Flow assurance

Inhibitor-Resistant Calcites Causing Solids Fouling Identified, Studied

The authors of this paper describe a study of magnesian calcite particles forming hard, inhibitor-resistant calcium-carbonate-like deposits and potential mitigation measures.

Solids fouling of the rundown cooler.
Fig. 1—Solids fouling of the rundown cooler.

Magnesian calcite has been identified as the main constituent of solids fouling in several of an operator’s facilities in the North Sea and Azerbaijan and in partner operations in other locations. These solids were, for many years, thought to be calcite scale. The complete paper describes how this “pseudoscale” was detected and its prevalence, using field case examples.

The Discovery: Case 1

Soon after the start of operations in May 2017, fouling of the rundown coolers was observed on a North Sea floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. The increase in differential pressure across the coolers was believed to be the result of wax deposition.

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