Hydrate Risk Management: Opportunities to Reduce Capital and Carbon Intensity

Recorded On: 04/03/2023

Traditionally gas hydrates avoidance has been pre-requisite in the design and operation of offshore gas production systems. Transformation towards a risk management paradigm requires collaboration between industry, government and academic research. With risk defined by the probability and consequence of each possible hydrate-based flow reduction, a combination of benchtop, pilot-scale (flowloop), and field-scale (simulation) insights presents a path to adoption of risk management in design and operational decision-making.

The speaker presents the evolution of the UWA Gas-Dominant Hydrate prediction algorithms, from their birth in Perth's flowloops through recent applications in two industrially-relevant flow simulation tools. By improving the description of hydrate-based physical processes available to these tools, operators can explore whether design and operating margins (e.g. THI dosage) may be reduced without affecting the risk profile of hydrate-based flow reduction. The speaker further discusses novel benchtop techniques and systems that have produced over ten thousand hydrate formation events in the fit-for-purpose lag time apparatus, which have enabled probabilistic assessments to be drawn from such simulation tools. Finally, we have an example of a gas-based Long Subsea Tieback that combines three risk management technologies, resulting in roughly a four-fold decrease in emissions while extending the production plateau.

This webinar is categorized under the Projects, Facilities, and Construction technical discipline.

All content contained within this webinar is copyrighted by Zach Aman and its use and/or reproduction outside the portal requires express permission from Zach Aman.

Zach Aman

Zach Aman is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chevron Woodside Chair in Long Subsea Tiebacks at the University of Western Australia, where he leads the Long Subsea Tiebacks laboratory and flow assurance research theme within the Fluid Science and Resources division. His research is focused on gas hydrate kinetics and transportability, interfacial phenomena in multiphase production systems, and environmental management of deepwater oil and gas releases. Zach received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

Julie Morgan (Moderator)

Dr. Julie Morgan has over 35 years engineering experience, with more than 30 being spent working in the oil and gas business. She realized that she was a convert to flow assurance roughly 20 years ago and has been promoting the subject ever since. She has worked in the UK, Europe, USA, Africa and Asia-Pacific and is now the Chief Flow Assurance Engineer for Woodside Energy Ltd., based in Perth, Western Australia. Julie has a PhD, MEng and MA in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK.

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