This year’s Flow Assurance Technology Focus provides a trio of papers, selected by ChampionX’s Celestina Kissi, concerning the use of advanced techniques in detection, mitigation, and risk calculation. SPE technical conferences and meetings remain a critical conduit for the transfer of forward-thinking research and insight to both project developers and field practitioners who make certain that production is optimized and that goals are met.
Paper SPE 216216 investigates asphaltene risks inherent in the gas-injection enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. The authors’ research identifies what they term “stealth” asphaltenes, referring to asphaltenes detectable only by laser-light-scattering techniques and not by traditional microscopy. These asphaltenes are still flowable and can still pose risks to flow assurance.
In the second selection, SPE 218101, the authors delve into the risks posed by hydrate formation in water-alternating-gas EOR operations, particularly during changeover operations, an area in need of further research in the literature. Additionally, the authors explore the effect of natural gas composition on these phenomena.
Finally, paper SPE 218700 describes an operator’s development and deployment of a suite of cloud-based digital-twin tools designed to provide online, real-time calculation of scale risk and barrier health on a well-by-well basis. The complete paper includes four diverse case studies in which the described toolkit proved its value.
As the technology used in the field sharpens, it will simultaneously overcome long-standing obstacles and discover entirely new ones, such as the challenge posed in the first presented paper. SPE technical conferences will continue to ensure that the flow of innovation reaches the page and the field with equal effect.
This Month’s Technical Papers
Study Investigates Hydrate Formation Risk in WAG Changeover Operations
Integrating Digital Tools Optimizes Scale Management
Data Science Enables Management of Stealth Asphaltene Flow‑Assurance Risk
Celestina Yaaba Kissi, SPE, is an offshore chemist with ChampionX in Ghana. She has more than 8 years of experience as an offshore chemist and a total of 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Kissi started her career as a graduate process engineer with Ghana’s oil refinery, the Tema Oil Refinery, before moving to Shell Ghana as a graduate trainee, working on fuel scheduling on the downstream side of the industry. While there, she had the opportunity to work offshore as a chemist on a rotational basis with Baker Hughes. Kissi has been a member of SPE since 2011. She can be reached at CelestinaYaaba.kissi@gmail.com.