OTC 12036

Economic Consideration for Flowline Heat Loss Control

Margaret Hight, FMC Energy Systems and Janardhan Davalath, FMC Energy Systems
Copyright 2000, Offshore Technology Conference Although there are other methods, such as chemical and
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 Offshore Technology Conference held in mechanical that are effective for preventing flowline
Houston, Texas, 14 May 2000.
blockages, this paper focuses mainly on thermal methods. The
This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Committee following review of costs of chemical injection and pigging programs will vary
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to greatly with the specific fluid type and reservoir performance.
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction, Heat contained in the fluid at the wellhead can be
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written
consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print
preserved by using the shortest possible offset distance, using
is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The the smallest pipe diameter possible to reduce flowline
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was
presented. residence time and reducing heat loss to the environment. One
of the challenges is to design a system capable of preventing
problems over a wide range of production rates, pressures and
Abstract
water cuts.
Deep water developments in the Gulf of Mexico have
Offset distances are becoming longer as new projects are
increased the complexity of flow assurance issues due to
in increasingly deeper water. Some alternatives to shorter
colder environments, higher pressures, longer well offsets, and
offsets are additional platforms or floating production systems.
increased difficulty of problem remediation. Controlling heat
These options are usually cost prohibitive for marginal field
losses is usually the best choice for preventing hydrate
developments. Flowline sizes are dependent on the number of
formation and paraffin deposition but is often expensive. The
flowlines and the range of production rates to be
commercial and technical trade-offs of various methods for
acommodated. Heat losses under flowing conditions can be
controlling heat losses have to be considered. Heat losses can
reduced by insulating and/or burying flowlines. Both flowline
be controlled by burying non-insulated pipe, using insulated
sizing and heat loss control methods have a large economic
flowlines or heated flowlines. The manufacturing and
impact on capital costs and operating expenses. Development
installation costs of flowline types have to be considered and
cost decisions have to be evaluated and considered along with
compared to the cost of chemical injection systems and
the possible remediation expenses associated with higher
remediation methods. In addition to capital expenses,
risk/lower cost options.
operating costs have to be compared for the various options.
This paper provides a flow assurance, economic, and risk
Changes in production rates during the life of the project have
analysis of several typical Gulf of Mexico deep water projects.
to be considered. System operability related to start-up and
A range of fluid types, offset distances and project durations is
shutdown scenarios also have to be included in the design.
included.
This paper presents cost and performance comparisons of the
flowline options, analyzes the merits of each type and
Base Cases and Comparison Criteria
discusses the technical trade-offs and flow assurance risks.
The simulated reservoir and platform are 20 miles apart.
These design issues are discussed based on several factors
Table 1 shows the reservoir characteristics used for the study.
including fluid type, operating pressure, offset distance, and
Four different fluid compositions were used to represent a
reservoir size. Performance comparisons of various flowline
black oil, volatile oil, condensate, and dry gas.2
types are based on computer simulation. Ambient
Simulations are based on two development scenarios. The
temperatures, water depths, pressures, and fluid types are
first is a single-well development and the second is a multi-
typical of deep water Gulf of Mexico fields.
well development with five times the production rate of the
single-well case. Flowline sizes are based on the minimum
Introduction
standard size that results in velocity below the maximum
Deepwater oil is becoming a significant component of
erosional velocity using the API 14E equation.
total U.S. oil production. By the end of 1998 it exceeded
Thermal efficiency is considered under flowing and
500,000 BPD and is expected to triple by 2005.1
shutdown conditions. Pipeline temperatures and pressures are
Preventing problems such as hydrate and wax precipiation
compared with hydrate equilibrium curves. Several
is most reliably accomplished by insuring that produced fluid
sensitivities such as flow rates, water cut, offset distance and
stays above the temperature at which these problems occur.
fluid type are studied.
2 M.A. HIGHT, J. DAVALATH
Single Versus Dual Flowlines
A comparison was made between dual flowlines and a
single larger flow line. For the single-well scenario, dual sizes
are 4 -inch compared with a single 6 5/8-inch flowline.
Predictions are based on non-buried flowlines with two inches
of external insulation. At high rates flow is equally split in the
dual flowline case, but all flow is routed through one of the
two 4 flowlines at the lower rate.
To evalutate the potential for forming hydrates, Figure 1
compares the flowline pressure and temperature profiles with
the hydrate equilibrium curve for the high and low rate cases.
Hydrates will not form at any of the conditions to the right of
