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 MULTI-CHEM® DEVELOPS ADVANCED ROCKING CELL SYSTEM FOR TESTING OF HYDRATE INHIBITORS UNDER BOTH SWEET AND SOUR CONDITIONS

 
 Multi-Chem®, a global provider of oilfield production chemicals, has developed the first system of highly advanced rocking cells for testing low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs) that are designed to withstand hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas, announced Vice President of Technology Danny Durham.
 The two six-cell modules are composed of the highly corrosion-resistant metal alloy HASTELLOY® so that LDHI testing can be conducted using H2S. The system is the first of its kind and offers deepwater, ultra deepwater and land-based operators the first opportunity to properly and safely simulate the conditions in a sour system without causing damage to the equipment.
The 12 test cells feature dual sapphire viewing windows and proximity sensors, and a center-ported configuration designed to eliminate the problems associated with more traditional end -ported designs, where hydrate formation can occur in the inlet tubing causing inaccurate results. This new design gives significantly more accurate pressure readings, essential to hydrate testing, while providing a relative viscosity measurement from the proximity sensors. Each individual cell window features ultra-bright rear-mounted lighting for clear viewing of the fluids.  
The system’s fully automated data acquisition and control software gives users the flexibility to pre-program various testing parameters and protocol changes, including the cells’ rocking angle and rocking rate. Two large monitoring screens help to track the conditions and progress of each individual cell during the test.
“The combination of the new design features, the data acquisition system and the quality of the materials used allows us to more accurately recreate the conditions of both sweet and sour systems as compared to other rocking cell designs,” said Zubin Patel, co-developer of the technology.
This technology was developed by Multi-Chem chemical and flow assurance experts Zubin Patel and James Russum.
Patel graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Midwestern State University and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Southern California. He has six years of experience in the production chemicals industry where he specializes in LDHIs and flow assurance technologies; chemical development, testing and recommendations; and testing analysis.
James Russum earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Tennessee Technological University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with a minor in polymer chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Russum specializes in flow assurance, gas hydrates and hydrate control.

Benefits

  • Move discrete solids from oil or coagulated oily solids layer into water phase to remove them from the system
  • Allow water to better contact geologic formation or move solids into or through pores in underground reservoirs
  • Remove oil or hydrophobic coatings from mineral formations, deposits, or dispersed particles in order to better dissolve them
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Symptoms

  • A layer of coagulated solids or solid-laden emulsion accumulates or takes up too much space in  the process vessel
  • Injection pressure increases or injection rate decreases
  • Using water or non-wetting reagents alone is not as effective as expected
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Root Cause

Oil wet solids become “trapped” between the oil and water phases in a system because their density is intermediate to oil and water.  When this happens, the solids can be difficult or impossible to remove.  This occurs in separators where oil wet solids are entrained at the interface, hydraulic fracturing where formation minerals become trapped and in salt water disposal where the precipitated salts can get caught.

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Solutions

Feed the wetting agent to the trouble spot alone or with other additives and reagents at a rate sufficient to achieve the desired result.  Multi-Chem  will determine appropriate products and application rates through thorough testing and evaluation.

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Next Steps

How can you determine if Multi-Chem wetting agents can help you?

The following information will help Multi-Chem to determine the proper treatment method for your production challenge:

  • Production data
  • Temperature profiles
  • Pressure profiles
  • Current treatment regime

Click here to contact Multi-Chem



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