Title: Prediction Of Hydrate Plug Formation In Gas Pipelines At Different Water Cuts
Authors: Isaac Eze Ihua-Maduenyi, Ndidi Emeka Uzoigwe, Uchechi Patience Alerechi, Darlene Nkechinyere ATasie
Volume: 9
Issue: 2
Pages: 94-101
Publication Date: 2025/02/28
Abstract:
Hydrate plug formation in gas pipelines poses a major operational challenge, especially in offshore and deepwater environments where high pressures and low temperatures create favorable conditions for hydrate formation. This work utilizes OLGA and PVTsim simulation tools to predict hydrate plug formation in gas pipelines at different water cuts. In order to do this hydrate formation conditions of a given feed gas stream was determined, OLGA & PVTsim design to simulate the hydrate plug formation in gas pipeline at different water cut was used, and the performance of the prediction tools was evaluate with these tools, this work provides a comprehensive approach to evaluating hydrate formation under real-world operational conditions. The study involves simulating various water cut scenarios using OLGA and PVTsim to assess how different levels of water in the gas stream affect the likelihood of hydrate plugging. The work demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating OLGA's dynamic simulation capabilities with PVTsim's thermodynamic modelling to accurately predict hydrate plug formation. The work reveals that hydrate plug formation is highly sensitive to water cut, pressure, and temperature. Additionally, OLGA simulations accurately predicted hydrate formation and plug development, PVTsim's thermodynamic modelling provided valuable insights into hydrate equilibrium conditions, and water cut increase significantly increased hydrate formation risk.