the hydrate curve but can form at the lower temperatures to the
left of the curve. At initial flow rates fluid remains outside the
hydrate formation conditions for both single and dual
flowlines. However, as rates decline, the velocity in a single
flowline decreases causing an increase in the flowline
residence time. Therefore, the fluid may fall below the hydrate
temperature at lower rates. With the smaller dual flowlines, at
late-life conditions, the flow can be routed to a single flowline
so that heat loss is reduced by the higher velocity. In this case
there is a higher pressure drop and the correspoinding hydrate
formation temperature will also be lower.
At higher rates, such as a multi-well development case, the
heat loss is lower. Figure 2 compares manifold to platform
flowline profiles for a 20-mile offset at a high rate of 75,000
BOPD and a low rate of 25,000 BFPD with a 50 percent water
cut. A Single 10-inch flowline is compared with dual 8-inch
flowlines. All profiles are well outside the hydrate range.
The single and dual flowline single-well development
cases were compared after a simulated shutdown. A transient
simulation model was used to predict the difference in
cooldown rates after a shutdown at the high production rate.
The simulations assume both the subsea and the platform
valves will be closed so that fluid is trapped in the flowline.
Figure 3 compares the cooling rate of the fluid in the
flowline near the riser after a shutdown. For all cases the
predicted lowest temperatures occurred on this area.
At the simulated flowline pressure, the hydrate formation
temperature is about 69 oF. With the dual flow lines, the fluid
will be in the hydrate formation region in about 4 hours
compared to 16 hours for the single flowline. There is more
surface area for heat loss with the single flowline than with the
smaller dual flowlines but there is twice as much heat
contained in the single large flowline since flow is not divided.
After a shutdown, the flowline can be depressurized to
lower the hydrate formation temperature. With a single
flowline, the depressurization is often inadequate. Since flow
is uphill, there will be fluid remaining in the flowline after
depressurization and the pressure may still not be low enough
to prevent hydrates from forming. With dual flowlines, the
loop can be used to launch a pig and force the production fluid
out of the flowlines to displace it with oil before hydrates can
form.
Summary and Recommendations. Dual flowlines offer
greater flexibility in flowrate capacity. Thermal efficiency is
always highest when flow is closest to the maximum flowline
OTC 12036
capacity. Also keeping the velocity higher reduces the
opportunity for severe slugging problems. These problems
often occur as reservoir pressure and production rates decline
and water cuts increase. The combination of multiphase flow
and lower velocities can cause severe slugging in uneven
terrain and at the bottom of risers. Since production will
typically decline in later years, dual flowlines can keep
velocities in a safe range. Dual flow lines also provide for
round trip pigging that may be needed as part of a paraffin
control program..
In addition to the cost of dual flowlines, the costs
associated with additional pumping capacity may have to be
considered due to lower arrival pressures as rates decline and
flow is routed through a single smaller pipeline to reduce heat
loss.
Single flowlines may be a good choice in cases where
hydrates and paraffin deposition may not be a problem or can
be controlled by chemical means.
Comparison of Flowline Thermal Options
Liquid Production
The amount and type of insulation has a large effect on
arrival conditions with long offsets but the additional costs
involved require careful consideration of all options. Thermal
options considered are buried pipe, non-buried pipe with two
inches of external insulation, pipe-in-pipe, and electrically
heated flowlines. Pipe-in-pipe was simulated with pipe sizes
of 4 in 8 5/8 inches or 6 5/8 in 10 inches with
polyurethane foam in the annulus. Assumed thermal
conductivities are 0.1 Btu/hr-ft-oF for the external insulation,
0.015 Btu/hr-ft-oF for the polyurethane and 0.8 Btu/hr-ft-oF for
the soil.
Figure 4 compares platform arrival temperatures for single
and dual flowlines for the thermal options studied. Pipe-in-
pipe far exceeds the other options. Buried flowlines are similar
in performance to externally insulated exposed flowlines. Bare
pipe is shown as a comparison for the dual flowlines.
Figure 5 compares the hydrate formation curve with dual
pipeline flowing conditions for the single well development
with various thermal options. The pipe-in-pipe option is the
only case that affords arrival conditions well outside the
hydrate formation region both at high and low rates. As rates
decline, heat loss increases and there is a big difference
between the various insulation options. The distance between
symbols on the flowline profiles represents a distance of one
mile along the flowline. The last three symbols on the curves
represent riser conditions. The bare pipe flowing temperature
is in the hydrate region within the first mile and drops 34
degrees below the hydrate temperature. All other options cross
the line much closer to the platform and do not go as far into
the hydrate region. At high rates, the buried pipe is in the
hydrate region after 12 miles but the externally insulated
flowlines only show hydrate potential in the riser. These
profiles show that for these rates and conditions, hydrates
could be controlled with continuous injection of hydrate
inhibitors except for the bare pipe case. However, at the lower
OTC 12036 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION FOR FLOWLINE HEAT LOSS CONTROL
