Merging Flow Assurance and Compact Separation Performance in Remote Applications

Pipeline flow assurance operations and separation performance characteristics can have profound influences on one another. The result may be positive or negative. Separation can be a flow assurance strategy while other FA strategies may encourage droplet/bubble coalescence by mechanical, thermal, or chemical means which can dramatically improve separation performance. On the other hand, the use of chemicals, mixing, and highly transient flow conditions, e.g., velocity sweeps, pigging, etc., can challenge separator performance while poor separation can impact flow assurance of downstream pipelines. Modeling is often essential to identify and evaluate the pipeline/separator interrelationships over the expected range of operating conditions. Additional equipment is often added specifically to aid the integration of pipeline and separator and can be especially critical for compact separation. This presentation discusses some of the successful, and not so successful, integrated systems as well as some of the challenges for remote applications.