Flow Assurance
Flow assurance is essential to keeping hydrocarbons moving safely and efficiently from the reservoir to processing facilities. Any interruption in flow—whether caused by asphaltenes, hydrates, paraffins, or scale—can result in lost production, equipment damage, costly interventions, or safety risks.
Our chemical flow assurance solutions protect profitability, ensure uninterrupted operations, and preserve efficiency. They are formulated in the lab and customized to your system’s needs.
Asphaltene Management
Asphaltene treatments are chemical solutions used in oil and gas production to prevent or reverse the precipitation of asphaltenes—heavy, complex hydrocarbon molecules that can clog flowlines, damage equipment, and restrict well productivity. These chemical treatments help operators maintain stable, uninterrupted hydrocarbon flow.
Asphaltene in crude oils often precipitates during production and transportation, reducing recovery volumes and increasing horsepower requirements. Additionally, asphaltenes can accumulate at the oil-water interface and act to stabilize emulsions, which reduces the effectiveness of the production equipment and often requires additional chemical treatments.
Effective management prevents asphaltenes from clogging production equipment, decreasing flow rates, and ultimately reducing profits.
Hydrate Management
Hydrate inhibitors are chemical additives used to prevent the formation of gas hydrates. These solid, ice-like crystals can plug pipelines, valves, and equipment when water and natural gas mix under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions.
These polymeric additives can function as both Kinetic (KHI) and Thermodynamic Hydrate Inhibitors (THI). KHI materials are typically water-soluble polymers that delay gas hydrate nucleation and crystal growth. THI materials, such as methanol, function by altering the thermodynamic properties of the system fluids.
Paraffin Management
Paraffin treatments are chemical solutions that prevent or remove paraffin wax buildup in wellbores, flowlines, surface equipment, and pipelines. Paraffin waxes are a natural component of crude oil and can solidify as the temperature drops. As the paraffins solidify, the flow rate is negatively impacted.
Product selection for paraffin inhibitors is almost always performed in the laboratory. Cold finger analysis and pour point suppression tests are commonly used to determine which product will give the most desirable field results.
Cold Finger Analysis
A cold finger analysis measures the amount of precipitated wax from a predetermined volume of oil onto a removable metal “finger.” Once a blank or chemical-free deposition rate is established, a percent protection value can be calculated and used as a product selection guide.
Pour Point Depressant Test
Pour point depressant tests are sometimes performed in place of or in conjunction with cold finger analyses. Many pipeline and oil companies will have predetermined pour point guidelines for oils entering their pipelines. The pour point depressant test is designed to meet or exceed those guidelines. To perform the test, a chemical-free “blank” sample’s pour point is compared to those of various treated samples.
Cold Finger Analysis
A cold finger analysis measures the amount of precipitated wax from a predetermined volume of oil onto a removable metal “finger.” Once a blank or chemical-free deposition rate is established, a percent protection value can be calculated and used as a product selection guide.
Pour Point Depressant Test
Pour point depressant tests are sometimes performed in place of or in conjunction with cold finger analyses. Many pipeline and oil companies will have predetermined pour point guidelines for oils entering their pipelines. The pour point depressant test is designed to meet or exceed those guidelines. To perform the test, a chemical-free “blank” sample’s pour point is compared to those of various treated samples.
Scale Management
Scale inhibitors and scale solvents are chemical treatments used to prevent or remove scale buildup—hard, mineral-like deposits that form when incompatible water chemistries mix in a wellbore, flowline, or processing system.
Scale is one of the most common flow assurance problems, and without proper treatment, it can block flow, damage equipment, reduce production efficiency, and create under deposit corrosion.
Using the right product
Initial product screening for the selection of a scale inhibitor should always take place in the field. It is especially important that the product compatibility tests are run at various product concentrations under system temperatures. If improperly tested and selected, many scale inhibitors will form water–insoluble scale complexes at various temperatures and concentrations, resulting in undesired outcomes.
Water Pattern Analysis
Complete water pattern analyses can accurately predict the scaling potential of most oilfield waters. Characteristics such as pH, bicarbonate concentration, and temperature are crucial in calculating the scaling potential of a water stream.
Scale & Corrosion Inhibition
Corrosion and scale are two threats that can impact production systems concurrently. Specially formulated inhibitors are designed to prevent scale build up like calcium carbonate and barium sulfate and mitigate corrosion by water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or other agents.
These multifunctional products protect against both scale buildup and corrosion in oil and gas production.
Contact us to learn how we
can assist in flow assurance.
800.535.6182
Coastal Chemical