rates the amount of hydrate inhibitor can be large since water
cuts usually increase as oil rates decline.
With electric heating, the fluid temperature can be
maintained at any desired level depending on the amount of
electric energy applied. Without added electricity, the
performance is the same as pipe-in-pipe.
Cooldown times after shutdown are shown in Figure 6.
Similar to steady state flow performance, the pipe-in-pipe
performance is signficantly better than the other cases. Twenty
four hours after shutdown the pipe-in-pipe flowline is still 91
o
F which is well outside the hydrate range.
Results of black oil simulations were compared with the
performance of a volatile oil at the same mass flow rates and
water cuts. Figure 7 shows the comparison for dual 4 -inch
insulated flowlines. Since the density of the volatile oil is
much less than the black oil, wellbore pressure loses are lower
and the fluid enters the flowlines at a higher pressure. In the
flowlines, the total pressure loss is greater for the volatile oil
due to the increased frictional pressure loss as a result of the
free gas present. At low rates, frictional pressure loss is not a
factor and pressures will be higher due to the lower
hydrostatic pressure. Arrival temperatures are lower for the
volatile oil at both rates due to the lower heat content of the
fluid caused by the higher ratio of gas to liquid.
Summary and Recommendations for Liquid Flowlines.
For liquid-dominated fluids, thermal methods for hydrate and
paraffin control can be the most economical choice. The
choice of pipe-in-pipe flowlines can more than double the
flowline cost and may not be justified for a field that is only
marginally economic. If the economics can be justified, it can
provide good heat conservation through a wide range of rates.
The most flexible option for preventing thermal losses is
electric heating. It is completely flexible since it only has to be
used as needed. Since the cost is less than dual pipe-in-pipe,
the cost can be more easily justified.
External insulation and pipe burial are effective for heat
conservation at high rates. At longer offsets and lower rates
such as late field life, the flexibility of dual flowlines may be
needed to keep flow rates closer to the flowline design
capacity.
Gas Flowlines
Conditions in gas flowlines will not be strongly affected by
insulation. Due to the low heat capacity of gases, the heat
content of fluid entering the flowline is low and the fluid
temperature is affected mainly by the cooling from expansion
as pressure is reduced. Therefore, the main consideration is to
minimize frictional pressure losses.
Gas flowlines were simulated with high rates of 20
mmscf/d with no water production and low rates of 6.5
mmscf/d with water rates of 150 BPD. Flowline sizes of 3
and 4 inches were compared. Bare pipe was compared with
buried, non-insulated pipe.
Flowline profiles are compared with the hydrate
equilibrium curve in Figure 8. Predictions indicate cooling to
ambient temperatures within a few miles from the flowline
3
inlet. Temperatures were in the low 50s for all cases except
for the high rate with 3 -inch flowlines. The smaller
flowlines at high rates indicate temperatures well below
ambient due to gas expansion and Joule-Thomson cooling.
Even with the larger flowlines pressure may need to be
reduced at the platform unless flow is routed directly to an
export pipeline.
When gas condensate behavior was compared with the dry
gas at high rates, the lowest fluid temperature is nearly 27 oF
higher. At the lower rates, however, there is only 10 oF
difference and this may not be enough to eliminate the need
for continuous injection of hydrate inhibitors.
Hydrate inhibitors must be injected continuously for the
life of the field unless water can be effectively removed from
the gas flowstream at the wellhead. Even if ambient
temperatures are above the hydrate formation point, cooling
from expansion will cause hydrate or ice formation as gas
temperatures drop considerably below ambient conditions
with large pressure drops, especially through valves.
Multi-well development cases were compared with
additional simulations. Rates of 100 mmscf/d with no water
production, representing initial conditions were compared with
34 mmscf/d with water rates of 750 BPD, representing late life
conditions. Required flowline sizes would be 6 5/8 or 8 5/8
inches. Longer offsets of 40 miles were compared with
flowline sizes of 8 5/8 and 10 inches. Predicted heat losses
were larger for the larger diameter flowlines. As pipe diameter
is increased, the flowing gas temperature reaches the ambient
temperature closer to the flowline inlet.
Summary and Recommendations for Gas Flowlines.
Heat loss is always going to occur in gas flowlines over
long distances reqardless of the thermal insulation or pipe
burial. Temperatures below ambient can be avoided by sizing
flowlines with enough capacity to avoid excessive pressure
losses. Temperatures can still be a problem as pressure is
reduced through valves and chokes. Therefore, it water is
present, hydrate inhibitors should be used continuously unless
the water can be effectively removed.
Remediation Methods
An important consideration in the design of deepwater
subsea flowlines is remediation in case of a worst-case
scenario of a hydrate or wax blockage. As discussed earlier in
this paper, the type of prevention strategy can significantly
reduce the probability of a flowline blockage. These strategies
include combinations of thermal insulation, chemical
injection, pigging and good operating practices.
Based on a survey of operating companies by Deepstar,
there are 55 documented cases of hydrates and paraffin
blockages.3 Over 2/3 of these blockages were paraffin; the
remaining 1/3 were hydrate blockages. Almost all of these
blockages occurred in uninsulated flowlines. This survey
indicated that the probability of blockages is high if the
flowlines are not properly designed. The cost to remediate is
high, particularly in deepwater.
4 M.A. HIGHT, J. DAVALATH
There are three important considerations for handling
flowline blockages. These are flowline monitoring, locating
blockages, and removing blockages. They are described in
detail below.
Monitoring Program
A continuous monitoring program is recommended to
minimize the risk of a blockage formation. Parameters such as
pressure/temperature downhole, at the tree and at the platform
should be monitored. Flow rate and composition changes can
sometimes indicate the onset of potential deposition. Early
warning signals can also be used to optimize chemical
treatment and pigging frequency.
Methods to Locate blockages
In case of a complete blockage, a method should be
applied to locate the blockage relative to the platform and
wellhead or manifold. Some of these options include
volumetric expansion, acoustic pulse, running a coiled tubing
or reach rod, measuring pressure through several sensors along
the flowline length, measuring external pipe strain by ROV, or
hydraulic modeling.
Options to Remove Blockages
Various hydraulic, thermal and mechanical methods have
been identified and grouped according to blockage type
(hydrates or wax) or blockage severity (partial restriction or
complete blockage). The table below provides a complete list
of potential removal techniques.
Of these techniques, a promising method is to insert a
coiled tubing string from the platform end, wellhead or
manifold or through pre-installed ports along the flowline.
Current technology is limited to coiled tubing penetration of
approximately 1 mile, limited by wall friction and helical
buckling. Novel technologies are being developed in the
industry to extend this limitation. One option is to use tractors
or roller skates on the outside of the coiled tubing. A second
option is to mount pigs on the outside and apply fluid pressure
through the annulus to push the coiled tubing. A third option
is to use composite coiled tubing instead of steel. The
composite tubing has a lower weight, which reduces the drag
between the coiled tubing and the pipeline. These methods are
anticipated to achieve coiled tubing penetration of 5 to 10
miles into a pipeline, depending upon size and internal
characteristics.
DeepStar has already completed some pilot tests of the
rollers concept.4 Results seem promising for a penetration
distance in the range of 4 to 5 miles. For penetration into long
flowlines such as 20 to 40 miles, multiple access points must
be pre-designed in the flowline. These access points can be
provided every 5 miles in the flowline to facilitate later
intervention to penetrate all sections of the flowline.
Flowline Capital Costs
To illustrate and compare the flowline costs for various
thermal insulation options, cost factors were developed for the
single oil-well satellite development case.
OTC 12036
Table 3 compares the costs of these flowline options,
considering the base case to be dual 4 -inch OD uninsulated
flowlines.
The costs listed in Table 3 include an estimate of various
materials and service costs for each option. These cost
components include:
Engineering, Design & Project Management
Materials: line pipe, coating, insulation, anodes, etc.
Welding, fabrication, handling
Offshore installation, survey support
Hydrotesting, Dewatering and Initial Start-up
The base-case cost of uninsulated dual 4 flowlines is in
the range of $500,000 to $600,000 per mile for a 20-mile long
section in deepwater. To compare and contrast the cost of
various options, relative cost factors have been developed
considering the above components.
As explained earlier, thermal insulation is necessary to
prevent hydrate formation and wax deposition in subsea
flowlines for oil production. The above table indicates that the
2 externally coated or the 4-in-8 pipe-in-pipe flowlines cost
slightly more than twice the uninsulated flowlines.
One alternative is to use an electrically heated pipe-in-pipe
flowline system. With this configuration, AC current flows
down the inner pipe and returns back to the platform through
the outer pipe. A simple steel bulkhead is used to complete
the electric circuit at the subsea end. A special, electrical
insulating joint is needed at the topside (above water) to
facilitate the electrical heating of the flowline and riser. The
heated flowlines offer the following advantages compared to
the dual passively insulated flowlines:
Dual flowlines are not necessary for round trip
pigging since heat will be used to melt paraffin or
hydrate plugs
Remediation will be simpler (i.e. turn on electric heat)
in case of a blockage in the flowline.
After an unplanned shut down, flowline and riser do
not have to be depressurized and displaced with dead
crude to avoid hydrate formation. For long-term shut
down, the flowline can be heated to avoid blockage
formation.
As shown in Table 3, the cost of an electrically heated
pipe-in-pipe flowline system is approximately 1.6 times the
cost of uninsulated flowlines. This configuration is
approximately 23% to 27% cheaper than dual flowlines with
passive thermal insulation. Furthermore, the electrically
heated flowlines offer additional performance benefits as
indicated above.
Summary
Pipeline costs in deepwater developments are currently
estimated to be in excess of one million USD/mile. 6 These
costs have to be weighed against the cost of remediation.
Since many Gulf of Mexico pipeline blockages have been
OTC 12036 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION FOR FLOWLINE HEAT LOSS CONTROL 5

