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Life Cycle Management of Scale Control within Subsea Fields and its Impact on Flow Assurance, Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea Basin

2001; Linguagem: Inglês

10.2118/71557-ms

M. M. Jordan, K. Sjuraether, I. R. Collins, N. D. Feasey, D. H. Emmons,

Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition

Abstract This paper presents an overview of life cycle flow assurance management for a platform/subsea development by focusing on scale control. To illustrate this approach examples of scale control methods for deepwater subsea fields will be cited covering aspects such as (1) treatment of the reservoir prior to production to prevent scale formation within the near wellbore (solids and fluid system for inhibitor deployment), (2) downhole scale control using continuous injection (gas lift, capillary), and (3) squeeze treatments as the production wells move through their life cycle and water cut rises. The management of scale and corrosion issues within a subsea field will be reviewed with examples of an operator moving from combined scale inhibitor/corrosion inhibitor products to single corrosion inhibitor product at the manifold as water cut rise. The scale control within this field was achieved with squeeze treatment residuals protecting the reservoir through the topside process without the need for additional scale inhibitor injection. A review will be presented on how this field could have been developed if all today's scale control/monitoring technology had been available during the CAPEX phase of field development and how this might have an impact on field economics. The paper will outline the methods used to assess the risk of scale and the associated risk manageability of the problem and review how this risk changes through the life cycle of subsea assists under seawater drive and natural depletion. The process and methods of assessing the risk of scale formation during produced water injection will also be addressed. The scale control technology developments have been driven by these perceived risks. Many of the technologies have already been tested within the North Sea. Furthermore, there are trials planned in the deep water fields of the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa.