Flow assurance
Encyclopedia
Flow assurance is a relatively new term in oil and gas industry. It refers to ensuring successful and economical flow of hydrocarbon
stream from reservoir
to the point of sale. The term was coined by Petrobras
in the early 1990s in Portuguese
as Garantia do Escoamento (:pt::Garantia do Escoamento), meaning literally “Guarantee of Flow”, or Flow Assurance.
Flow assurance is extremely diverse, encompassing many discrete and specialized subjects and bridging across the full gamut of engineering
disciplines. Besides network modeling and transient multiphase simulation, flow assurance involves effectively handling many solid deposits, such as, gas hydrates, asphaltene, wax, scale, and naphthenates. Flow assurance is most critical task during deep water energy production because of the high pressures and low temperature (~4 degree Celsius) involved. The financial loss from production interruption or asset damage due to flow assurance mishap can be astronomical. What compounds the flow assurance task even further is that these solid deposits can interact with each other and can cause catastrophic blockage formation in pipelines
and result in flow assurance failure.
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
stream from reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
to the point of sale. The term was coined by Petrobras
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...
in the early 1990s in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
as Garantia do Escoamento (:pt::Garantia do Escoamento), meaning literally “Guarantee of Flow”, or Flow Assurance.
Flow assurance is extremely diverse, encompassing many discrete and specialized subjects and bridging across the full gamut of engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
disciplines. Besides network modeling and transient multiphase simulation, flow assurance involves effectively handling many solid deposits, such as, gas hydrates, asphaltene, wax, scale, and naphthenates. Flow assurance is most critical task during deep water energy production because of the high pressures and low temperature (~4 degree Celsius) involved. The financial loss from production interruption or asset damage due to flow assurance mishap can be astronomical. What compounds the flow assurance task even further is that these solid deposits can interact with each other and can cause catastrophic blockage formation in pipelines
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
and result in flow assurance failure.