documented for uninsulated pipelines, the risk of future insulation level but only a single flowline is needed
problems with bare pipelines in deeper, colder water is very with electric heating.
real. The trade-off between lower capital costs and higher risk Dual flowlines provide greater flexibility in keeping
needs to be carefully considered. flow velocities at optimum rates and provide a means
The cost of lowering risk can involve such options as more for depressurization and roundtrip pigging.
insulation, continuos chemical injection, regular pigging, dual For gas flowlines, heat losses will be high and the use
versus single flowlines, or electric heating. of thermal methods for heat conservation is not
Electric heating offers several advantages and much more adequate for preventing problems such as hydrate
flexibility than other methods since it can be turned on and off formation. Either removing water or continuous
as needed. Electric heating can be used at startup to heat the treatment with hydrate inhibitors is needed.
flowline. In early production with high rates and low water
cuts it may not be needed at all except during extended
shutdown periods. When electric heating is not used, the References
flowline will have the same thermal performance as pipe-in- 1. Nehring, R.: Americas Bigger Resource, Harts E&P (Jan.
pipe, but dual flowlines will not be needed since there will be 2000) 10.
no need to evacuate flowlines during shutdown or to pig lines 2. Fanchi, J.R.: Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation, Gulf
for paraffin removal. If hydrates should form, electric heating Publishing Co., Houston, TX (1997) 39.
can raise the fluid temperature high enough to melt them. If 3. Davalath, J., Methods to Clear Blocked Flowlines, paper
presented at the ASME Energy Week Conference, 1997.
paraffin deposition is a problem, heat can be used to maintain
4. Illeman, J.R., "Pipeline Blockage Remediation Can Reach Five
the temperature just above the wax appearance temperature. Miles", Offshore Magazine, March, 1998.
Chemical injection programs can reduce risks of hydrate 5. Bass, R. M. and Langner, C.G., "Deepstar JIP Examining Two
formation and paraffin deposition, but have their own risks as Types of Electric Heating of Pipelines", Offshore Magazine,
well. Often paraffin inhibitors do not perform as well as April 1999.
expected and in some cases can even make deposition worse. 6. DeLuca, M. and Furlow, W., Product Transportation Becoming
Injection lines can plug or pumps can fail, leaving flowlines Deciding Issue in Deepwater Development, Offshore (Nov.
unprotected. 1999) 35.
If thermodynamic inhibitors are used for hydrates, the
amounts needed can be excessive as oil rates decline and
water cuts increase. The amount of required inhibitor increases
as heat loss increases and fluid temperatures drop farther
below the hydrate formation temperature. Inhibitor quantities
are also dependent on water rates and increase with higher
water rates. Methods for reducing water in the flowline such
as water shutoff in the reservoir or subsea separation at the Table 1 Base Case Simulation Conditions
mudline are emerging technologies that will be helpful as the
techniques are proven and costs decrease. Kinetic hydrate Water depth, ft 12,000
inhibitors and anti-agglomerators require much lower Platform depth, ft 300
quantities than thermodynamic inhibitors, but the technology Offset distance, miles 20
is still new although their use is becoming more common. Initial reservoir conditions:
Depth, ft 4,000
pressure, psia 9,000
Conclusions Temperature, F
o
170
For oil flowlines, insulation or electric heating is Productivity index, BPD/psi 12
necessary to reduce risk of flowline blockages but can Production rate, BOPD/well 15,000
Water cut, percent 0
more than double the cost of the pipelines. Late life reservoir conditions:
The higher gas to liquid ratio in lighter oil increases Pressure, psia 6,000
heat losses are greater for lighter oils increased Production rate, BFPD 7,500
Water cut, percent 50
Electric heating for a single flowline provides the
most flexibility for preventing pipeline problems since
it can be used intermittently.
Electrically heating a single flowline increases the
flowline cost for a 20-mile oil flowline by about 60
percent compared to the base case of bare dual
flowlines, but is potentially more cost effective than
external or pipe-in-pipe insulation methods for dual
flowlines.
Pipe-in-pipe and electric heating provide the same
6 M.A. HIGHT, J. DAVALATH OTC 12036

