon entry into the wellbore but not
reach supersaturation. Whilst later in field life, when all
pressures are lower, the effect of the same drawdown on W
causes so much water to evaporate from that flowing into the
well that this stream becomes supersaturated in halite and
scales out.
Of course, another factor to consider is the gas-brine ratio
(defined by flows into the well, not at surface, where water
frequently condenses from the gas)1, which tends to decrease
with field life as more formation brine is produced. A
decreased gas-brine ratio tends to counteract the effect
described above because less water needs to evaporate from
each volume of formation brine to saturate the associated gas.
This effect often produces the counter-intuitive result that
wells producing less water produce more scale; a phenomenon
that has been observed in the Leman wells.
6 D.M. FRIGO, L.A. JACKSON, S.M. DORAN, R.A. TROMPERT SPE 60191

WATER COMPOSITIONS TO PRODUCE HALITE

TABLE 1 EFFECT OF ADDING HCF INHIBITOR TO HALITE-
TABLE 2
SUPERSATURATION UPON MIXING SUPERSATURATED MIXTURE AT 85 °C (FROM TABLE 1)
Component Brine 1 Brine 2 HCF added
Water 50.00 g 21.92 g (mg/litre) Observations
NaCl 18.65 g 2.00 g 0 Cubic crystals begin to rain out of solution within 20 sec
CaCl2.2H2O  12.58 g of mixing, producing several gram halite within 1 hr.
10 (Seed crystals present before mixing.) Initial rapid
formation of traces of dendritic crystals (~ 25 mg) within
30 sec.; slight increase during next hour (~ 75 mg); no
TYPICAL LEMAN FORMATION WATER
TABLE 3 further growth over several days.
Analysis 25 (Seed crystals present before mixing.) Initial formation
Species mg/litre) of traces of dendritic crystals (~ 25 mg) within 20 min.;
Sodium 73000 no further growth over several days.
Potassium 2250 25 (Seed crystals absent before mixing) No precipitation
Magnesium 2910 visible at all, even after several weeks. Addition of
halite seeding crystals also had no effect.
Calcium 12770
250 (Seed crystals present before mixing.) No precipitation
Chloride 146800
visible within initial 25 min.; traces of dendritic crystals
Sulphate 570 (~ 50 mg) after 24 hr.

WELLHEAD PLATFORMS V-210

ADI, ADII AP
PLATFORM
MAIN GAS SCRUBBERS

V-220

GAS EXPORT TO
BACTON GAS TERMINAL
GAS FROM BT

GAS FROM F&G

LP COMPRESSOR
1st STAGE AK PLATFORM
AFTERCOOLER

E-2100 V-2200

TRAIN A V-115
K-2300

2nd STAGE DISCHARGE

KO POTS HP
LP 1 LP 2

K-2100 K-2200 E-2200 E-2300

S-25
LP COMPRESSORS LP COMPRESSOR 2nd STAGE HP COMPRESSOR
AFTERCOOLERS HP COMPRESSORS A F T E R C O O L E R S
INLET
S-10 SCRUBBERS E-2500

LP 1 LP 2 E-2600
SLUG CATCHER
K-2400 K-2500
S-20
TRAIN B V-110 HP

K-2600
LP COMPRESSOR LP COMPRESSOR
1st STAGE E-2400 V-2500 2nd STAGE
AFTERCOOLER SUCTION SCRUBBER

Fig. 1Gas compression system of the Leman field

SPE 60191 CHEMICAL INHIBITION OF HALITE SCALING IN TOPSIDES EQUIPMENT 7

K2100 Discharge Pipew ork & Cooler Pressure Drop M onitoring.

Sh ow ing Effective On-line Cooler W ashing K2100 Discharge Pipework & Cooler Pressure
2.2000
Drop Monitoring.
2.0000
1.50
Danger Line
1.8000
W ash W ash
F o u lin g T ren d
Resistance to Flow Factor

1.6000 1.25

R es is tan c e to Flo w
1.4000

F ac to r
1.00

In jectio n B eg in s
H alite In h ib ito r
1.2000
S aw T o o th R em o ved
Fouling Trend Fouling Trend
0.75
1.0000

0.8000
0.50
01-O c t-98

11-O c t-98

21-O c t-98

31-O c t-98

10-Nov -98

20-Nov -98

30-Nov -98

10-Dec -98

20-Dec -98

30-Dec -98

09-J an-99

19-J an-99

29-J an-99

20-F eb
21-F eb
22-F eb
23-F eb
24-F eb
25-F eb
26-F eb
27-F eb
28-F eb
1-M ar
2-M ar
3-M ar
4-M ar
5-M ar
6-M ar
7-M ar
8-M ar
9-M ar
10-M ar
11-M ar
12-M ar
Time T im e

Fig. 2Flow-resistance factor for gas-cooler to show “saw-tooth” build- Fig. 3Elimination of fouling trend in gas cooler after addition of halite
up of halite blockage and periodic removal by wash water inhibitor

K2100 Characteristic curve K2200 Characteristic curve K2300 Characteristic curve

@ Speed = 100% @ Speed = 100% @ Speed = 100%

Efficiency
Efficiency
Efficiency

Head

Head
Head

Flow Flow Flow

K2400 Characteristic curve K2500 Characteristic curve K2600 Characteristic curve

@ Speed = 100% @ Speed = 100% @ Speed = 100%
Efficiency

Efficiency
Efficiency
Head

Head
Head

Flow Flow Flow

Fig. 4Compression head and polytropic efficiency of LP1, LP2 and HP gas compressors for each train. Modelled trend lines before inhibitor trial are
shown with solid lines (head ▲, efficiency X) and measured values during halite-inhibitor trial are shown as isolated points (head ■, efficiency ♦).