Offshore pipelines are hailed as the “lifeline” of an offshore oil and gas production system and are essential for offshore oil and gas development. Component tracing technologies for the oil and gas multiphase transmission pipeline networks need to be urgently developed to predict the fluid composition changes in pipeline networks. Instead of assuming the fluid components are constant, we consider they varied with flow. The component conservation equations and a phase change model are established. The equation of state of the fluid is adopted to determine the equilibrium state of each component in real time. Considering the macroscopic flow calculation, microscopic fluid components, and phase equilibrium, the component tracking algorithm is established for natural gas condensate pipeline networks, which can dynamically track the fluid composition in pipeline networks and calculate the phase exchange amount and related flow parameters in real time. Three case studies are performed to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. These findings are of great practical significance for understanding the gas–liquid two-phase flow in pipeline networks, promoting further engineering applications of component tracking on pipeline networks.
1 April 2024 in International Journal of Fluid Engineering
Bypass pigging is a promising strategy to improve pipeline flow assurance by eliminating pigging-generated slugs and reducing pig velocity. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamentals, recent progress, and prospects of bypass pigging for enhancing pigging safety and efficiency in gas pipeline systems. A model of bypass pigging motion is developed based on momentum balance, incorporating key factors that affect performance. Recent studies of the influence of the bypass fraction, pressure drop coefficient, and friction force on pigging performance are discussed. The pressure drop coefficient, crucial for accurate dynamic pigging simulation, depends primarily on the pig bypass structure. The impact of variations in the bypass fraction on pig velocity, a significant factor affecting pigging performance, is analyzed. Higher bypass fractions lead to lower pig velocities, resulting in improved pigging efficiency. However, the risk of pig blockage increases owing to the decreased driving gas force at a higher bypass fraction. Therefore, the use of bypass pigs with anti-blocking capability is necessary to enhance overall flow assurance. The paper also highlights the quantifiable benefits of bypass pigging in reducing pig velocity and the pigging-generated slug volume. The prospects for further development of bypass pigging are also discussed. This study aims to comprehensively elucidate the bypass pigging strategy, promoting its wider implementation in natural gas pipelines to enhance pigging efficiency and safety.
Mass transfer and phase transition have an important effect on the velocity of bubble migration in deepwater wellbores, and accurate prediction of bubble migration velocity is crucial for calculating the safe shut-in period of deepwater oil and gas wells. Therefore, the effect of bubble dissolution mass transfer and hydrate phase transition on bubble migration behavior in the deepwater environment have attracted extensive attention from researchers in the fields of energy, marine chemistry, and marine engineering safety. In this work, a new model of bubble migration velocity in deepwater is developed, which considers the effect of hydrate phase transition and gas-water bidirectional cross-shell mass transfer during bubble migration. Based on the observation data of bubble migration in deepwater, the reliability of the model in predicting bubble migration velocity is verified. Then, the model is used to calculate and analyze the bubble migration velocity and bubble migration cycle under different initial bubble size, different annular fluid viscosity, and density. The results show that the initial size of bubble and the viscosity of annulus fluid are the main factors affecting the migration velocity of the bubble, but the density of annulus fluid has little effect on the migration velocity of the hydrated bubble and clean bubble. In addition, the migration velocity of the clean bubble gradually increases during the migration process from the bottom to the wellhead, while the migration velocity of the hydrated bubble is divided into a gradually decreasing stage and a slowly increasing stage. The gas consumption and the thickening of hydrate shell in the gradually decreasing stage play a dominant role, and the increase of bubble volume caused by the decrease of pressure in the slowly increasing stage is the most important factor. The formation of the hydrated bubble can significantly reduce the migration velocity of the bubble and effectively prolong the safe shut-in period. This study provides a reference for quantitative description and characterization of complex bubble migration behavior with phase change and mass transfer in deepwater environment.
During marine oil–gas extraction, significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas are often produced. Effectively separating these associated CO2 gases during extraction has become a critical technical challenge. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance the efficiency of CO2 hydrate-based capture technology and conduct relevant research. The goal is to increase the driving force for hydrate formation by combining the traditional thermodynamic additive TBAB with pressure modulation and to improve the hydrate formation rate through the use of multiple kinetic promoters. This paper presents the initial investigation into the effect of the thermodynamic accelerator tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) on the characteristics of CO2 hydrate formation. The promotion effects of TBAB solutions with varying mass concentrations (3%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%) and reaction pressures (3 MPa, 4 MPa) were subjected to a systematic analysis, and the optimal conditions were identified as 4 MPa and a 5 wt% TBAB concentration. Subsequently, the impact of combining TBAB with kinetic promoters (SDS, nano Al2O3, L-methionine, L-leucine) on CO2 hydrate generation characteristics was further investigated. In this paper, the effect of a single promoter on the generation characteristics of CO2 hydrate was investigated, and the efficient carbon trapping ability of the complex promoter was verified, which provides theoretical support for the application of CO2 trapping technology using the hydrate method.
Mass transfer and phase transition have important effect on the velocity of bubble migration in deepwater wellbore, and accurate prediction of bubble migration velocity is crucial for calculating the safe shut-in period of deepwater oil and gas well. Therefore, the effect of bubble dissolution mass transfer and hydrate phase transition on bubble migration behavior in deepwater environment have attracted extensive attention from researchers in the fields of energy, marine chemistry, and marine engineering safety. In this work, a new model of bubble migration velocity in deepwater is developed, which considers the effect of hydrate phase transition and gas-water bidirectional cross-shell mass transfer during bubble migration. Based on the observation data of bubble migration in deepwater, the reliability of the model in predicting bubble migration velocity is verified. Then, the model is used to calculate and analyze the bubble migration velocity and bubble migration cycle under different initial bubble size, different annular fluid viscosity and density. The results show that the initial size of bubble and the viscosity of annulus fluid are the main factors affecting the migration velocity of bubble, but the density of annulus fluid has little effect on the migration velocity of hydrated bubble and clean bubble. In addition, the migration velocity of clean bubble gradually increases during the migration process from the bottom to the wellhead, while the migration velocity of hydrated bubble is divided into gradually decreasing stage and slowly increasing stage. The gas consumption and the thickening of hydrate shell in the gradually decreasing stage play a dominant role, and the increase of bubble volume caused by the decrease of pressure in the slowly increasing stage is the most important factor. The formation of hydrated bubble can significantly reduce the migration velocity of bubble and effectively prolong the safe shut-in period. This study provides a reference for quantitative description and characterization of complex bubble migration behavior with phase change and mass transfer in deepwater environment.