Recent Active Heating Breakthrough and New Opportunities for Deepwater Tie-Back

Abstract

Abstract Given the sustained oil and gas demand, there is a constant trend among oil and gas companies to develop new prospects and maintain the current production level. This trend is paralleled by an increased focus on innovative technological solutions aimed at accessing more demanding, remote, and deepwater hydrocarbon reservoirs, primarily driven by the diminishing output from shallow water brownfields. These reservoirs can present fluid properties challenges, including high wax and hydrate content. This gives rise to flow assurance challenges, which, in turn, have repercussions on production costs, potentially rendering the development of such fields economically unviable through conventional methods. Following years of technology development, Electrically Heat-Traced Flowline (EHTF®) is the advanced heating technology equipped to tackle these flow assurance challenges. This technology reached a key milestone in 2022 - demonstrated performance in service (TRL 6). The test protocol exhibited live production and shutdown situation, during which active heating was successfully switched on. The successful completion of the in-service performance test of the first commercial EHTF®, combined with subsequent delivery and installation of similar product, has changed the profile of active heating solutions for subsea tie-back. The first part of the paper shall delve into the fundamental scientific principles behind EHTF®. Subsequently, the paper will explore on the recent successes in the installation of the EHTF®, from the initial product development, subsequent design and qualification stages, through fabrication, installation, and eventually commissioning of the subsea tie-back. The next section will examine EHTF®’s track records on various projects, how performant is the technology during operations, and how fit-for-purpose configuration is recommended when developing active heating system for specific field developments. This part will discuss the EHTF® product portfolio, the corresponding envelope of application to cater for multiple fluid challenges and tie-back distances as well as its Technology Readiness Level (TRL). The paper will then present a description how the EHTF® can be tailored to meet specific field application needs, expanding its potential usage. To provide a wider perspective on the EHTF®, we will present a qualitative comparison with the alternative active heating solution, the Direct Electrical Heating (DEH) solution. In the last section a typical EHTF® tie-back will be presented, in the context of deepwater field in the South China Sea prior to concluding the paper.