Insulated pipelines between the underwater Manifold Centre and Cormorant a platform in the northern North Sea
Oil flows from the UMC to the Cormorant 'A' platform through a system of subsea pipelines. Therefore, oil from the wells must travel a considerable distance, up to ten kilometres, before reaching processing facilities on the platform. During this trip the oil could cool to the ambient seawater temperature of 5/sup 0/C. Studies have shown that the acceptance of crude oil at such a low temperature could cause unacceptable emulsion, hydrate, and wax deposition problems. To overcome these problems, a unique insulated pipeline was engineered to keep the crude oil temperature above 40/sup 0/C during production and above 13/sup 0/C for well testing. This paper describes efforts required to identify the problem and engineer a solution. The resultant pipeline incorporated an insulated pipe-withina-pipe bundle that was installed by a mid-depth tow method.
- Research Organization:
- Sarawak Shell
- OSTI ID:
- 5493447
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-830514-
- Journal Information:
- Offshore Technol. Conf.; (United States), Vol. 3; Conference: Offshore technology conference, Houston, TX, USA, 2 May 1983
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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