Table 2. Options to Remove Flowline Blockages

Type of Restriction Paraffin Hydrates

Complete Blockage Coiled Tubing Entry Depressurize

or Partial Restriction Pipe-in-Pipe/ext. insulation
Electrically Heated Line
Flowline Bundle
Apply Pressure
Hot Tap
Cut Line Under Pollution Dome
Remove Liquid Head:
Pre-installed access port
Booster pump
Use inhibitors as necessary

Partial Restriction Pigging / TFL Depressurize

Solvent Soak Spot Methanol or Glycol
Heat Generating Chemical
Reverse Flow / Increase Flow Rate

Table 3. Relative Costs for Flowline Options

Flowline (s) Type of Insulation Cost Factor

Dual 4 Uninsulated 1.0

Dual 4 Buried 3 ft 1.3

Dual 4 2 externally coated 2.1

Dual 4 4-in-8 pipe-in-pipe 2.2

Single 6 6-in-10 pipe-in-pipe 1.6

electrically heated
OTC 12036 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION FOR FLOWLINE HEAT LOSS CONTROL 7

Fig. 1 - Comparison of hydrate equilibrium conditions with flowing pressure and

temperature profiles for single and dual flowlines for a single-well development.

Fig. 2 Comparison of hydrate equilibrium conditions with flowing pressure and

temperature profiles for a multi-well development at initial production rates.
8 M.A. HIGHT, J. DAVALATH OTC 12036

Fig. 3 Flowline temperature during cooldown for dual and single flow
lines at initial reservoir rates for a single-well development.

Fig. 4 Predicted platform arrival temperatures for single and dual flowlines with various
insulation types under initial and late-life conditions for a single-well development.
OTC 12036 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATION FOR FLOWLINE HEAT LOSS CONTROL 9

Fig. 5 - Comparison of hydrate equilibrium conditions with flowing pressure and

temperature profiles for dual flowlines for a single-well development.

Fig. 6 - Flowline temperature during cooldown for dual pipe-in-pipe flow

Lines at initial reservoir rates for a single-well development.
10 M.A. HIGHT, J. DAVALATH OTC 12036

Fig. 7 - Comparison of hydrate equilibrium conditions with flowing pressure and

temperature profiles for a black oil and volatile oil for a single-well development.

Fig. 8 - Comparison of hydrate equilibrium conditions with flowing pressure and temperature
profiles for a dry gas flowling through dual 3 and 4 -inch flowlines.