Hydrate control in deepwater drilling
Gas-hydrate formation during deepwater offshore drilling and production is a well-recognized operational hazard. In water depths greater than 1,000 ft, seabed conditions of pressure and temperature become conducive to gas-hydrate formation. In a well-control situation, although the kick fluid leaves the formation at a high temperature, it can cool to seabed temperature with an extended shut-in period. With high enough hydrostatic pressure at the mudline, hydrates could form in the blowout-preventer (BOP) stack and choke and kill lines, as has been observed in field operations. The current practice in deepwater drilling is to suppress the hydrate-formation temperature by use of highly saline drilling fluids formulated from NaCl or other salts. This solution is applicable for the Gulf of Mexico but insufficient for the conditions encountered in Norwegian deep waters. At extreme water depths or extremely low mudline temperatures, this thermodynamic inhibition alone may not be sufficient to prevent hydrate formation. Instead, the use of kinetic inhibitors or crystal modifiers, in conjunction with thermodynamic inhibitors, may allow successful operations in such an environment. The definition of kinetic inhibitors (to distinguish them from the classic thermodynamic inhibitors, such as polar compounds and electrolytes) comes from the effect of the chemicals on the nucleation and growth of natural gas hydrates, both of which are time-dependent, stochastic processes. The paper describes deepwater drilling fluids, polar and surface-active additives, kinetic inhibition and crystal modifiers, laboratory measurements, and test results.
- OSTI ID:
- 536506
- Journal Information:
- JPT, Journal of Petroleum Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 9; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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