Harness the Power of Hardware Technologies for Scale Control and Management in Subsea Fields

Abstract

Abstract The global opportunities within the subsea market, in both greenfield and brownfield, have been growing over the years; however, the increasing complexity in subsea fields has brought significant challenges in terms of scale control and management. This is highlighted by the lack of reliable water compositions and resulting uncertainties of scale risk evaluation, the difficulty to control chemical dosage subsea, and well access for intervention which becomes a very costly event. These challenges can greatly impact the operational, contingency, and remediation programs, hence the overall economy of the field. This paper presents a selection of hardware technologies that have been utilized to resolve the challenges associated with scale control in subsea fields. Subsea sampling systems have enabled the collection of representative fluid samples directly from the point of interest. This advanced sample transport and analysis has ensured the supply of representative fluid data into scale risk assessment; while chemical injection metering valves (CIMV) have allowed the correct chemical dosage into the target wells. The evolution of optimized hydraulic intervention technologies have improved the available options for cost-effective well access, leveraging lower cost vessels and improving overall capital and operational expenditures. These recent developments in subsea hardware technologies have enabled the subsea scale control problems to be handled more effectively. Upon the review of these associated scale management challenges, the system layouts and working mechanisms of each applicable hardware technology are illustrated in detail. This is further demonstrated by several successful case histories where reliable scale control, reduced intervention frequency, significant cost saving, and increased uptime are achieved. Moreover, equipment flexibility and adaptability to cover a range of environmental conditions, namely water depth, to provide an optimum hydraulic intervention method that offers a commercially attractive alternative to traditional riser-based techniques. The novel scale remediation solutions discussed in this paper have demonstrated the power of integrating hardware technologies with effective chemicals and suitable intervention methods for successful scale control and management in subsea fields.