The only one of its kind in Australia, the CSIRO’s new flow loop can simulate gas-liquid flows at high pressures and low temperatures – conditions that oil and gas pipelines are subjected to in deep-sea environments.
Gas hydrates are ice-like crystals composed of gas and water that can form in oil and gas offshore pipelines. Hydrates can block pipelines, disrupt production and, at worst, cause flow lines to burst, leading to costly, time-consuming and potentially dangerous repair operations.
The flow loop will be used in a flow assurance project that forms part of the Flagship’s Platform-Free Fields program. CSIRO’s Dr Edson Nakagawa, who leads the Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship’s marine-based industries research, said it also has the capability to test different types of hydrates inhibitors and analyse how they affect the formation of hydrates under different conditions.
The first objective of the program is to develop a model to enable operators to predict the formation and flow of hydrates in gas pipelines, said Dr Nakagawa. He added that this will enable operators to anticipate potential gas hydrates problems and will lead to improvements in the design and operation of pipelines.
Dr Nakagawa said that improving knowledge and models of gas hydrates behaviour will save industry millions of dollars in hydrates inhibitors and related operational costs.
The project is an international collaboration between the Flagship, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Curtin University of Technology, Institut Francais du Pétrole, the Western Australian
Energy Research Alliance and industry.